The legendary punk and activist fashion designer Vivienne Westwood passed away on Dec. 29th, “peacefully and surrounded” by her family in Clapham, South London.
According to the brand, Westwood worked up until her death on designing, and writing her book.
“I tried to prove by example that the past is as relevant today as when it was invented, ideas are as relevant today as when they were invented,” she said during an interview with me in 2018.
Vivienne Westwood was one of the few remaining great living fashion designers from our time who truly changed fashion. Her work spanned from the early 1970s to today.
In her work, Westwood recontextualized historical garments, subverted subcultures and defied the norm. As a designer herself, her own personal style was exceptional. Rather than dress to be quiet or avoid attention, Westwood relished in dressing the part of eccentric designer and activist. When she accepted her OBE at Buckingham Palace in 1992, she was photographed swirling around wearing a tailored skirt suit with no underwear, for example.
Westwood’s contribution to fashion knows no bounds–from the corset to pearls and other major moments. She was one of the first designers to do underwear as outerwear on the runway in the 1980s, even inspiring the legendary Jean Paul Gaultier who sat front row at many of her shows. She was a pioneer of aesthetics and references; a radical for punk and rawness.
In the 1990s, she married her partner, Andreas Kronthaler, who has been working with her on her collections as a co-designer since the 1990s. Since 2016, Kronthaler has even had his own line under the Westwood umbrella. The Vivienne Westwood line previously known as Gold Label was renamed as Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood, and the Red Label was discontinued, still, Westwood continued to design under her mainline label (also with Kronthaler). It’s suspected that Kronthaler will be taking over as creative director for all the Westwood labels going forward, since her passing.
This post will continue to be updated.
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