By ALFREDO MENDOZA3
Staff Writer
Vivienne Westwood
The impact the late Vivienne Westwood had on the fashion world was nothing short of astonishing. Not only did she bring the 70s punk subculture into a new light she did it all with grace, style, and a heart of gold. Not just the British public but the entire world sees Westwood as the revered humanitarian she was. Not to mention her brilliant mind when it came to fabrics, styles, trends, and anything to do with fashion. She has been and will forever be a legend in this industry doing absolutely all the right things for society. But how was she able to live the glamorous and successful life we knew her to experience?
Early life
Funnily enough, she started her youthful years as a factory worker which then turned into teaching at an elementary school in the UK. Even though she was teaching she knew that the occupation wasn’t for her. You see, she always fantasized about a creative life with clothing but her fear held her back from pursuing anything. So she settled down, still, outside of school hours she had her very own creative outlet. She began making jewelry and selling it all while marrying someone and having a baby. The home life as you could probably presume wasn’t meant for her either. It was as if she was filling her life with attainable yet undesirable goals to fill the hole that only fashion could fill.
The start of her fashion career
She soon enough met a fashion designer named Malcolm Mclaren through her brother Gordan Sawyer and this was the door that showed her the light. She learned how attainable her real dreams could be and this opened a flood of new opportunities. She soon after left her husband and started a relationship with Malcolm himself. She didn’t completely dive into the fashion industry but made all the clothes for herself and her boyfriend Malcolm. Eventually, a boutique owner noticed Malcolm wearing her designs and offered them a space in the store. The influential store was called ¨Paradise Garage¨ and it was run by Trevor Miles who was the first store to import deadstock denim in the UK at the time. Deadstock denim is recycled denim and it was his belief that there was a surplus of clothes and that we should recycle to limit waste and landfill. This is something that stuck with Vivienne and made her the humanitarian we know her as. She bought the store later and was getting so popular that she was struggling to keep up with demand as she would design everything in the store. Her early designs consisted of adult graphics, violent imagery, and rebellion to promote the idea of fighting the patriarchy. This fashion was important for youth to rebel against the economic hardship and police brutality of the time. She was so successful with her new designs that she was able to quit her teaching job. A lot of the early brand was affiliated with the style aesthetic started by ¨The Teddy Boys¨ a gang who turned out to be racist. Because of this she no longer wanted to associate with that style so she rebranded. A short-lived James Dean reference with a skull was chosen and even though it didn’t last long as a brand name it lived on being a recurring symbol in VW fashion. The name was finally ¨SEX¨ a spunky, short, and punk-inspired name that was well-received by the subculture in England. It was the perfect way to get publicity whether you loved the name or thought of it as vulgar, you were talking about it. This then inspired an entirely new era for the store, they cultivated an even punkier element drawing in a dedicated alt crowd. The people were obsessed with the crudeness of it all. They wanted distressed clothes, fetish wear, and all the punk they could get their hands on. Soon Vivienne’s store was the most successful clothing brand in all of England. This ended up producing a widely loved band who you may know as ¨The Sex Pistols¨. The band was made of people affiliated with the store, with Malcom managing it and Vivienne dressing it they took the UK by storm making it a legendary band around the world. This was the first time a music band was so heavily tied to a fashion label making both revolutionary. When the band broke apart she was still unknown by the public, but the high popularity made her ambition grow. She knew she was exactly what fashion needed. She pushed boundaries and her company pushed for her to be known as what she was and always will be, a legendary designer.