"Westwood's designs have encompassed everything but the dull aesthetic and the cultural dumbing down she rails against."
Vivienne Westwood (born 8th April 1941 in Tintwistle, Cheshire, England) was an obvious choice for statement fashion. She attended the Harrow School of Art for one term, then moved onto Middlesex University to train as a teacher. It is clear from this that she did not have an extensive education in fashion, so her designs were mostly inspired by her own thoughts and ideas. These were kick started be Malcolm McLaren, who "lectured her on the political power of art and liberated her creative desires from their bondage in working class conformity."
From the start, Westwood's designs have always aimed to go against conventional fashion, fighting against the masses to promote individualism. She is often considered the creator of the 'punk' look of the mid 1970s, a fashion she promoted with her designs because of what it represented- a subculture making a statement in society. Her 'punk' and other eccentric designs were sold in her 430 King's Road shop, initially called 'Let it Rock' and subsequently named 'Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die', 'SEX', 'Seditionaries' and 'World's End', as it is known today.
Westwood's political statement in fashion is to convey the importance of originality and not conforming to popular society, an ideal which has made her outrageous designs world-famous.
Some of her techniques for achieving this are themed clothing
Spring/Summer 2010 Vivienne Westwood Man Collection
On this T-shirt is printed the word 'DESTROY', a swastika and an inverted crucifix.
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