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The Review Online
20 Years of Inspirational, Punk, New Wave Fashion
13th October 2009
Vivienne Westwood. One of Britain's most internationally famous and individual designers. She definitely has the edge on the Seventies AND Eighties era, even contributing to the Eighties revival of the Noughties by keeping punk alive in the fashion industry. But what is it about her that makes her not only a wholly likeable, controversial personality, but also an inspiration and an asset to the British youth of today? Up until 1971, Westwood was living in a council house in Clapham and teaching primary school children in North London. Her then-husband Malcolm McLaren famously opened a small boutique at 430 Kings Road, which has gone through a change of names, including Let It Rock, SEX and Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die: an obvious tribute to the late James Dean. Working as a team, Westwood and McLaren were a pair of fast-paced designers, moving quicker than the London subculture changes. Under the name SEX, re-branded in 1975, their main focus was on the most prominent and influential street style of the current decade – PUNK. McLaren later became the manager of memorable band, The Sex Pistols, and Westwood instantly gained appraisal of her work after dressing them for their first gig. Punk filtered through into the mainstream line of fashion throughout the Seventies, and with that Westwood also progressed. Her designs became influenced by something that she is now renowned for; using historical figures or designs and spicing them up with her own personal touch. The subculture labelled shamelessly as the New Romantics adopted her early Eighties collection ‘Pirate’ absolutely; inspired by eighteenth century male clothing, men wore effeminate outfits with flamboyant, frilly shirts infused with pirate-style features. This landmark in twentieth century fashion history ran directly alongside the music scene, that was labelled much the same, and fitted in well. Her quirky, kitsch designs were donned by Adam and the Ants and Spandau Ballet, and the ‘Pirate’ collection has since been associated with the New Romanticism genre of music. 1981 saw the ‘Pirate’ collection of the late Seventies brought explosively onto the catwalk in London. This was Westwood’s first ever public exhibition of her designs in the acclaimed world of fashion and her work was featured in some of the most well respected fashion magazines of the era. However, Westwood struggled for recognition in the hugely competitive and austere industry of the United Kingdom but was finally financially backed by Italian business entrepreneur Carlo D’Amario, who still helps coordinate the business to this day. Despite being worth millions of pounds, Westwood still strives to live a normal life. She cycles to work regularly, still lives in North London and will happily talk to fans in the street (after meeting her at the Hay Festival, I found this to be true!). Westwood is a down to earth, hilarious, quirky character who continues to inspire some of the best designers in the world. Her strong ability to design her latest semi-couture line, Gold Label, and still design wearable lines like her current, Red Label, is something to be admired by fashion designers and students everywhere. Her passion for her forté is just one reason to love Viv.
Over the past 20 years, Westwood has accomplished many things; launching many successful and respected collections and perfumes, becoming a Dame and receiving a lifetime achievement award. But not least of all her achievements is winning over not only the British public, but citizens from around the world.