Dame Vivienne Westwood, some may know her plainly as the designer brand with the sovereign’s orb, ring of Saturn hybrid displayed over shoes, bags, and jewelry that has gained increased popularity within the past 5 years, most notably with the trend of the VW Mini Bas Relief Pearl Choker or perhaps the black, Space Love Pumps. Or perhaps you know her as the designer who sadly passed away in late 2022, not knowing much else about her? Vivienne Westwood is the mother of punk. Going back 50 years ago to the 1970s, a time often associated with Woodstock, peace-loving hippies, and flowing fabrics, the 70s were all about taking action, and a new revolution was emerging on King’s Road, London, one that would not be peaceful. People in London and the UK in general were sick and tired; the country was dark, litter lined the streets, the younger generation was eager to revolt and rebel against societal systems, and a young Vivienne Westwood was determined to do something. On 1960s King's Road, Chelsea, there were numerous boutiques draped in a mix of ethnic and hippie clothes, ‘Granny Takes a Trip’ and ‘Hung on You,’ the hippie movement was primarily considered to be a middle-class movement, one that neither Westwood nor her partner Malcolm McLaren identified with. “We were interested in rebellion — we felt that the hippie movement had waned, and we were never interested in their clothes,” Westwood said in 2004, reflecting on the original direction for the company. Working from her kitchen table with McLaren as her business partner, Westwood created a series of T-shirts collaged with nipple-revealing zippers, studs, chains, potato prints, and random objects, imitating the bikers’, or ‘rockers’ improvisatory, anti-fashion style,’ creating the first line of punk clothing. Naming the shop ‘SEX,’ the two produced relatively affordable clothing with a provocative message, with the T-shirts becoming the center of the fashion world, where politics and sex met. “My job is always to confront the Establishment to try and find out where freedom lies and what you can do,” Westwood said in 1975. Believing that the most obvious way to do so was through porn, creating a line slogan “Rubber wear for the office.”

Not only was Westwood one of the first to use casual everyday clothing for activism and as a political statement, but she and McLaren also started the iconic British Punk band the Sex Pistols. In an aim to continue their fight against the establishment, McLaren created the band from one of their employees, Glen Matlock, and some of their regular customers, including, of course, Johnny Rotten. While McLaren would manage the band, Vivienne created all the clothes they would wear and sport during their shows, aiming to get their anti-establishment message further out there. The Sex Pistols’ ‘God save the Queen’ album cover, designed by Punk graphic designer Jamie Reid, was used on Westwood’s clothing and became a staple for the brand in the 1970s, including lyrics from the song. That iconic Brit Punk symbol has been used on T-shirts and all kinds of merchandise. The shirt's influence can be seen in a look from Alexander McQueen’s Fall 2008 collection. Take a walk through Camden Town, and no doubt you’ll see the iconic image somewhere. However, in Vivienne’s aim to undermine the establishment and fight against the older generation’s views and beliefs through art, music, and clothing, a change began, where the punk style started to gain popularity. Vivienne began to realize that they were no longer really attacking the system at all. “It was being marketed all the time,” Westwood said in 2018. Westwood soon realized that English society could claim that it was so democratic and free that kids could revolt, and the movement Westwood had started began to lose meaning, and that punk had just merely become a distraction.

In 1981, Westwood began to take a different approach with her fashion, moving away from the classic punk look. Vivienne renamed the shop ‘World’s End,’ which it is still known as today, and began experimenting with historical dress, color, and pattern. As a riposte to the punk movement, she ended up developing the ‘Pirate’ clothing line. The line was full of bold patterns and silhouettes, with no gender; the line was a symbol of neglecting any kind of preconceived ideas of sexual identity and the enjoyment of life. From there, Vivienne, who had never wanted to be a fashion designer originally, realized the pieces she had made needed to be seen, and that she no longer wanted to be underground and wanted her pieces to be seen by the world, so she had to enter the business world. Vivienne continued to create works for the catwalk inspired by art and history, always using her fashion to communicate some kind of message. As Westwood continued to take off and get discovered by the media, being mocked for work, notably on the Terry Wogan show while promoting her ‘Time Machine line,’ “I don’t know at what point the company became successful, but eventually, it did.” With Westwood being the first designer to ever win Fashion Designer of the Year for two years in a row in 1990 and 1991 by the British Fashion Council, however, her victory was still regarded as a disgrace in the fashion industry.

Vivienne expressed in later years how she still was not happy with the company, feeling the company had grown too grand for her. She was no longer in a position of power within her own company, clothes, or image. After reading an article in the Guardian written by scientist James Lovelock, which said that he believed that by the end of the 21st century, there would be one billion people left, it left the designer in shock and an urgency to do something. Westwood joined Greenpeace in 2014 on their observation of the current state Arctic environment, during their filming for a cinema documentary about her Climate Revolution project. ‘Throughout my life, all my motivation has been because I’ve been so upset about what can happen to people in the world, and I’ve always been so lucky. So, everything became the urgent need to save the environment.” The call for climate action reignited a spark of passion in the fashion designer, one reminiscent of her 70s punk days. Joining Greenpeace and climate revolution marches, Westwood was so passionate about doing something about the current climate issue we are facing, and as a fashion designer, looking at the problems caused by the fashion industry and fast fashion. In 2017, Westwood proclaimed that she wanted the company to only sell things that she liked, and that she worried that the company had begun to prioritize quantity over quality, and that she was not interested in the money. “I can’t believe it when I look at the shops worldwide, how many pairs of f*cking plastic shoes we sell!’’ Westwood (2018). Taking back full artistic control of her company, deterring the vast expansion that the company was having.

After having spent the past decade working alongside Greenpeace in helping the climate revolution, with her late passing in 2022, it is important to keep this part of her memory alive. Continuing the mother of punk’s journey to a greener economy,

“Buy less, choose well, make it last. Quality rather than quantity: That is true sustainability.

If people only bought beautiful things rather than rubbish, we wouldn't have climate change!” -VIVIENNE WESTWOOD 2014