For the birthday of the rebel — the main milestones of her work

Vivienne Westwood turns 81 on April 8 — the most shocking, odious and scandalous person in English fashion. Her antics shocked the prim British society, but everyone forgave her for her talent. We recall five significant moments in the career of today’s birthday girl.

Granny punk

Vivienne Westwood began creating her first shocking and scandalous collections at the dawn of the 70s. They were sold in a small shop in the Chelsea district of London, which the designer opened with her husband Malcolm McLaren, one of the founders of the Sex Pistols group. It was then that perhaps the loudest revolution in the history of fashion began – the birth of a new style that changed the appearance of residents not only of London, but of the whole world. Due to Westwood’s decisive role in this process, she is still called the «grandmother of punk».

God save the Queen

In 1977, the punk band Sex Pistols released the single «God save the Queen», timed to coincide with the release of the 25th anniversary of the coronation of Elizabeth II, and their faithful stylist and muse Vivienne Westwood designed shocking costumes for musicians in honor of this event — printed T-shirts on which the queen was depicted with her mouth pierced with a pin. To say that the prim English society was shocked by such audacity is to say nothing. It is all the more surprising that 15 years later, in 1992, Westwood received the Order of the British Empire from Elizabeth herself. Leaving Buckingham Palace, the designer famously circled in front of photographers to demonstrate that she had no underwear under a long skirt worn according to strict regulations. And she got away with it, too!

The Time Machine

Since the early 1980s, Westwood has somewhat cooled down to the punk and pornographic films that glorified her, but she has developed a passionate love for historical costume. Her pirate and Edwardian collections inspired followers of her style many years later, including John Galliano, Marc Jacobs, Alexander McQueen and many other designers. In 1987, Westwood presented to the audience a collection of «Time Machine» based on costumes of the XIX century. The main model presented on the catwalk was the Statue of Liberty corset — this was the first precedent in the history of fashion when this item of clothing was flaunted, and not positioned as underwear. It was another — not so large-scale, but no less significant — fashion revolution made by Vivienne Westwood.

Falling off the pedestal

«I put women on a pedestal,» Vivienne Westwood said in 1993 and released models on the catwalk in incredible shoes with 25-centimeter heels. Maybe the shoes themselves wouldn’t have made such a splash if it hadn’t been for supermodel Naomi Campbell, who fell from this «pedestal» right during her exit and managed to get to her feet far from the first attempt.

That hat

Perhaps the most famous creation of the designer today is the Mountain hat, created in 1982 for the Nostalgia of Mud collection. This extravagant accessory was given a second life by Pharrell Williams, who first appeared in it at the Grammy ceremony in early 2014. Since then, the musician has not parted with an outrageous headdress. The model is inspired by the hats of Peruvian women, its height is 20.5 cm. By the way, Pharrell’s hat even has its own Twitter account, which is subscribed to by more than 20 thousand people.

Some more interesting facts about the designer:

• Westwood is the surname of the first husband of Vivienne Isabelle Swire, with whom she lived for only three years.;
• Vivien worked as a primary school teacher for several years;
• Vivien’s eldest son Benjamin became a successful erotic photographer;
• Westwood’s youngest son Joseph is the founder of the famous underwear brand Agent Provocateur;
• In 2007, Westwood was awarded a prestigious award for her contribution to the development of fashion at the British Fashion Awards ceremony, but the designer could not get on stage when her name was called because she was in the toilet;
• In 2012, the designer asked all the guests sitting in the front row of her show to wear T-shirts with the image of Julian Assange;
• In 2013, Westwood created costumes for the troupe of the English National Ballet.

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