“My customers are the best billboards for my clothes,” said the designer Vivienne Westwood, who died on Thursday at the age of 81. The British was one of the founders of the punk style in the seventies and thus became world famous. 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.
At first, Vivienne Westwood seems to have a safe life ahead of her. She works as a primary school teacher in a small British town and has been married since she was 21.
Until she meets artist, musician and clothing designer Malcolm McLaren. He inspired Westwood, who was already making jewelery at the time, to also design clothes. McLaren starts working as a manager for the punk band Sex Pistols. The loving couple make the clothes for the members together, and then Westwood emerges as the founder of the clothing style associated with the punk subculture, with ripped pants, torn shirts, safety pins and chains.
Icons from the punk world embrace British clothing. “Her clothes shocked and provoked reactions, but also inspired change,” writes punk singer Viv Albertine in her memoirs. An example is a torn shirt with a print of the British Queen Elizabeth on it. The Queen, who also died this year, can be seen with a safety pin through her lip.
When the Sex Pistols broke up in the late 1970s, Westwood lost his main inspiration. She lets go of punk and starts making clothes inspired by the Middle Ages, with lots of corsets, wide dresses and long gloves.
Criticism of unsustainable clothing
Westwood believes it is important to show her political affiliation in her designs and shows. The designer dedicates collections and fashion shows to themes such as climate change, human rights and green energy. Partly for this reason, her clothes consist mainly of sustainable materials. “Don’t buy too much. Choose your clothes carefully and make sure they last,” reads one of her well-known pieces of advice.
There is also criticism: according to Luxury magazine Westwood renounces its own values. She releases about nine collections a year, while most designers do two a year. It wouldn’t match her advice to buy less. In addition, less sustainable materials such as viscose and polyester are used in her clothes. And also some of the clothes would be made in China.
Westwood decides to collaborate with the non-profit organization Farm not Factories. They are releasing a collection made from organic cotton.
Dress from Sex and the City is sold out
In the early 1990s, 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 her designs passes by on every red carpet. Which is also worn by men because much of Westwood’s clothing is gender fluid.
Westwood’s dresses can also be seen on the silver screen. Primarily Sex and the Citythe film adapts the main character Carrie Bradshaw to a Vogueshoot several wedding dresses, including one from the British designer. Bradshaw receives the Westwood dress 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 clothes remained popular until her death. It is also because the new generation of stars like to wear her designs. Zendaya, Dua Lipa, Timothée Chamalet and muse Bella Hadid: They’re all regularly spotted in a Westwood design (probably made before they were born).
The Gen Z generation (born between 1997 and 2012) is running away with Westwood. Via TikTok, you can see that there is a hunt for a pearl chain (a ‘choker’ that fits tightly around the neck), which the designer launched in 1990.
Nineties clothing will be popular again in 2022, which is why many young fashion enthusiasts will want to get their hands on a second-hand item from Westwood. But for a corset you can easily put down a few thousand euros, while the chain is more affordable.
In any case, Westwood’s death will not mean the end of her clothes. Even at the age of 81, she was still active as a designer, and the demand for her clothes in (recycled) shops will only increase after her death.
“There’s an age-old idea that artists have a lot of energy in their younger years and become dull 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 fridge: you have to keep shopping to keep it full.”