Vivienne Westwood’s Enduring Legacy

A creator, an icon, a patron, an activist, and a person with such significant influence: Lots of remarkable people come to mind when it comes to the fashion industry but the one that stands out most of all is the legendary Vivienne Westwood. Her contribution to the punk movement and how she used her brand for activism was such a powerhouse move in the industry.
Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood was born on April 8, 1941, in Tintwistle, England. Born into modest circumstances, she was raised by her cobbler father and factory worker mother before moving to London with her family to attend the University of Westminster.

She took jewelry classes there, but quit due to despair, believing she couldn’t make a livelihood doing art. She instead went on to work in a factory and later as a teacher until 1971, but everything changed when she met Malcolm McLaren in the 1970s, both personally and professionally.  

In 1971, Westwood partnered with McLaren to open a shop that went through several rebranding and names before they discovered a new concept that truly expressed themselves: SEX, where they sold S&M-inspired clothing and where Westwood designed and styled for the Sex Pistols, a red-hot punk band that McLaren also managed until 1976.

SEX was the epicenter of the punk fashion scene, where many young punks hung around, worked, or bought clothes when they could afford them. Punk itself, the fashion and lifestyle, was the product of a newly influential way for the youth of British society to rebel against older generations and their traditional and oppressive ideas.

According to The Metropolitan Museum in New York City (aka The MET, where the MET Gala is held and all your favorite celebs dress up to the nines), Westwood is to be given credit as the creator of punk fashion. Her contribution and interpretation of punk fashion was a revamp of English looks, taking traditional and historical styles and materials and deconstructing them. This established the punk scene’s aesthetic, and it has had a significant impact on the fashion industry.

Later, after making such a big contribution to the punk movement through designing clothes and styling tons of punk icons, Westwood and McLaren would split. This gave Westwood the freedom and absolute power to build a brand for herself, and along came the Vivienne Westwood company. This business was unlike anything seen before. Westwood made a habit of using her collections and catwalk presentations to promote positive social change – throughout her career, she repeatedly attacked climate change, overconsumption, predatory capitalism, and human rights crises. For example, in 2013 as an ambassador for Greenpeace she designed the official “Save the Arctic” logo to spread awareness on climate change and environmental awareness.

She also served as a trustee for human rights organizations Liberty and Reprieve, campaigned on behalf of Amnesty International, and worked on numerous United Nations projects.

Westwood took the risk of being judged and was her authentic self – and we see this with up-and-coming designers today and other older designers who have also become their authentic selves and spoke up for themselves, their communities, and other communities or against harmful ideas they don’t support.

Westwood died on Dec. 29, 2022, and seeing her funeral, you could tell and feel how much of an impact she had, whether you were part of the fashion community or not. It was almost like Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral, in that it drew countless celebrities, fellow designers and major media attention.

Even though this legend has died, her ideas, practices, and impacts still live on. For more information on Vivienne Westwood, I recommend going to Google Arts and Culture to see the more profound positions and projects that she invested in throughout her long career.

Danielle Kennedy