Vivienne Westwood

Born in Glossop Derbyshire, England in 1941, Westwood spent one term at Harrow Art School before leaving to train as a teacher. Together with Malcolm McLaren, in the late 60′s, they both opened a shop called “the King’s Road” in London. The shop became popular during the 70′s due in part by McLaren’s managed Pop group, called the Sex Pistols.

The shop represented the anarchic urban youth culture in which it attracted by selling leather and rubber clothes to those interested in Punk, bondage, and fetishism. Though at first, her designs were considered unwearable, they have been an inspiration worldwide. Westwood’s ideas of studded, buckled, and strapped clothing has been adopted by mainstream fashion.

She began showing her collections in 1981. Undoubtedly, Westwood will go down in history as the fashion designer most closely associated with Punk. Though her influence goes far beyond the Punk era, her relationship with the Punk subculture is important to understand her style.