Britain’s fashion icon throughout decades of history as well as the literal creator of punk fashion, Vivienne Westwood is one of the leading designers of the world. Even if you don’t recognize the name right away, you have probably seen her brand’s iconic orb pearl necklace at least once; it swept across Tiktok last year, skyrocketing in popularity and making numerous appearances on celebrity styles. Many people fell in love with its unique glitter-studded logo that resembles a Saturn and carries the British royal iconography.
Vivienne Westwood has always been one of my favorite brands—not only because I love its signature style, but because I admire the life of the woman behind it. Just like her designs, which are usually accompanied by the phrases “unconventional” and “outspoken,” her life has always been that of a rebel. A true force of nature and activist, she is one of the few designers that were actually out there always creating something new, whether it be a whole culture or a new genre of fashion. That is why I thought it would be interesting to retrace her steps in life in this article and follow along her evolution as a designer as well as a brand identity, to the incomparably distinctive aesthetic of now.
Mother of punk
Vivienne Westwood was born in a small village in Derbyshire, England. Westwood always had great interest in art and fashion, which led her to briefly enroll in the Harrow School of Art, but she dropped out soon after for a more stable job to support her family as the eldest. Her uncanny creativity burned on, however; and when she met Malcom McLaren, an art school student who despised the “familiar” and idolized avant-garde, drugs, sex, and rock music, she inevitably fell in love.
Together, they set up a clothing shop on King’s Road called Let It Rock, and soon it became a refuge for the rebellious teens of London. They changed the name of the shop several times, from Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die to SEX to Seditionaries and sold a variety of apparels ranging from leather biker jackets to rubber outfits inspired from pornography to bondage wear.
Around this time, Malcom McLaren became the manager of the legendary group Sex Pistols, and soon Westwood took charge of the group’s styling. Sex Pistols was the symbol and initiator of punk at the time; naturally, most punk followers—and many more punk groups to follow—copied their styling. Thus, Westwood became the very literal creator, and supplier, of punk fashion. Under her influence, punk fashion included tight “drainpipe” jeans, plaid/tartan trousers (tartan is still a signature of Vivienne Westwood), leather jackets, heavy boots, everything DIY—and took Britain in a storm.
The clothes Westwood made screamed against all things retail, established, conservative. Even her shop was the literal embodiment of punk spirit. She intentionally made the windows opaque so one had to walk inside to see what they were selling –like an actual adult shop—and the shop opened sporadically, without set hours. All the inside walls were pressed with spongy pink rubber to look like a womb. It was the epitome, the destination, of all punks.
Discard the established: connecting past and future
Westwood eventually parted ways with McLaren in the early 80s but continued her fashion journey. Her passion for something unseen, something atypical and off, was still there, and this time she looked back into the past. Westwood infatuated herself with ancient apparels and foreign patterns, and her first collection was born: Pirates. She took inspiration from the piracy of the 18th century and re-introduced baggy pants, flowering shirts, vivid yellows, oranges, and golds, as well as the tricorne. This original collection of hers initiated the “new romantic” trend across Britain.
Her revamp of the nostalgic into the futuristic continued in her following collections. Her Buffalo collection was all about the return of petticoats and bralettes over a top, inspired from Peru; her Witches collection focused on witchcraft of the 18th century and employed cloaks and wide sleeves. The most iconic one that bore her signature look, however, was undoubtedly the Mini Crini collection. Crini is short for crinoline, a stiff structured petticoat of the Victorian age, designed to hold out a woman’s skirt, a symbol of its restrictive fashion. Westwood boldly cut the crinoline into half, reshaping it into a cute, puffed-out minidress like that of Minnie Mouse. Not as restrictive and elegance-focused as the original, but far from the then-trending masculine suit styles of the yuppies, Westwood’s reformative mini crini brought her into the spotlight.
Westwood as the identity of Britain’s fashion
Though Westwood immersed herself in the fashions of many different cultures and eras, she always held a love for fashion that was “British.” Her first collection back in London, the Harris Tweed Collection, showcased the stereotypical British fashion of tweeds, knits, crowns, and coronation capes.
Not surprisingly, though, Westwood had to put her own spin on it. She designed these items in a light, humorous, sexy way—a fake fur coronation cape, crown of shredded tweed pieces—showing both affection towards the traditions of her country as well as making a mockery of its conservatism.
Westwood continued to contribute to British fashion throughout her life. The punk style she created established itself as a distinctive subculture of Britain; the tweeds, tartans, knitted twin sets, and classic tailoring she studied and developed are seen as the most representative of British fashion today. She was awarded the British Designer of the Year two years in a row and received the title of DBE and OBE from the Queen.
A Rebel Through and Through
Vivienne Westwood continues to search for new viewpoints in fashion. In the last decade, she has been experimenting with draping, a technique where you craft a dress by ‘pinning’ the drapes, creating fun angles and more three-dimensional structures. During the relatively recent years when corsets and other body-fitted garments were regarded as restrictive and undermining, she actually revived them in her collections, but with a modern touch—corsets with removable sleeves and stretch fabrics that allow more movement.
Fashion isn’t the only area Westwood challenges; she is known to speak her mind about the world and society. Many recent collections of hers contain graphics showing the effects of climate change on land, and the brand has started to produce more vegan items, such as vegan handbags. Westwood is also a passionate activist; she has given many talks on politics, resistance to propaganda, global warming, gender fluidity, and more.
The spirit of a rebel, indeed, flows everywhere she goes.