Legendary fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood has died

Legendary British fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood died today (December 29) at the age of 81, it has been confirmed.

“Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London,” a message posted on her official Twitter page read. “The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better.”

29th December 2022. 

Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London.

The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better. pic.twitter.com/YQwVixYUrV

— Vivienne Westwood (@FollowWestwood) December 29, 2022

Westwood was an integral part of the British punk movement in the 1970s, helping to shape the scene with her clothing. Early in her career, she made clothes for SEX, the Chelsea boutique she ran with Malcolm McLaren. SEX was later renamed Seditionaries: Clothes for Heroes and Westwood and went on to dress Sex Pistols, whom McLaren managed.

Punk icon Jordan, who died earlier this year, worked as a model for Westwood and managed the shop, while the likes of Siouxsie And The Banshees and Adam And The Ants musician Marco Pirroni, singer-songwriter and formative punk figure Gene October, and more also frequented the store.

Among her signature looks at the time – many of which appeared in her designs again over the decades – were ripped t-shirts, bondage, plaid patterns, mohair, rubber, provocative imagery and safety pin embellishments. Westwood helped bring punk fashion into the mainstream but maintained the rebellious attitude that ran through her early designs throughout her life.

This is a developing story and will be updated

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