Vivienne Westwood: Designers on her influence and legacy

Dame Vivienne Westwood's decease has sparked a flood of tributes from the manner world, with chap designers and supermodels remembering her arsenic a British icon.

Since then, names from wrong and beyond the manufacture person been remembering the 81-year-old who went from pioneering punk manner successful the mid-1970s to dressing immoderate of the biggest stars.

Westwood's admirers span generations - but they each person 1 happening successful common: their admiration for her and the apparel she made.

Dame Zandra Rhodes, a manner and textiles elephantine successful the UK, says she was amazed by the quality of Westwood's decease - peculiarly due to the fact that she had not expected to outlive the designer.

The 82 twelvemonth aged credited Westwood with "revitalising thoroughfare fashion" and turning it into thing "totally different".

"We'd had angiosperm power... past abruptly you had this precise hard-hitting punk," Rhodes said of Westwood's entranceway onto the manner scene.

The 60s and 70s were "incredibly vibrant times," she recalled, saying Westwood would beryllium remembered for starting a "revolution that turned swinging London into punk London".

"She was ever powerfully connected the ball," Rhodes said, adding that with the apparel came Westwood's activism.

"I anticipation erstwhile I disappear, I'll beryllium thought of arsenic warring for what I believed in," she said.

While the brace mostly saw eye-to-eye and person often been compared to 1 another, Rhodes, clad with her trademark pinkish hair. said determination were times they did not agree.

"We did person somewhat of a clash astatine 1 point," she said, "when I was doing chic punk and she utilized to accidental 'That's not punk, with those jewelled information pins'."

Westwood stayed hard and punchy until the end, Rhodes added. "She ne'er minced her words."

Leesa Bertram, a Manchester-based manner designer, wanted to beryllium successful the manufacture since the property of four.

"When Vivienne, a chap bluish girl, made it, she became my inspiration," Bertram told BBC News.

"I loved everything astir her - particularly the information she didn't attraction what radical thought," she said, recalling a clip she watched Westwood unrecorded successful conversation.

Bertram, 42, founded her online covering institution Pretty Disturbia successful 2008, which sells affordable, punk-inspired pieces.

"It's a motion to her - the tartan, the punky skulls - it's everything she was about."

Bertram's designs see skull-embellished harvest tops to tartan babe grows.

"From the infinitesimal I decided to acceptable the concern up, I knew I wanted it to beryllium inspired by Vivienne," she said, "just astatine a cheaper terms point".

Remembering Derbyshire-born Westwood arsenic an "inspirational person", Bertram joked she would "always beryllium carrying a spot of Viv" with her, referring to the information she has the designer's celebrated logo tattooed connected 1 of her hands.

Fashion decorator Matty Bovan archetypal discovered Westwood arsenic a teen erstwhile helium spotted her enactment successful an contented of manner mag Vogue. Her content connected him would spell connected to beryllium profound.

"When I archetypal saw Vivienne's apparel successful existent beingness it was successful her store successful Liverpool, and I had ne'er ever seen specified fabrics and shapes until that day," says the 32-year-old based successful York. "She changed my life."

Inspired by Westwood, Bovan went connected to survey astatine renowned London manner schoolhouse Central Saint Martins and present designs apparel worn by the likes of Naomi Campbell and Rita Ora.

Describing Westwood's allure, Matty explains: "She rewrote the full publication of what modern manner is, from everything to the cutting, to the usage of sportswear, to each the humanities references, to each the English textiles and craft.

"Without her the satellite of modern manner would look wholly different."

He added: "When you spot a Vivienne Westwood piece, it's thing you ne'er knew you wanted, and that's specified a uncommon gift. "

Matty, who had Westwood ticker his Milan manner show, added helium was "heartbroken" astatine her decease but says her bequest volition unrecorded on.