Vivienne Westwood, the most punk of stylists, has just died

” Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family in Clapham, [quartier du] south London “, announced the brand on Instagram on December 29, 2022. He leaves behind a fashion empire, made up of punks, pirates and pearls.

From school teacher to pirate stylist

Born April 8, 1941Vivienne Isabel Swire grew up in England, studied fashion for just one term at university before becoming a school teacher until 1971. This quirky night owl meets Derek Westwood who runs a nightclub. She married him in 1962, she gave birth to Benjamin Westwood, then divorced in 1966. She had just met the previous year Malcolm McLaren with whom she had a son in 1967. With this new partner and Patrick Casey, in 1971 they opened a shop in London which quickly became a temple of punk fashion under the name of SEX. It is here that Vivienne Westwood begins to exhibit and sell her creations inspired by rock stars, bikers and fetishists.

While Malcolm McLaren manages groups such as the New York Dolls or the Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood dresses them, which offers enormous media exposure to her brand, but also to her political ideas. This fashion pirate ended up having her first show in 1981 in London, then the following year in Paris, where she quickly became a success. Fashionistas of the 80s and 90s now swear by his “Pirates” boot model.

Vivienne Westwood, a fashionable, regal and committed rock star

In 1988, Vivienne Westwood met Austrian Andreas Kronthaler, who started working for her the following year. They signed their first collection together in 1991, before getting married the following year. Also in 1992 Elizabeth II awarded her the honor of the Order of the British Empire: Vivienne Westwood then proudly performed, without panties, in the center of Buckingham Palace. In 2006 she even received the title of Lady. Since 2016 her last husband has been alone in the artistic direction of the Vivienne Westwood line that she shows, Gold Label, later renamed Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood.

In addition to her incredible, punk life, Vivienne Westwood has also established herself throughout her life as a fervent defender of ecology. She has done a lot of upcycling to create her clothes, has always refused to use animal fur and has regularly urged the entire fashion industry to slow down to save the planet. Very busy, she regularly puts her image in service of touching actions, such as appearing for the campaign ” Let’s save the Arctic from Greenpeace in 2012, supporting Scottish independence in 2014, publicly demonstrating against the exploitation of shale gas in 2018, or even defending Julian Assange (Wikileaks case) in 2019-2020.

“Use your earthly life to the fullest”: Vivienne Westwood’s last words

While the love of vintage and upcycling is becoming popular, we have seen the late 2010s a renewed interest in it fashion rock stars, especially her corsets and pearl necklaces. These often feature his logo in the shape of a globe. It’s a nod to a jewel in Britain’s crown, a jewel created for the coronation of King Charles II. Vivienne Westwood stylized it differently by exaggerating a ring-shaped band of the planet Saturn, as a social critique of the excesses of royalty. Just to say itafter the passing of Vivienne Westwood, the planet of fashion will spin even less.

In its press release on Instagram, the brand left, as the designer’s last words, a letter on her Taoism (one of the three pillars of Chinese thought together with Confucianism and Buddhism):

“Spiritual system of the Tao. There has never been a greater need for the Tao today. The Tao gives you the feeling of belonging to the cosmos and gives meaning to your life; it gives you such a sense of identity and strength to know that you are living the life that you can and therefore should live: using fully your character and using fully your life on earth. »