Vivienne Westwood always young

Personifies the patent and subversive originality of British fashion.Her continual exploration and reinterpretation of history, combined with a tireless individualism, has cemented her reputation as the UK’s most culturally significant fashion designer. Her expansive body of work traces the socio-economic and cultural climate of Britain over the past four decades, and a cursory glance through her archive also highlights the paradox of her career: an ascent from teenage rebellion through luxury and decadence to global commercial success  
<3Westwood was also inspired by 18th century paintings, ceramics and literature and spent time studying the paintings of the Wallace Collection and the Victoria & Albert Museum’s archive in London. In Portrait (1990-1), Westwood used a photographic print of Francois Boucher’s Shepherd Watching a Sleeping Shepherdess on corsets and shawls. Always On Camera (1992-3) contained the Gainsborough Blouse which mimicked the delicate brushstrokes of the 18th century British portraitist’s work. Her considered reinterpretation of tradition came through again in Anglomania (1993-94). Westwood created her own clan (the traditional extended family and social unit of Scottish society) and tartan (the woven wool check identified with that unit), MacAndreas, named after her third husband and collaborator, Andreas Kronthaler. That McAndreas is displayed at Lochcarron Museum of Tartan in Scotland alongside time-honored traditional tartans is a very significant accolade to be bestowed on a contemporary designer.

<3Today, Westwood’s a global empire comprises the semi-couture line Gold Label, a ready-to-wear line Red Label, Vivienne Westwood Man and the diffusion line Anglomania. She has perfumes – Boudoir, launched in 1998 and Libertine, launched in 2000 – as well as successful ranges of knitwear and accessories. British Designer of the Year twice, in 1990 and 1991, honoured with the Order of the British Empire in 1992 and made Dame Vivienne Westwood in 2006, she has drawn uncommonly wide acclaim from the extremes of the street and the establishment. Whether she is ridiculing the ruling classes, shocking the public or overtly sexualising women, Westwood continues to sustain the ultimate design contradiction: producing the unexpected while defining the spirit of the decade.