Vivienne Westwood: Pioneering fashion deser dies aged 81



28 minutes agoSharenear panelShare pageCopy hyperlinkAbout sharingImage source, By Andre Rhoden-PaulBBC News

British benignant dressmaker Dame Vivienne Westwood has died aged eighty one.

In a announcement connected Twitter, her manner location said she died "peacefully and surrounded" by means of her ain household successful Clapham, southbound London.

Westwood made her telephone on with her arguable punk and caller question patterns wrong the 1970s and went straight to formal immoderate of the biggest names successful style.

Her hubby and originative companion Andreas Kronthaler said: "I volition proceed with Vivienne successful my heart.

"We had been moving till the springiness up and she has fixed maine plentifulness of things to get connected with."

Westwood came to prominence astatine the manner country successful the Nineteen Seventies, unneurotic with her androgynous dess, slogan T-shirts and irreverent mindset toward the establishment.

She became known arsenic a staunch activistic and taken reasons she cared approximately, similar upwind alternate, to the catwalk.

The manner deser turned into made a Dame for offerings to manner successful 2006.

Image supply, PA Media

Derbyshire-born Westwood worked arsenic a fig 1 schoolhouse trainer, earlier than mounting up covering store Let It Rock connected King's Road successful Chelsea unneurotic with her past spouse Malcolm McLaren successful the aboriginal Nineteen Seventies.

The commercialized endeavor changed into aboriginal renamed Sex and successful overdue 1975, McLaren began coping with a punk stone set made from store regulars - the Sex Pistols. They changeable to estimation sporting Westwood and McLaren's dess.

Tributes person commenced to determination successful for the mythical clothier from the arena of favor, authorities and showbusiness.

Fashion manner deser and Spice Girl Victoria Beckham paid tribute to Westwood, announcing: "I'm truthful unhappy to probe of the passing of mythical clothier and activistic Dame Vivienne Westwood.

"My thoughts are with her ellipse of relatives astatine this beauteous unhappy time."

Singer Billy Idol, who discovered repute connected the London punk opus scene, tweeted: "RIP it's going to instrumentality maine a spot to instrumentality this in…".

The Victoria and Albert Museum, which homes immoderate of her works, described Westwood arsenic a "actual innovative and rebellious unit successful fashion".

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, The dressmaker was made a Dame for services to manner successful 2006.

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan wrote connected Twitter: "A bittersweet day, Vivienne Westwood changed into and volition stay a towering fig successful British fashion.

"Her punk manner rewrote the regularisation e publication successful the 1970s and turned into broadly fashionable for the mode she stayed existent to her precise ain values each done her existence."

Co-leader of the Green Party Caroline Lucas stated: "Such a legend, a large notion, brilliantly innovative and perpetually a committed activistic for quality beings and satellite - my thoughts are on with her ellipse of relatives and buddies - RIP."

Westwood's aboriginal dess were often worn via celebrated faces. They covered exemplary Dita Von Teese who dressed successful her reddish robe to wed vocalist Marilyn Manson, and Princess Eugenie who wore 3 Westwood dess for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine.

As decently arsenic clime change, the deser became a vocal protagonist for the discharge of WikiLeaks laminitis Julian Assange, who's combating extradition to the United States to basal costs nether the Espionage Act. In July 2020, she dressed successful canary yellowish successful a ample hen cage caution implicit an Assange "stitch up".

Dame Vivienne Westwood - the godmother of punk