The British designer passed away at the age of 81
One of the biggest names in world fashion – Vivienne Westwood, died at the age of 81. The legendary British woman was in her last minutes at her home in Clapman, South London, surrounded by those closest to her. The sad news was announced on her Instagram account.
Vivienne Westwood has been called the third Queen of Great Britain. After Margaret Thatcher and the real one – Elizabeth II, who at an official ceremony in 1993 awarded the fashion designer the Order of the British Empire. Her son Prince Charles later gave her the English peerage of Lady.
Westwood is the creator of the punk style, which started precisely from England –
its main purpose is to shock,
rather than following certain aesthetic norms.
The designer falls into fashion quite by accident. One day, Malcolm MacLaren, a friend of hers who is a Sephardic Jew from Portugal studying art history in London, asks her for a favor. He wants Vivian to help him design a small shop. The original idea was to sell old gramophone records with rock and roll tracks in it. This happens at the end of the 60s, when this music is absolutely forbidden to be distributed on radio and television.
By this time, she had already quit her job as a primary school teacher and had one failed marriage – to Sam Westwood, from whom she inherited the surname by which she became famous. They are divorcing after 3 years of marriage. They have a son – Ben Westwood, who is a fashion photographer and shoots porn films.
As a single mother who does not work, she accepts the offer of McLaren, with whom she also has an intimate relationship. They opened the store in 1970. The premises have a shocking interior – from the windows you can see mannequins without heads, which are arranged like in an orgy. Passers-by need courage to even enter there. The famous store still exists today under the name “The End of the World”.
In those years, Westwood and McLaren broke all social taboos, especially with their infamous t-shirts with inscriptions that ridiculed government policy. By the way, this continues to be the trademark of the designer. A month ago, she presented her latest cold-weather collection at London Fashion Week wearing a white “I’m Julian Assange” t-shirt. The slogan is located on the image of the founder of “Wikileaks” – this is the site that publishes compromising and secret documents that expose scandals and corruption schemes.
In January in the English capital, she was not arrested, but 40 years ago she went to prison because of a similar T-shirt. This, of course, turns out to be very good publicity, and her successful career begins.
In 1975, her friend founded the punk group “Sex Pistols” – McLaren was their producer, and Vivian was responsible for the design of their stage costumes. Then she also registered a trademark of her own name – “Vivian Westwood”. Her name became so popular on the Island that she was invited to present her first ready-to-wear collection – literally translated from French as “ready to wear” – these are clothes that are made in large quantities, but are as expensive as the unique ones. For the review she
mainly sews corsets
and crinolines,
all inspired by history. And no wonder – she missed all this in childhood. She grew up in an industrial area in Derbyshire, England. Her father is a worker in a sausage factory, and her mother is a saleswoman. As a child, Vivian never once went to the theater or a museum.
She became interested in art after meeting McLaren. And just when she was named one of the 5 best designers in the world in 1984, the two parted ways. They have a son, Joseph Corey – he is the founder of the famous company “Ajon provocateur”, which sells underwear in 13 countries. Recently, the company has become famous for its nipple balms. In 2007, a private equity fund bought 80% of the company’s shares for £60 million.
Meanwhile, Westwood became professor of fashion at the Vienna Academy of Applied Arts. There she fell in love with her student – the Austrian Andreas Kronthaler. She married him in 1992 and immediately brought him into her business to be in charge of the brand’s men’s collections.
After their meeting, she also developed a new niche in her collections – bridal dresses. One of her most famous models was created for the character of Sarah Jessica Parker – Carrie Bradshaw, in the movie “Sex and the City”, which was released in 2008.
The dress is made of thick silk
with golden threads,
and its price is $ 9875. In the plot of the film, Carrie never married Tuzarya, but the dress became the most sought-after wedding outfit.
The fall – that’s what the fashion world calls the moment when Naomi Campbell is declared a supermodel. 30 years ago, the Afro-Jamaican beauty took to the catwalk in blue crocodile skin shoes and 25cm heels. While parading with them, he trips and falls on stage.
After this case, Campbell became one of the most expensively paid models in the world, and the designer of the iconic shoes was Vivienne Westwood.
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