By ALFREDO MENDOZA
Staff Writer
Societal Norms Fight Back (And Loose)
Vivienne at this point was a storm to be reckoned with. She introduced punk into the mainstream, pushed boundaries, introduced revolutionary clothing designs, and showed us the power that being provocative has all while opening up to philanthropy. All this boundary-pushing wasn’t gone without notice and it caused her trouble with societal norms. For example, she expressed that the panel for the Global Fashion Awards refused to rightfully award her with the British Designer of the year award due to her work to bring the alternative lifestyle to light. It wasn’t until designers got together to refuse the award as a collective that it would inevitably go to the only deserving candidate who was Vivienne Westwood in 1990 and in 1991. Now as a celebrity, she was still fighting the patriarchy off the runway pushing new-age ideas that influenced the masses in very controversial ways. This made her a name to talk about, you see the mainstream was trying to reap the benefits that punk had on the media all while suppressing it. This inevitably turned Vivienne into a fighter, fighting for everything under the sun. Including human rights.
How Vivienne Rose and Never fell
She worked to become a global phenomenon and that’s exactly what she accomplished. The 90s was a very good year for the brand. She released her first store in Japan and changed Japanese street style for good adding alternative punk style into the mix. In 1992 she released an iconic wedding dress line that added to her success and made brides’ everywhere dreams come true. In 1996 she debuted a revolutionary menswear line that had all the elements we loved from the brand along with a fragrance line. Soon after a diffusion line and a ready-to-wear line were born along with the grand opening of many stores, most notably one in New York. All the success in the 90s did not come without the help of some iconic models. It has been said that she was too underfunded to pay them but they still walked her runways because of the good relationships with each and every one. This was the birth of press-shaking moments like a topless Kate Moss eating an ice cream cone on the runway and Naomi Campbell’s fall into ballet shoes. The clothes she made also played a big part. Some of the most iconic items being duplicated today are the Saturn-pearl necklace, the renaissance inspired Vivienne Westwood corset, preppy Scottish plaid attire, and vulgar graphic t-shirts. I am convinced that everyone reading this has at least one item, something similar, or even something inspired by this iconic designer. Her brilliance left a legacy.
Buy Less- Buy Well
It would be a travesty if I wrote about Vivienne Westwood and didn’t mention her cunning social activism. Fierce social activism was always something embedded in the brand, it was always about fighting the patriarchy. She was well known for her outrageous protests like protesting from a giant bird cage to show support for an imprisoned Julian Assange. She wasn’t just there for human rights either but environmentalism as well, which gave birth to her iconic slogan ¨buy less, buy well¨. This slogan took fashion’s biggest and most wasteful flaw and turned it around. She overall promoted overconsumption to reduce the waste that clothes make. She always did what she could for the causes she deeply cared about whether it was marching for rights or using her brand to speak out she was always there. Using her brand meant so much more than you would think, she was risking her reputation and career all because she saw injustice. That’s one thing we could all take from her life, her humility.
The End of a Reign
Dame Vivienne Westwood was and has always been a queen. She reigned over punk, fashion, Scottish wear, models, runways, brilliance, social activism, and probably much more. On December 29th, 2022, in Clapham town London, we lost an influential, strong, and iconic Vivienne Westwood. She lived her life with strength, always fighting for her dreams. She taught the world so much and influenced us in all the right directions. She gave the gift of self to anyone who wanted it. Self-love, self-expression, self-power. All along fighting for basic human rights no matter the cost. She was a Dame of the people who never lost sight of who she was and what she worked towards. That’s who Vivienne Westwood was.