Vivienne Westwood
| Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE RDI |
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|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Vivienne Isabel Swire 8 April 1941 Tintwistle, Cheshire, England |
| Nationality | British |
| Education | University of Westminster, Middlesex University |
| Occupation | Fashion designer, businesswoman |
| Spouse(s) |
Derek Westwood (m. 1962; div. 1965) Andreas Kronthaler (m. 1992) |
| Children | 2, including Joseph Corré |
| Awards | British Fashion Designer of the Year (1990, 1991, and 2006) |
| Labels | Vivienne Westwood |
Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood DBE RDI (née Swire; born 8 April 1941) is a British 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 Malcolm McLaren's boutique in the King's Road, which became famous as "SEX". It was their ability to synthesise clothing and music that shaped the 1970s UK punk scene, dominated by McLaren's band, the Sex Pistols. She was deeply inspired by the shock-value of punk—"seeing if one could put a spoke in the system".
Westwood went on to open four shops in London, eventually expanding throughout the United Kingdom and the world, selling an increasingly varied range of merchandise, some of it linked to her many political causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change and civil rights groups.
Westwood was born Vivienne Isabel Swire in the village of Tintwistle Cheshire on 8 April 1941, 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.
She attended Glossop Grammar School. In 1958, her family moved to Harrow, London. She studied silver-smithing at Harrow School of Art, but left after one term, saying later, "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. While she continued teaching and simultaneously making jewelry, this led to her discovering design when she met Malcom McLaren who became a major inspiration to her designs in Punk Fashion.
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