Excerpt from the tv documentary “Vivienne Westwood”, directed by Gillian Greenwood (1991).
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Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE RDI (1941-2022) was one of the most influential fashion designers and British artists of the 20th and early 21st century. She was also a fashion icon and trailblazer, who fused pop and high culture in the most unique way. In this documentary from the early 1990s, Westwood talks her creative process and explains how she expresses her values through fashion.
Working with her collaborator and partner Malcolm Mclaren (also known as the manager of the Sex Pistols), Vivienne Westwood developed the fashion of punk in the 1970s. The two creators gained much attention due to the subversive and provocative implications expressed in their fashion and their London punk fashion store “SEX”. After the dissolution of the Sex Pistols (who made her fashion famous), Westwood and McLaren grew disappointed with the development of punk, and their interest began shifting towards avant-garde fashion (for Wetswood, especially within a wider cultural discourse). Britain, as well as current and historical cultural periods, inspired her collections in the 1980s.
In the 1990s-2010s, Westwood established herself as an acclaimed High Fashion designer, developing into a powerful brand and company. However, she remained a peace, human and animal rights activist (campaigning for organizations such as PETA), with self-reflective views on fashion and irresponsible consumerism. Her values remained an aspect of her work (some of Westwood’s merchandise promoted the fight against climate change or The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament). Due to this, however, her company also drew criticism in regard to its claim of sustainability, and its working conditions in 2013.
From 1993-2004, Westwood taught at the Hochschule der Künste (later Universität der Künste) in Berlin and was appointed Honorary Senator. In 1992, she was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to fashion design, and advanced to Dame Commander of the same Order (DBE) in 2006.
Directed by Gillian Greenwood
© 1991, Licensed by Monarda Arts
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