Vivienne Westwood, the English fashion designer who brought punk style to the world, died on Thursday. She was 81 years old.
“Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London,” reads a post on her official Twitter page. “The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better.”
The ad includes the following quote from Westwood: “Tao spiritual system. Today there was never more need for the Tao. Tao gives you the feeling that you belong to the cosmos and gives your life purpose; It gives you such a sense of identity and strength to know that you are living the life that you can live and therefore should be living: make full use of your character and full use of your life on earth.”
December 29, 2022.
Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, south London.
The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better. pic.twitter.com/YQwVixYUrV
— Vivienne Westwood (@FollowWestwood) December 29, 2022
First rising to fame in the 1970s as a co-owner of the SEX boutique along with Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, Westwood helped shape the style of the UK punk scene.
The store became a hangout for punk bands, and Westwood’s creations, worn by London punk rockers, introduced a new style to the world that made use of pinned pieces, rubber and plastic clothing. , lots of zippers, tartan bondage pants, ripped cloth and painted T-shirts. Chrissie Hynde and members of the Sex Pistols were among the store’s influential employees.
The shop was renamed Seditionaries – Clothes for Heroes and then World’s End as Westwood’s interests turned away from the punk scene.
Members of bands like Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Slits were influenced by their fashion, and Viv Albertine of the Slits wrote in her memoirs: “Vivienne and Malcolm wear clothes to shock, irritate and provoke a reaction, but also to inspire a change. Mohair jumpers, woven on large needles, so loose you can see through them, cut-out and handwritten T-shirts, seams and labels on the outside, showing the construction of the piece; these attitudes are reflected in the music we make. It’s okay not to be perfect, to show the workings of your life and your mind in your songs and your clothes.”
In addition to her fashion collections, she designed the uniforms for Virgin Atlantic flight attendants and provided costumes for Elisabeth Shue in “Leaving Las Vegas,” as well as “Shadowboxer” and “Twenty-One.”
A 2018 documentary, “Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist” covered her life and work, and Talulah Riley portrayed her in the FX miniseries “Pistol.” Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw character wore one of Westwood’s wedding dresses in the movie version of “Sex and the City.”
Westwood was a longtime political activist, working to fight consumerism, protect the environment, and protest causes like unequal pay.
She is survived by her husband, Andreas Kronthaler, and two children.
Source: news.google.com