“I was punk before it got its name.” Vivienne Westwood’s Punk and Activism

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Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood, born 1944 in Cheshire, England, is a world-wide fashion icon and activist. Throughout her career as an incredible jewellery and garment designer, Westwood (née Swire) was notably largely responsible for bringing the modern punk and new wave fashion into mainstream fashion styles. Sky Arts actually voted Westwood as Britain’s 4th top most influential artist of the last 50 years, just 4 months before she passed, with the likes of David Bowie, Sir Steve McQueen CBE, and Russell T Davies OBE. It is very clear that Westwood has influenced the fashion world hugely through punk culture, but she also made sure to always make nods towards sustainability, climate change, and other global issues in her fashion shows and designs.

Punk’s Queen

After meeting and marrying her second husband Malcolm McLaren, the couple went on to design and create outfits together. Due to McLaren’s job as manager of the Sex Pistols, the couple’s creations soon began to gain traction, helping them establish SEX. SEX was co-managed by the couple and was almost a haven for other London punks to visit and shop their designs.

By the late 70s, Westwood was viewed as a symbol of British avant-garde and regarded as the ‘queen of punk’, ‘punk lady’, and ‘punk’s queen’.

Tatler Cover

In April of 1989, Westwood appeared on the front cover of Tatler magazine dressed as Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Westwood wore a suit Thatcher ordered, but then cancelled. In her book, Get a Life! Westwood recalled this cover and referred to Thatcher as a “hypocrite”.

Image from Dazed (Online)

Catwalk – More than clothes

Westwood has always been known to use fashion to showcase political statements, specifically on the catwalk. Her most notable one is regarded as the spring/summer Red Label collection from 2016, where she turned the catwalk into a protest march for climate change and against austerity. Models carried placards announcing, “Austerity is a crime” and “Fracking is a crime”.

Image from Fashionista (Online)

Link to full show https://youtu.be/jYOeEDq62cE

Westwood previously has showcased her views on climate change through runways in her 2013 spring/summer show. Westwood herself came out at the end of the show, and had models hold a huge flag saying, ‘Climate Revolution’ and Westwood had a matching T-shirt. She did this to share the importance of climate change whilst nodding towards her own foundation, Climate Revolution.

Link to full show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9DYgH1VqfwM

Time Stamp: 12.40 for Westwood

Page 4-5 (out of 12) of Vivienne's Manifesto

Another notable and incredible show from Westwood showcasing her activism was her autumn/winter 2019/2020 show at London Fashion Week. Her models used spoken word to discuss climate change, Brexit, corrupt governments, and society’s spin into self-destruction.

Link to full show https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YB4g6Nwhu4