Breaking: Fashion Icon, Dame Vivienne Westwood Is Dead

Dame Vivienne Westwood, the pioneering British fashion designer who played a key role in the punk movement, has died in London at the age of 81.

Westwood died “peacefully, surrounded by her family” in Clapham, south London, on Thursday, her representatives said in a statement.

Advertisement

She had continued to do the things she loved, including designing, working on her book and making art, “up until the last moment”, they added.

A look back at the life and legacy of Dame Vivienne Westwood obituary

Her husband and creative partner, Andreas Kronthaler, said: “I will continue with Vivienne in my heart. We have been working until the end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with. Thank you darling.”

Born in the Derbyshire village of Tintwistle in 1941, Westwood’s family moved to London in 1957, where she attended art school for one term. A self-taught designer with no formal fashion training, Westwood learned how to make clothes as a teenager by following patterns and by taking apart secondhand clothes she found at markets in order to understand the cut and construction.

Advertisement

She met band manager Malcolm McLaren in the 1960s while working as a primary school teacher after separating from her first husband, Derek Westwood. The pair opened a small shop on Kings Road in Chelsea in 1971 that became a haunt of many of the bands she outfitted, including the Sex Pistols, who were managed by McLaren.

Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren with Vivienne Westwood in 1977. Photograph: Mirrorpix/Getty Images

Her provocative and sometimes controversial designs came to define the punk aesthetic, and Westwood would become one of Britain’s most celebrated fashion designers, blending historical references, classic tailoring and romantic flourishes with harder edged and sometimes overtly political messages.

Westwood and McLaren’s shop changed its name and focus several times, including rebranding as Sex, which saw the pair being fined in 1975 for an “indecent exhibition” there, as well as Worlds End and Seditionaries.

Advertisement

Westwood’s first catwalk show, in 1981, for her Pirates collection, was an important step in the punk rebel becoming one of the fashion world’s most celebrated stars. But she still found ways to shock: her Statue of Liberty corset in 1987 is credited as starting the “underwear as outerwear” trend.

Details later….

Advertisement
Sola Adeyemo

Recent Posts

Why Seyi Tinubu Can’t Be Lagos Governor- Igbokwe

A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Joe Igbokwe, has said Seyi Tinubu, son…

5 hours ago

Simon Ekpa Not Our Member, Should Not Be Associated With Us- IPOB

IPOB PRESS RELEASE 22/11/2024 SIMON EKPA IS NOT AN IPOB MEMBER AND MUST NOT BE…

8 hours ago

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES FOR FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2024

NEWSPAPER HEADLINES FOR FRIDAY 22ND NOVEMBER 2024. *PUNCH* Gombe begins N28bn Assembly, high court complexes…

9 hours ago

My husband assaulted me, ruined my career – Olajumoke Onibread

Former bread seller turned model, Olajumoke Orisaguna, popularly known as Olajumoke Onibread, has opened up…

12 hours ago

“I did not punch Akpabio” – Senator Bamidele speaks on alleged fight with Senate President

Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele has denies reports that he was involved in a fight…

12 hours ago

Speaker Obasa Clarifies Negative Perceptions As Sanwo-Olu Presents 2025 Budget

– says lawmakers united to meet yearnings of Lagosians – accuses detractors of peddling news…

12 hours ago