Vivienne Westwood, the iconic designer and punk legend, has died aged 81
The iconic British fashion designer and lifelong activist Vivienne Westwood has passed away today, December 29th, at the age of 81. A message posted to her official Twitter account has confirmed the news.
“Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London,” the short message read. “The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better.”
After being born in Tintwistle, Derbyshire, in 1941, Westwood’s family moved to the London borough of Harrow, where she grew up. Then, as a teenager, she enrolled on a jewellery and silversmith course at the University of Westminster, then called the Harrow Art School. However, she left after one term, explaining later: “I didn’t know how a working-class girl like me could possibly make a living in the art world”.
Things would change quickly for Westwood, and that would become one of her most iconic quotes. Famously, she became a significant part of the British punk movement forming its identity in the mid-1970s. Much of the scene coalesced around her and partner Malcolm McLaren’s boutique, SEX in Chelsea, which would provide it with an aesthetic basis. McLaren would also have a defining hand in the Sex Pistols forming and was their manager, and the mind behind many of their notorious PR stunts.
Whether it be ripped T-shirts, bondage, plaid patterns, mohair, or safety pins, Vivienne Westwood’s mark on punk and wider culture is still very much alive today.
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