Vivienne Westwood
Vivienne Westwood is a British clothes designer. She was born in Glossop, Derbyshire in 1941 and moved to London at the age of 17.
In 1966, she met the impresario Malcolm McLaren. In 1971 she began designing clothes at their shop, simply named "SEX", introducing leather and rubber bondage gear, latex lounge dresses and provocatively printed t-shirts. The shop was a staple of the newly forming punk scene, from which a few years later the gothic and fetish scenes emerged.
In 1977 "SEX" was renamed "Seditionaries". In 1980, the shop was again renamed as "World's End".
When McLaren wanted to give it up, Westwood held onto it and began to design her own label. Her designs changed and her interest in 18th century paintings greatly influenced her designs. She introduced Scarlett O'Hara gowns, netted petticoats, hourglass figures and pelvis-skimming micro-crinoline miniskirts. Historical interpretation became her trademark.
She is the mother of photographer Ben Westwood.
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