fashion rebel
Punk keeps you young – Vivienne Westwood turns 81
British designer Vivienne Westwood in London in 2016. Photo: Hannah Mckay/EPA/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
She created the first outfits for Johnny Rotten and Co. and thus created the iconic punk look. But Vivienne Westwood is not only a fashion designer, she is also an activist.
Before she sent the models onto the catwalks in Paris and Milan, she gave punk its look in London. However, instead of talking about old times, the British fashion rebel Vivienne Westwood prefers to campaign for climate protection or the release of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange.
Fashion alone was never enough for Westwood, who celebrates her 81st birthday today. “I didn’t want to be a fashion designer,” she clarified in 2009 in “Time” magazine. “I’d rather read and do intellectual things.” After Westwood was initially ridiculed at home, she was awarded British Designer of the Year in 1990 and 1991. In 2006 she was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II. While Dame Vivienne is still punk at heart, her fashion has long been part of the establishment