Vivienne Westwood (Vivienne Isabelle Swire) was born in 1941 in the English town of Glossop (Derbyshire), where her parents owned a post office. At the age of 17, she and her family moved to London. After graduating from Teachers College, Vivienne studied for one semester at the art school in Harrow. She changed her name after marrying dance hall manager Derek Westwood, gave birth to a child and worked at school as a teacher. But it is no coincidence that Westwood was awarded the nickname “Queen of scandal” – a decent life was not her element.
In the early 1970s, there was a significant meeting for Vivienne with a student who studied art history, the future inspirer of the punk style and producer of the infamous Sex Pistols group Malcolm McLaren, with whom Westwood was together for 13 years. He became her “spiritual father” and became interested in design. In 1971, Westwood and McLaren opened a clothing store on Kings Road in Chelsea. They were among the first to feel the decline of the hippie era and began to look for new styles, inspired by youth subcultures and spontaneous street fashion. In 1974, the boutique was renamed Sex: this store sold “rubber clothes” and clothing in the style of “punk”. Of course, Westwood was not the creator of punk, but she was the first to turn to the aesthetics of shock and shock, using not only the recognizable attributes of punk look, but also eclecticism, parody of traditions, shocking punks, transferring them to the field of clothing design. Her clothes make her stand out from the crowd.
Since 1981, Westwood has been creating clothing collections under his own name, participating in London pret-a-porter weeks, and since 1983 in Paris shows. In 1981, she renamed her boutique again, this time the End of the World. Instead of street fashion, she turned to the art of cutting and was fascinated by the transformations of historical costume. In the 1980s, the Westwood collections spawned new styles in fashion: “New Romantics” (using Soviet symbols), “Pirates”. In the collections of “Savages” and “Strayers” appeared the style of “rags and holes”. In the decade of the domination of luxury classics and prestigious brands, Westwood showed collections of parody of fashionable clothes: seams outward, holes and loose loops, bag hats decorated with feathers, the hair of models is stained with dirt. In 1982, Westwood featured underwear (bras) worn over blouses, beginning the trend of underwear transformations (Gothier created his corsets in 1983, and in popular fashion this trend only manifested itself in the 1990s). In 1984, she opened a second store in London called Mud Longing. This year, there were models on the theme of historical costume - lush short skirts "mini-crini" (mini-crinoline), corsages with sloping shoulders and thin waists. But the biggest scandalous effect was produced by models in which the royal theme was played out: a jersey with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II with an English pin in the lip caused shock.
For provocations, parodies and attempts on the foundations of fashion, not everyone noticed the virtuoso cut of models, inventive finishes, impeccable performance and the fact that, unlike the models of many male designers, these things adorn a woman. In 1990 and 1991, Westwood was named “Best Designer of the Year” in Britain. At the same time, it did not seek commercial success for a long time, cherishing its independence. In the nineties, the designer turned to the historical theme, showing ironic models reminiscent of the fashion of the XVIII – XIX centuries, stating that “the only way to the future is to look back.” This idea is also present in the design of her boutique "End of the World", the facade of which is decorated with a clock going in the opposite direction.
In relation to the body, Westwood showed herself to be a real fetishist, emphasizing with the help of a cut or lining, a corset or decolletage all erogenous zones. She herself wore such dresses and costumes, showing the possibility of using frame forms in modern clothes.
Vivienne Westwood's style is the antipode to the minimalism of the 1990s, and it was at this time that commercial success came to her. She began to sell licenses and released perfume "Boudoir", which still bring stable profits. Thanks to new financial partners, several collections are being produced: Vivienne Westwood gold label (clothing almost “haute couture” with the use of handmade, exclusive fabrics and finishes), Vivienne Westwood red label (collections of women’s clothing for young people), Vivienne Westwood Man (men’s clothes), Anglomania (daily clothes in the style of unisex), Man (men’s clothes). Against the background of collections of young avant-garde designers, V. Westwood models are already perceived as almost classical and reviving forgotten traditions of chic and elegance, and her clients are now not only fans of the underground, but also members of the royal family.
Source: www.fashionbank.ru
Official website: www.viviennewestwood.com