Vivienne Westwood died at the age of 81.
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who melded music and fashion together to help define punk and brought rebellious politics to the catwalk, died on Thursday aged 81, her family said. Ms Westwood dressed some of the biggest stars in fashion.
Here are five points on Vivienne Westwood:
- Ms Westwood was born in Derbyshire on April 8, 1941 to a mother who worked in a cotton mill and a father who mended shoes. Her family moved to London in 1957, as per The Guardian, where she attended art school for one term. Ms Westwood was a self-taught designer with no formal fashion training.
- She made her own tailored suits as a teenager and studied jewellery in London, but quickly dropped out. Vivienne Westwood became a primary school teacher, married factory worker Derek Westwood and had a son by the time she was 22.
- She got separated from her husband a few years later and started working with band manager Malcolm McLaren. The duo opened their first clothing shop named 'Let It Rock' on King's Road in Chelsea in early 1970s, according to a BBC report. Many people started visiting the shop regularly, including punk band Sex Pistols, who were managed by McLaren. They shot to fame in 1976 wearing Westwood and McLaren's designs, said the BBC.
- The shop morphed over time, but at its peak, under the name "SEX", the ripped t-shirts, latex and leather bondage gear became the provocative uniform of a generation set on tearing down the last cultural taboos.
- Her first proper fashion show came in 1981. Remembered as the Pirate Collection, it was an instant hit. By the 2000s, she was a full-fledged celebrity, designing wedding dresses not just for the elite, but for iconic TV characters.
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