Westwood: Still Kicking Fashionable Ass at 70 Fashion for Beauty

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Westwood: Still Kicking Fashionable Ass at 70

Posted April 11th, 2011 by Alana Strange No Comments »

Despite the fact that she turns 70 this week, Dame Vivienne Westwood is more vibrant and daring than many women half her age. With her bright hair and pale skin she is instantly recognisable in photographs and, despite never trying to appear any younger than she actually is, Westwood always looks fantastic. Who says that dressing creatively is just for the young? Having recently opened a new LA store and launched a new jewellery collection, this woman also seems to never stop working. I think we could all take one or two tips from her!

A love of clothing and fashion that had been put aside in order to train as a schoolteacher, was rekindled when the young Vivienne met Malcom McLaren in the 1960s and then helped him to create clothes for the King’s Road boutique that he opened in 1971. Let It Rock sold vintage vinyl and reproduction 50s garments that Westwood made by de-constructing original pieces in order to create a pattern. By the time the shop was re-named Sex, Westwood was creating daring original clothing designs – based on concepts jointly conceived with McLaren - plus she was dressing the Sex Pistols who, understandably, drew much media attention to their store.

After helping to define the punk look of the 70s, Westwood went on to create catwalk collections in the early 1980s that helped shape the New Romantic era, with McLaren even creating a band – the eccentric Bow Wow Wow - in order to further promote her designs. During the late 80s and early 90s, her style moved more towards clothing that drew from classical paintings and traditional upper class British dress, which cemented her as a firm favourite with fashionistas around the globe even before Naomi Campbell famously fell off a pair of her platform shoes on the catwalk in her A/W 1993 Anglomania show.

This century she hasn’t slowed down with further fashion collections, new stores, design collaborations and even a major exhibition of her work at the Victoria & Albert Museum. She has inspired Gwen Stefani to start her own fashion label, dressed Carrie Bradshaw, Dita von Teese and Cristina Hendricks, plus has collaborated with Melissa to bring us all an affordable piece of her design whilst simultaneously making our feet smell of bubblegum.

Throughout her career she has also personally challenged what is expected of her - from dressing as Margaret Thatcher on the cover of Tatler, to telling everyone that she collected her OBE without wearing any knickers and, more recently, simply saying what everyone else was thinking about Kate Middleton’s style being rather unadventurous. However, despite the fact that many artists and designers seem to dress and act to shock or draw attention to themselves and their work, you really do get the feeling that Westwood simply does what she wants to do. How can we not admire a woman like that?

Vivienne Westwood has inspired many people throughout her career and has influenced fashion, music and modern culture far more than most. Never one to sit back and relax, she keeps the creative fires burning and shows us that you really can run a large fashion business in a way that’s anything but bland. Happy Birthday Dame Vivienne – we shall raise a glass or two in your honour. Here’s to yet another decade of fun and creativity!

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