She was the godmother of punk

If you’ve ever stomped down the street in Doc Martens, ripped fishnets or a studded leather jacket, you have our Viv to thank for it, as she and Malcom McLaren (manager of the Sex Pistols, of course) were instrumental in bringing punk fashion to London in the 70s. Their iconic shop SEX on the King’s Road heralded a massive departure from the hippie movement that was trending at the time, and transformed fetish style into fashion. ‘Punk rock’, a fashion movement that Westwood became renowned for throughout her career, was born – and we’ll forever be grateful.

She was a changemaker and disruptor

Punk in more ways than one, Westwood didn’t just bring irreverent slogans and flags to the catwalk – she was also a true activist, using her campaigns and shows as a platform for change. Her brand was among the first to renounce fur and march with PETA, and she supported Greenpeace (even designing their ‘Save the Arctic’ logo), Amnesty International and War Child. Basically, exactly the kind of ‘put your money where your mouth is’ hutzpah we’ll be taking into 2023.

She went commando at Buckingham Palace!

In 1992, Westwood was awarded an OBE for her services to the fashion industry (and rightly so). During her visit to Buckingham Palace, she made headlines when she spun for the cameras and revealed she wasn’t wearing any undies – scandalous! In 2006 she was awarded the title of Dame and, once again, went commando to the Palace. Bet HRH loved it.

She designed Carrie Bradshaw’s wedding dress

Arguably one of SJP’s most iconic looks, Vivienne Westwood re-designed her Cloud wedding dress especially for Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City film, and it immediately burned itself into our fashion retinas forevermore. Imagine our delight when we heard that Sarah Jessica Parker was papped re-wearing this stunner of a dress on the set of the new season of SATC reboot And Just Like That – but this time paired with teal elbow-length gloves and matching shawl. We think Dame Vivienne would have approved.

She was the only one to topple Naomi Campbell

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Vl5IVo3EpCk%3Fstart%3D604%26feature%3Doembed

Now Naomi Campbell’s not an easily flustered woman, being one of the world’s most famous supermodels and all, but who can forget when she took a tumble back in 1993 in vertiginous 12-inch Westwood heels? In an interview with Vivienne Westwood for Vogue (above), Naomi revealed that it was such a famous moment that other brands tried to pay her to fall on their catwalks too – but it was only ever Vivienne who had the honour.

She never forgot her Peak District roots

The Glossop mural painted in August by artist Deggy / @thisisdeggy

If you’ve listened to Dame Vivienne speak, you’ll clock the accent immediately – after all, she was born Vivienne Swire on 8 April 1941 in the Derbyshire village of Tintwistle, Glossop. Her father worked as a storekeeper in an aircraft factory, and was later a greengrocer and then a postmaster in Harrow after the family moved when Westwood was a teenager. She never forgot her roots, though; when Westwood launched Global Entrepreneurship Week UK in 2015, she chose her former school (Glossopdale Community College) as the launch venue.

A truly stunning woman, and a staggering loss. RIP Viv.

Dame Vivienne Westwood’s iconic moments

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