Vivienne Westwood

About the book

Vivienne Westwood is one of the icons of our age. Fashion designer, activist, co-creator of punk, global brand and grandmother; a true living legend. Her career has successfully spanned five decades and her work has influenced millions of people across the world. For the first and only time, Vivienne Westwood has written a personal memoir, collaborating with award-winning biographer Ian Kelly, to describe the events, people and ideas that have shaped her extraordinary life. Told in all its glamour and glory, and with her unique voice, unexpected perspective and passionate honesty, this is her story.

Reviews

A book that feels like one long, fascinating gossip session with his subject and co-author, Ian Kelly chronicles the life of the designer who has had a an unparalleled impact on British fashion . . . A thorough and fitting tribute Press Association

Quotes

A book that feels like one long, fascinating gossip session with his subject and co-author, Ian Kelly chronicles the life of the designer who has had a an unparalleled impact on British fashion . . . A thorough and fitting tribute * Press Association * As a practised, deft biographer, [Ian Kelly]'s already given us flash-lit lives of Beau Brummell and Casanova - and is thus a perfect match for the Enlightenment figure Vivienne Westwood aspires to be. The book is billed "as told to", but one gets the impression it was one long stream-of-consciousness rant, careering off on an uproarious picaresque romp through a wild and often unaccountable life. Holding a legend to account is Kelly's dilemma - and his skill. He accomplishes it by the skin of his buckskin breeches, with a wit and humour of his own -- Philip Hoare * Telegraph * [Vivienne Westwood's] use of historical reference, combined with an ability to shock even the most jaded fashion pundits, ensures her place in fashion history. This autobiography reveals the woman behind the Dame -- Phyl Clarke * Irish Times * To categorise Vivienne Westwood as a radical, outspoken fashionista is to minimise her contribution to British style. Inspired by Malcolm McLaren, she dressed the dandies, media darlings and the whole punk generation. Here is her glorious statement of glamour and true confession * Saga *

Vivienne Westwood Biography

Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is an English fashion designer and businesswoman, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.Westwood came to public notice when she made clothes for the boutique that she and Malcolm McLaren ran on King's Road, which became known as SEX. Their ability to synthesise clothing and music shaped the 1970s UK punk scene which was dominated by McLaren's band, the Sex Pistols. She viewed punk as a way of "seeing if one could put a spoke in the system".Westwood opened four shops in London and eventually expanded throughout the United Kingdom and the world, selling an increasingly varied range of merchandise, some of which promoted her many political causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change and civil rights groups.

Life and career

Early years

Westwood was born in the village of Tintwistle, Cheshire, on 8 April 1941, as the daughter of Gordon Swire and Dora Swire (née Ball), who had married two years previously, two weeks after the outbreak of World War II. At the time of Vivienne's birth, her father was employed as a storekeeper in an aircraft factory; he had previously worked as a greengrocer.In 1958, her family moved to Harrow, Middlesex, and Westwood took a jewellery and silversmith course at the University of Westminster, then known as the Harrow Art School, but left after one term, saying: "I didn't know how a working-class girl like me could possibly make a living in the art world". After taking up a job in a factory and studying at a teacher-training college, she became a primary school teacher. During this period, she created her own jewellery, which she sold at a stall on Portobello Road.In 1962, she met Derek Westwood, a Hoover factory apprentice, in Harrow. They married on 21 July 1962; Westwood made her own wedding dress. In 1963, she gave birth to a son, Benjamin (Ben) Westwood.

Malcolm McLaren

Westwood's marriage to Derek ended after she met Malcolm McLaren. Westwood and McLaren moved into Thurleigh Court in Balham, where their son Joseph Corré was born in 1967. Westwood continued to teach until 1971 and also created clothes which McLaren designed. McLaren became manager of the punk band the Sex Pistols and subsequently the two garnered attention as the band wore Westwood's and McLaren's designs. Westwood is portrayed by Talulah Riley in the 2022 Craig Pearce - Danny Boyle FX biographical drama miniseries Pistol.

Punk era

Westwood was one of the architects of the punk fashion phenomenon of the 1970s, saying "I was messianic about punk, seeing if one could put a spoke in the system in some way". The store that she co-managed with McLaren, SEX, was a meeting place for early members of the London punk scene. Westwood also inspired the style of punk icons, such as Viv Albertine, who wrote in her memoir, "Vivienne and Malcolm use clothes to shock, irritate and provoke a re ... Read full biography