Dame Vivienne Westwood dies at 81

She was both the “empress of punk” and the star designer of British fashion: known for her eccentric creations, Vivienne Westwood, died on Thursday after more than fifty years of making fashion a political platform.


“Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family in Clapham, south London. The world needs people like Vivienne to turn things around for the better,” her fashion label tweeted. In a statement quoted by the PA agency, her husband and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler added: “We worked until the end and she left me a lot to continue. Thank you darling”.

March 2022 in Paris: at the end of her label’s parade, the 81-year-old designer climbs the podium to greet the public. Exit the long red mane, here is the gray hair, tied in an elegant bun. Slender silhouette, the designer is perched on impressive wedge shoes. The one who agitated — and even shocked — the hushed world of fashion is still there, true to herself.

Outspoken Vivienne, just like we liked her.

However, in 2016, she gave up the artistic direction of her label to her husband Andreas Kronthaler, an Austrian 25 years her junior. Change, yes, but in the continuity of what the Westwood brand has been: a rebellious, transgressive and committed label. “Defending ideas makes me happy,” she told her friend Ian Kelly, co-author with her of a biography published in 2014.

RIP Vivienne,

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