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Original poster

To ask how Vivienne Westwood revolutionised everyday fashions.

171 replies

WatchoRulo · 30/12/2022 14:08

I will admit I know little about fashion. Hearing all the glowing tributes has made me wonder what effect she had (that I'm not aware of).
My recollection is of that talk show where the audience laughed at her creations and she had a strop - but there must be more to the story than that?

OP posts:
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5
JaneTheVirgin · 30/12/2022 14:09

She didn't. But she died so we have to pretend for a few days.

Isseywith3witchycats · 30/12/2022 14:10

Vivienne Westwood was at the forefront of late seventies punk rock fashion

fancyacuppatea · 30/12/2022 14:10

^See what Jane wrote.

I know she shagged Johnny Rotten for a while, but that's about it.

Greensleevevssnotnose · 30/12/2022 14:11

Kate Middleton wears her clothes

OnlyFannys · 30/12/2022 14:12

Isseywith3witchycats · 30/12/2022 14:10

Vivienne Westwood was at the forefront of late seventies punk rock fashion

This. I thought she was brilliant and love strolling around her shop in Leeds

bellac11 · 30/12/2022 14:12

I thought she was treated dreadfully on that show, Terry Wogan normally was quite a good bloke but that was horrible

I loved her look, couldnt look more different to how I usually look (frumpy)

TitaniasAss · 30/12/2022 14:16

I was given a VW silk shirt in the late 80s and have never owned a more beautiful piece of clothing before or since.

A lot of her clothes weren't 'me' but I can appreciate what she did.

Original poster
WatchoRulo · 30/12/2022 14:16

bellac11 · 30/12/2022 14:12

I thought she was treated dreadfully on that show, Terry Wogan normally was quite a good bloke but that was horrible

I loved her look, couldnt look more different to how I usually look (frumpy)

It wasn't Wogan (although it was his show). It was Sue Lawley standing in for him and the guests were Russel Harty and Janet Street-Porter.

OP posts:
bellac11 · 30/12/2022 14:19

I thought she was on Wogan and he said, 'they are laughing at you, not with you'??

Shesasuperfreak · 30/12/2022 14:23

Good on Janet for sticking up for her.

LlynTegid · 30/12/2022 14:25

@bellac11 the laughing with you was when David Icke appeared on the show.

For many teenage women at the time Vivienne Westwood was an inspiration, and part of the punk movement which was in its way as important a change as when the Beatles and the 60s came along.

Whilst it was not something I embraced as a teenager at the time, I am glad something from these shores and not just copying fashion/style etc from the United States happened.

RunLolaRun102 · 30/12/2022 14:25

She gets a lot of credit for the punk movement when actually that style of dress was fashionable throughout the UK. She only owned one shop and happened to luck out because the Sex Pistols (named after her shop, Sex) became huge. Punk took influences from many different cultures without including them - it appropriated nose / septum / multiple ear piercings from the Indians and Africans who came over from the 50s-70s but they were often ‘not allowed’ to be included in the movement. Example my cousin got beaten up just for daring to try and shop at Sex.

So in my opinion VW didn’t achieve anything except shagging Johnny Rotten but she’s dead so the media will glorify her for a bit.

bellac11 · 30/12/2022 14:27

LlynTegid · 30/12/2022 14:25

@bellac11 the laughing with you was when David Icke appeared on the show.

For many teenage women at the time Vivienne Westwood was an inspiration, and part of the punk movement which was in its way as important a change as when the Beatles and the 60s came along.

Whilst it was not something I embraced as a teenager at the time, I am glad something from these shores and not just copying fashion/style etc from the United States happened.

Obviously a complete memory fail on my part!

Well I have to apologise to Terry in my head and say 'bad show Sue' about Sue Lawley

Ive never had the figure, money or confidence to look like her look but I loved it

Scarfweather · 30/12/2022 14:27

I’m not sure she ‘revolutionised’ fashion, but I do think she was a truly talented person and was completely self-taught. One of the greats.
She did ‘liberate’ the corset from being something that fetishised women into something that was empowering and beautiful. She was a true eccentric, an activist and a tremendous businesswoman.

PicaK · 30/12/2022 14:28

I always loved her tweed stage. I really coveted the suits she designed. I think some of the suit designs ATM have been influenced by her 90s designs. She was ahead of her time

bellac11 · 30/12/2022 14:29

RunLolaRun102 · 30/12/2022 14:25

She gets a lot of credit for the punk movement when actually that style of dress was fashionable throughout the UK. She only owned one shop and happened to luck out because the Sex Pistols (named after her shop, Sex) became huge. Punk took influences from many different cultures without including them - it appropriated nose / septum / multiple ear piercings from the Indians and Africans who came over from the 50s-70s but they were often ‘not allowed’ to be included in the movement. Example my cousin got beaten up just for daring to try and shop at Sex.

So in my opinion VW didn’t achieve anything except shagging Johnny Rotten but she’s dead so the media will glorify her for a bit.

Her career outshone the Sex Pistols and it was Malcolm Mclaren that she had a long term relationship with, they were business partners for a while

Theres no such thing as appropriating piercings!! Piercings have been part of all human adornment for centuries, her designs put me in mind of tudors, ancient Scots and other cultures.

SleeplessInEngland · 30/12/2022 14:30

I'm not into fashion but I don't think 'are most people wearing her stuff' is a useful benchmark. Doubtless she influenced people who did end up making clothes you've worn at some point.

Original poster
WatchoRulo · 30/12/2022 14:37

SleeplessInEngland · 30/12/2022 14:30

I'm not into fashion but I don't think 'are most people wearing her stuff' is a useful benchmark. Doubtless she influenced people who did end up making clothes you've worn at some point.

That's a fair point - and the sort of insight I was seeking. I hadn't considered that.

OP posts:
SarahAndQuack · 30/12/2022 14:37

For me the take-away thing I associate with her is asymmetry, often quite flattering/sexy. Lovely shapes.

Branster · 30/12/2022 14:37

For the sheer madness of her designs alone, I love her stuff.
Then you have the artful way the fabrics are gathered to create the clothes and of course the colours and different textures and just the whole riot of craziness. Love it.
I can't imagine ever wearing anything from any of her collections as it is not my style at all, but I totally admire her work and her uniqueness in terms of looks and non apologetic presence. I look at it as art.

How awful to assign her reputation to having been intimately involved with a man.

HoneyIShrunkThePizza · 30/12/2022 14:41

@Branster I agree. I think all the comments about who she shagged are sexist twaddle. She was clearly very successful. Why the need to be so catty.

bellac11 · 30/12/2022 14:42

Branster · 30/12/2022 14:37

For the sheer madness of her designs alone, I love her stuff.
Then you have the artful way the fabrics are gathered to create the clothes and of course the colours and different textures and just the whole riot of craziness. Love it.
I can't imagine ever wearing anything from any of her collections as it is not my style at all, but I totally admire her work and her uniqueness in terms of looks and non apologetic presence. I look at it as art.

How awful to assign her reputation to having been intimately involved with a man.

Not just that but a man who isnt actually that talented overall, yes he has some talent, wont deny that but his biggest skill is self promotion (nothing wrong with that by the way)

viques · 30/12/2022 15:00

There is a scene in the devil wears Prada when Meryl Streeps character explains how a designers decision in choosing to feature a particular colour in a collection trickles down through couture via ready to wear and eventually a season later to the mass market.

I think this is also part of Westwoods legacy, over the years her use of combined fabrics ie mixing fabric weight, fluidity and texture in the same garment, by using graphics, art work and slogans, by featuring asymmetry, by her use of additional adornments and fastenings like zips, pins, ribbons, tapes and bindings, combined with her skills in corsetry, tailoring and her instinct for how fabrics move on a body, and how conversely they can also restrict movement, and her knowledge how a body moves inside clothing have all trickled down not into just couture and mainstream clothing but into how people choose to personalise and express themselves by making or adapting their own clothes. She gave ordinary people , and fellow designers the key and the courage to unlock their own creativity.

amazing woman, amazing talent amazing creativity.

Mirabai · 30/12/2022 15:08

She was a shit designer but I respect a woman who’s made a successful business.

Highdaysandholidays1 · 30/12/2022 15:08

Some of these remarks are just so silly, I don't know where to start. Even a quick read of her obituaries or the front page of the Mail would tell you she was an extremely successful businesswoman, who made clothes that thousands, or tens of thousands have loved wearing. She doesn't have to have 'changed everyday fashion' to have been highly successful, although you could argue her stunning corset dresses, punk fashion etc have had their influence. She left a company worth £50 million, a property empire worth £18 million and £150 million fortune on top of that- she isn't just some woman who once shagged someone famous, she had her own very successful life of her own. Two sons with successful careers in fashion as well. What is it with people on here.