Sex, punk and protest – what makes up design genius Vivienne Westwood

Chief rebel of the fashion world, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, and eco-activist. All these words perfectly describe today’s birthday girl, Vivienne Westwood. The Punk Queen turns 81. In her 50 years of fashion, she went from being a rebel to a national treasure, revolutionizing the industry and most importantly visualizing British punk.

Everything he did, from daring demonstrations to solo performances, was filled with the spirit of protest and freedom. Take, for example, her appearance at Buckingham Palace during the presentation of the Order of the British Empire in 1992. Then Westwood came to a meeting with the Queen without underwear.

Westwood’s performances deserve special attention. Each show was filled with theatricality and fascinating scope. The models walked the runway in mohawks and overly high heels (even Naomi Campbell couldn’t resist).

He was not afraid of condemnation, expressing his position through collections, trying new things and doing what designers had not dared to do before. Today, on the occasion of his birthday, we are talking about the highlights of the designer’s career.

sex

In the mid-1960s, Vivienne Westwood met the director of the Sex Pistols and her life changed radically. She turned from an ordinary school teacher to the main visualizer of punk. In 1971, McLaren and McLaren opened the Let it Rock store on Kings Road. It wasn’t until the spring of 1974 that she got her iconic name, SEX.

A large foam plastic sign with the inscription SEX in pink has been placed on the front of the boutique. Very quickly, the store has become the main power place for all vagrants. And all because you can buy fetish clothes, torn sweaters, and t-shirts with rebellious phrases like Destroy and No future out there. This is all Westwood and McLaren’s job.

“God save the Queen”

In 1976 the world saw one of the most important creations of Vivienne Westwood. At the height of the punk era in Britain, the designer was inspired by World War II in an oval frame. She presented a portrait of Elizabeth and a long-sleeved gown that said God Bless the Queen screaming on it. It was created by artist Jamie Reid for the cover of the Sex Pistols’ self-titled album. And Vivien transferred the art to clothes.

“Pirates”

Vivienne Westwood’s debut on the podium took place in 1981, when she was just over 40 (by fashion world standards, this is considered a rather late start). The punk queen’s first collection was called “Pirates” and was inspired by the relevant historical event. The models walked on the runway wearing captain’s hats with wide belts, buckled boots, and loose sea-patterned trousers. And underwear was created in the likeness of models of the XVIII century.

The result was a genuine 20th century pirate uniform in Westwood reading. By the way, the designer has repeatedly said that this show marks the beginning of her fashion career. Because it was after the first show that major retailers such as Bloomingdale’s, Henri Bendel, Macy’s and Joseph became interested in Westwood’s work.

“This Woman Was Once Punk”

Although by the late 1980s Westwood was no longer so radically opposed to the government, the spirit of rebellion persisted throughout his work. Here is one of many proofs. In 1989, the designer created a suit for the then British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. But before posting, Westwood wore it for a Tatler magazine shoot. The result was a truly hooligan number one. The designer appeared in the image of Thatcher (the resemblance is truly striking) and the caption read: “Once upon a time, this woman was a vagrant.” They say that the Prime Minister was enraged after such a scandalous trick.

“We sold our souls to consume”

Vivienne Westwood turned every show into a performance. In 2012, she asked everyone in the front row to wear Julian Assange T-shirts, took the runway in arms at the finale of the 2018 spring-summer show, and sang monologues about models at the show the following year. fight against corporations. I would like to talk in more detail about the latter, at least the issue of ecology and environmental protection worried Westwood long before it became fashionable. He attended rallies and protests in the early 2000s and soon launched the famous Climate Revolution campaign.

For the 2019 fall-winter season, Westwood published a campaign encouraging people to buy less clothes. After some time, the same show performance took place: the models walked along the runway and sang monologues on the topic of ecology, and in the finale Westwood sang the song.

Behind him, all those attending the demonstration stood and carried banners that read, “We sold our souls to consume.”