Vivienne Westwood

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Westwood was born in Hollingworth, Cheshire, on 8 April 1941, the daughter of Gordon Swire and Dora Swire. Her father worked as a storekeeper in an aircraft factory and had previously been a greengrocer. The family moved to Harrow, Greater London, in 1958. She studied jewellery and silversmith at Harrow Art School but left after one term, later training as a teacher at Trent Park Teacher Training College and working as a primary-school teacher. She married Derek Westwood in 1962 and had a son, Benjamin, in 1963. After meeting Malcolm McLaren, her marriage ended. She and McLaren moved to Thurleigh Court in Clapham, where their son Joseph Corré was born in 1967. Westwood continued teaching until 1971 while creating clothes that McLaren designed. Together they ran a boutique on King's Road, which became known as Sex. Their ability to synchronise clothing and music shaped the 1970s UK punk scene, which included McLaren's band, the Sex Pistols. Westwood viewed punk as a way of 'seeing if one could put a spoke in the system'. Westwood opened four shops in London and eventually expanded throughout Britain and the world. Her designs during the punk era and thereafter were informed by historicism; the V&A described her as 'a meticulous researcher'. She began challenging gender norms and promoting experimentation in her designs. After her partnership with McLaren dissolved, she continued showing collections under the Worlds End label. Her later merchandise promoted political causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change and civil rights groups.

Reader's Guide

Vivienne Westwood's significance lies in her role as a primary architect of punk fashion, which she developed alongside Malcolm McLaren through their King's Road boutique. The boutique, which changed names from Let It Rock to Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die to Sex to Seditionaries, became a meeting place for the London punk scene and helped define the punk look at the moment it exploded in popularity. Her designs—such as bondage trousers covered with straps to restrict, unravelling loose-knit jumpers made of mohair, and long-sleeved tops with fastenings to the sleeves to give the effect of a straight-jacket—became archetypal punk staples. Westwood's work reflected the economic, social, and political contexts of 1970s Britain, coinciding with a disillusioned youth. She later shifted inspiration to the 18th century, particularly Pirates and the Incroyables and merveilleuses, a radical movement amongst nobles who had survived the French Revolution. Her legacy includes expanding throughout Britain and the world, selling merchandise that promoted political causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change, and civil rights groups. Sky Arts ranked her the 4th most influential artist in Britain of the past 50 years in 2022.

Did You Know?

• Westwood made her own wedding dress when she married Derek Westwood on 21 July 1962.
• Her boutique on King's Road changed names several times: Let It Rock, Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, Sex, and Seditionaries.
• The V&A described Westwood as 'a meticulous researcher' for her historicist approach to design.
• Westwood's mini-crini, introduced from 1985 to 1987, combined the Victorian crinoline with the miniskirt.
• In 2022, Sky Arts ranked her the 4th most influential artist in Britain of the past 50 years.