Vivienne Westwood was born in England (Cheshire) in 1941. I imagine growing up there and then, with all the post-war shortages and upheaval had a bit to do with her attitude, once she got rolling.
She studied art at several schools, rattling around between colleges, and actually taught grade school for a while (good grief), before, in 1971, she was able to quit teaching and sell her designs exclusively in a shop owned by her husband (boyfriend? Were they ever married?), Malcom McLaren.
In 1975, Westwood and McLaren were fined for indecent exposure, and fame was theirs.
After some reshuffling at the shop (it changed names quite a few times) and I imagine some time spent learning the more formal fashion biz (you know, where you have clothes manufactured and name lines of it and do marketing and all that), Westwood had her first show, the Pirate collection show, in March of 1981.
After that, well, Westwood's collections pretty much set the standard for street wear. All those years in the eighties, we wore ripped jeans and plaid? That's 'cause Westwood put them in her collections. Another hugehugehuge impact she had?
In 1987 she began selling corsets as outerwear. According to people who know (the V&A Museum), she was the first person to do that.
What always amazes me about Westwood is that
only fashion geeks have heard of her. She's the one who made all the
clothes we wear cool, has pretty much dictated street fashion for forty
years, but if you challenged someone to name a fashion designer, most
everyday people would never think of her.
Here's some more of her work. Enjoy.
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