“My clients are the best billboards for my clothes,” said designer Vivienne Westwood, who died on Thursday at the age of 81. The Briton was one of the founders of the punk style in the seventies and thus became famous all over the world. The punk influences faded, but thanks to stars like Pamela Anderson, Timothée Chamalet and Bella Hadid, Westwood continued to define the fashion world until her death.
Initially, Vivienne Westwood seems to have a secure life ahead. She works as a primary school teacher in a small British town and is married to her when she was 21 years old.
Until she meets artist, musician and clothing designer Malcolm McLaren. He inspired Westwood, who was already making jewelry at the time, to also design clothes. McLaren begins work as manager of punk band the Sex Pistols. The loving couple jointly make clothes for the members, and thus Westwood emerges as the founder of the style of clothing associated with the punk subculture, with ripped pants, ripped shirts, safety pins and chains.
The icons of the punk world embrace the British clothing. “Her clothes shocked and provoked reactions, but they also inspired change,” writes punk singer Viv Albertine in her memoir. An example is a torn shirt with a print of Queen Elizabeth of England on it. The Queen, who also died this year, can be seen with a safety pin on her lip.
When the Sex Pistols disbanded in the late 1970s, Westwood lost his main inspiration. He abandons punk and starts making clothes inspired by the Middle Ages, with lots of corsets, baggy dresses and long gloves.
Criticism of unsustainable clothing
Westwood believes it’s important to show his political affiliations in his projects and shows. The designer dedicates collections and fashion shows to themes such as climate change, human rights and green energy. Partly for this reason, his clothes are mostly made from sustainable materials. “Don’t buy too much. Choose your clothes carefully and make sure they last,” is one of his famous pieces of advice.
There are also criticisms: second Luxury magazine Westwood renounces its own values. It releases about nine collections a year, while most designers make two a year. That wouldn’t match his advice to buy less. In addition, less sustainable materials such as viscose and polyester are used in her clothes. And also, some of the clothing would be made in China.
Westwood decides to partner with the non-profit organization Farm not Factories. They release a collection made from organic cotton.
The Sex and the City dress sold out
In the early 90s, the designer was one of the most famous in the fashion world. She’s also becoming a pop culture icon herself, thanks in part to all the stars wearing her designs. Pamela Anderson, Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Aniston: it’s hard to find a celebrity who doesn’t have Westwood in their closet.
One of his models walks every red carpet. Which are also worn by men, because much of Westwood’s clothing is gender fluid.
Westwood’s outfits can also be seen on the big screen. In the first Sex and the citythe film adapts the main character Carrie Bradshaw for a Voguehe photographs several wedding dresses, including one by the British designer. Bradshaw receives the Westwood suit from her as a gift and wears it in several scenes. After the release of the film, the wedding dress will also be available online. All copies were sold within hours.
Gen Z flees with Westwood
Westwood’s clothing remained popular until his death. Also because the new generation of stars like to wear his designs. Zendaya, Dua Lipa, Timothée Chamalet and muse Bella Hadid – they’re all regularly spotted in a Westwood design (probably made before they were even born).
Gen Z (born between 1997 and 2012) run away with Westwood. Via TikTok it can be seen that there is a hunt for the pearl necklace (a ‘choker’, which tightens around the neck) that the designer launched in 1990.
Clothing from the nineties will be popular again in 2022, which is why many young fashion enthusiasts want to get their hands on a second-hand piece from Westwood. But for a corset you can easily put down a few thousand euros, while the chain is more affordable.
Either way, Westwood’s death won’t mean the end of his suits. Even at the age of 81, she was still active as a fashion designer and the demand for her clothes in (secondhand) shops only increased after her death.
“There’s an age-old idea that artists have a lot of energy when they’re young and become boring as they get older,” Westwood, who was 70 at the time, told me in 2011. W magazine. “I don’t see it that way. Just look at a refrigerator: you have to keep shopping to keep it full.”
