Page 2 | To ask how Vivienne Westwood revolutionised everyday fashions.

WatchoRulo · 2022-12-30T14:08:29+00:00

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?

the80sweregreat · 30/12/2022 15:12

She was fabulous and I say that as someone who didn't like her clothes much and I know nothing much about fashion !
She came from an ordinary background and built her own empire. A true inspiration

malificent7 · 30/12/2022 15:12

Her jewellery is very fashionable with teens atm.
In fact I bought dd one of her bracelets for Christmas and now she has 3 pieces.
It's a social media trend.

IClaudine · 30/12/2022 15:13

Phew. A woman who was hugely successful and influential dies and is torn down by (presumably) other women. How lovely.

lollipoprainbow · 30/12/2022 15:15

She was too way out for me to wear anything of hers but I can see she was an amazing style icon and the punk stuff is iconic and willl go down in history.

PurpleFlower1983 · 30/12/2022 15:15

She was fabulous! A strong, inspirational woman who came from nothing. What an achievement. She mainstreamed punk fashion and her iconic designs influenced fashion generally over the years.

YellowAndGreenToBeSeen · 30/12/2022 15:19

She was a self taught tailor. She took mens suiting, unpicked and unpacked it and restructured the lines to create the ‘off balance’ suiting for which she became famous. It was bloody genius.

I’ve got a Westwood tweed jacket and it makes me look and feel amazing. It’s also ‘classic’ in that it was never fashionable so will never be unfashionable but is endlessly wearable. It cost an eye watering amount but I’ve had and worn it for years.

I’ve also one of her dresses and a couple of her high collard shirts. Again, the seams look like they are in the wrong place but when you put them on, incredible things happen to one’s figure. She could cut like a dream (my last two items are not couture but made by her teams).

She had a style and absolutely knew how to work it. She knew how to take classic, historical styles and transform them into modern pieces. She cut and designed for women - a rarity in couture.

RIP Auntie Viv.

Highdaysandholidays1 · 30/12/2022 15:20

People who own her clothes always say how beautiful and wearable they are, of course for her shows/publicity she was more out there, that's how fashion works...she had a successful bridal business for decades (doing beautiful but not crazy dresses).

IClaudine · 30/12/2022 15:23

YellowAndGreenToBeSeen I once tried on one of her dresses. It was in a sale and I could just about afford it, but didn't buy it. I still regret not doing so. I hope you continue to enjoy her wearing the pieces you have.

Changechangychange · 30/12/2022 15:23

Her clothes are beautiful and very wearable - in particular she designed for curvy women at a time (90s-00s) when most clothes were aimed at waify teenagers with no hips or breasts. Hee tops and skirts were incredibly flattering, and cut really well.

YellowAndGreenToBeSeen · 30/12/2022 15:41

@IClaudine we only regret the dresses we did not buy!

I shall be wearing Westwood tomorrow and thank you.

SleepyRooster · 30/12/2022 15:44

Er... off the top of my head, she invented a DIY/ deconstructed style of design, which then influenced 90s designers like Helmut Lang and Martin Margiela, who in turn have been a huge influence on (okay, direct source for) people like Demna, the Balenciaga designer. Whose (far inferior) designs are all over the place in 2022

SleepyRooster · 30/12/2022 15:51

Also her husband was the band manager Malcom Maclaren - not sure there was a relationship with Johnny Rotten/Lydon???

LongLiveGoblingKing · 30/12/2022 15:51

She always designed clothes to fit women's bodies, at a time when other designers were only designing for supermodel bodies. Her clothes are beautifully flattering.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 30/12/2022 16:05

Not sure about the Jonny Rotten claim but dear god. A self taught woman makes street fashion that many copied, many loved, that was downright bloody iconic. Then high fashion that changed how women's bodies were clothed. Ultra masculine, uber feminine or completely free of gender stereotypes. Her influence is such that you can see it now in many commonplace pieces of clothing

And the churlish here shrug and say she was talentless etc?

Cop onto your sad sad selves.

dollymixtured · 30/12/2022 16:06

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.

Absolute rubbish. These sort of comments are so uninformed it’s embarrassing. It’s beyond me, why people who are so uninformed about a subject find the need to share their opinions.

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 30/12/2022 16:10

I have to admit @dodollymixtured I ignored that post. It made me equally amounts of pissed off, incredulous and highly amused.

Revisionism at work!

Sonyrecording · 30/12/2022 16:25

What is it about this place that people get so negative so quickly? She was anything but rubbish and we should celebrate a successful woman.
VW as others have said was a canny and clever business person. She had no formal training in fashion or tailoring, but taught herself, starting as a teenager. Her designs were a huge influence on punk style, but that was really a small part of her career. Her ideas filtered down to high street fashion, her influence was huge. The tailoring in her pieces is just amazing.
I'll admit I'm a fan, I have some of her work in my wardrobe. They are timeless and beautiful to wear.

Original poster

WatchoRulo · 30/12/2022 16:35

Isn't it a bit inevitable that someone with such a strong persona is going to divide opinion?
This has been a good airing of views (IMHO) thanks all - I got a much better perspective.

OP posts:

SamphirethePogoingStickerist · 30/12/2022 16:45

WatchoRulo · 30/12/2022 16:35

Isn't it a bit inevitable that someone with such a strong persona is going to divide opinion?
This has been a good airing of views (IMHO) thanks all - I got a much better perspective.

Divided opinion is one thing. Stating she was talentless l, had no real impact on the fashion industry, was over hyped etc is another.

That and all the disinformation being used to do so.

This place sometimes seems to distil the very worst in some.

leithreas · 30/12/2022 16:54

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.

I have to say I am surprised to read this. I have a close relative that was part of the punk scene near that area and they prided themselves on being inclusive. It's something that relative talks about, how important it was that no one felt excluded from the scene the way they as working class young ones felt excluded from society and the majority of their friends from that time are Asian ex punks.

nodogz · 30/12/2022 16:55

I've got a few VW dresses and a jacket and a suit. They make me feel great and people stop me to tell me how much they like them. They make me feel beautiful and powerful.

The thing I like about them is that they exaggerate my shape in a world which often would like to minimise me.

I think she was very influential and also divisive and also contrary. But I enjoyed her work. And she did massively rip off the Crown Jewels!

littleburn · 30/12/2022 17:01

Jesus, some of the comments on here! I hope there were similar threads about who 'talentless' Karl Lagerfield and Alexander McQueen shagged to get to the top when they passed 🙄

Vivienne created some truly, romantic sumptious dresses that didn't require women to be half-starved 15 year olds to look good in:

To ask how Vivienne Westwood revolutionised everyday fashions.

LaurieFairyCake · 30/12/2022 17:13

I own 7 dresses, 4 jackets, a tartan mini, a corset top and a t shirt by her

They are my favourite items

Her clothes are beautiful

LMBoston · 30/12/2022 17:13

YellowAndGreenToBeSeen · 30/12/2022 15:19

She was a self taught tailor. She took mens suiting, unpicked and unpacked it and restructured the lines to create the ‘off balance’ suiting for which she became famous. It was bloody genius.

I’ve got a Westwood tweed jacket and it makes me look and feel amazing. It’s also ‘classic’ in that it was never fashionable so will never be unfashionable but is endlessly wearable. It cost an eye watering amount but I’ve had and worn it for years.

I’ve also one of her dresses and a couple of her high collard shirts. Again, the seams look like they are in the wrong place but when you put them on, incredible things happen to one’s figure. She could cut like a dream (my last two items are not couture but made by her teams).

She had a style and absolutely knew how to work it. She knew how to take classic, historical styles and transform them into modern pieces. She cut and designed for women - a rarity in couture.

RIP Auntie Viv.

Totally agree :)

I have an Anglomania black winter wool coat (got a loan for a new boiler 11 years ago and spent the remainder on this 😄). It’s plain, mid-thigh, single-breasted, fits amazingly and the killer detail is that the back hem finishes much higher than the front. I will be buried in this coat!

Even my sister — a North Face/Rab type — covets my Viv. She’s not having it!

Twattergy · 30/12/2022 17:22

Hugely influential. Incredibly successful for decades and internationally. Norm-defying. Could design both outlandish costume and classic timeless clothing. An icon of British design.