She made the rebellion of the punk generation socially acceptable. And not only that – she even made them all the rage.
Vivienne Westwood is dead. The British star designer died on Thursday at the age of 81 surrounded by her family.
In a post on Instagram, the company announced that Westwood has continued to work on the things she has loved so much for the past 60 years: fashion, art and a new book. “The world needs people like Vivienne to make the world a better place.”
Naomi Campbell’s (52) unforgettable fall in 1993 with platform shoes at a Westwood show
She did it her own way. In the 1970s, Vivienne Westwood ran a boutique on London’s King’s Road with her partner Malcolm McLaren († 64), manager of the punk band Sex Pistols (“God Save The Queen”).
Her probably most legendary photo: Was snapped in 1992. Designer Vivienne Westwood poses wearing a long skirt but no panties in front of Buckingham Palace in London in December 1992. Shortly before, she had been honored with a medal by Queen Elizabeth II († 96).
1977: Westwood and her then partner and business partner Malcolm McLaren († 64), manager of the Sex Pistols
The daughter of a weaver and a shoemaker, Westwood worked as a primary school teacher in a small English town before she burst into the fashion world from underground. She was divorced at 24, mother of a son – and fell in love with 18-year-old McLaren.
From him she had her second son in 1967. She did her own tailoring for the family, gave up her teaching job in 1971 and switched to fashion.
Even into old age, she always dressed ahead of her time and had lived with the Austrian Andreas Kronthaler, who was 25 years her junior, for three decades.
With her Austrian husband Andreas Kronthaler (56), here at Milan Fashion Week 2012
Fashion czar Wolfgang Joop was a close friend of the designer.
He to BILD am SONNTAG: “I am deeply saddened. My generation is getting thinner and thinner. Vivienne and I had a very close relationship, she took over my professorship at the Berlin UdK. She guided the students with a firm hand. And it was fine like that.”
Joop also describes Westwood as an exceptional phenomenon: “She was a very political woman, I had to sign every one of her petitions. Vivienne was so brave, so determined and so educated. And she had a legendary sense of humor.
Deep friendship: Wolfgang Joop (78) and Vivienne Westwood
A woman once asked her what would look best on her. Vivienne only answered dryly: ‘Education’. People like her don’t exist anymore.” But Vivienne Westwood’s work will survive.
This article comes from BILD am SONNTAG. The ePaper of the entire issue is available here.
