Vivienne Westwood, the English fashion designer who helped to popularize punk style, died on Thursday. She was 81.
First rising to prominence in the 1970s as the co-owner of the boutique SEX along with Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren, Westwood helped to shape the style of the U.K. punk scene.
The shop became a meeting place for punk bands, and Westwood’s creations worn by the Sex Pistols introduced a new style to the world that made use of pinned-together pieces, torn fabric and graffitied t-shirts. Members of bands including the Slits were influenced by her fashion, and Viv Albertine of the Slits wrote in her memoir, “Vivienne and Malcolm use clothes to shock, irritate and provoke a reaction but also to inspire change. Mohair jumpers, knitted on big needles, so loosely that you can see all the way through them, T-shirts slashed and written on by hand, seams and labels on the outside, showing the construction of the piece; these attitudes are reflected in the music we make.
In addition to her fashion collections, she designed the uniforms for flight attendants from Virgin Atlantic and provided wardrobe for Elisabeth Shue in “Leaving Las Vegas” as well as for “Shadowboxer” and “Twenty-One.” A 2018 documentary, “Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist” covered her life and work, and she was portrayed in the FX mini-series “Pistol” by Talulah Riley. Sarah Jessica Parker’s Carrie Bradshaw character wore one of Westwood’s wedding dress creations in the film version of “Sex and the City.”
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