Vivienne Westwood: a look back at the fashion designer's inimitable style

During his long career, Dame Vivienne Westwood offered us not only unforgettable moments on the catwalks (like the unexpected fall of Naomi Campbell during the fall-winter 1993 fashion show), but also a large number of looks showing his personal style.

Vivienne Westwood was not shy and often revealed her body

Mother of punk, Vivienne Westwood had little patience for decency or prudishness, as evidenced by a famous photo where she is accompanied by Chrissie Hynde and the saleswoman Jordan. All are standing, backs to the camera, their buttocks painted with letters spelling out the name of the designer's boutique, which was called sex in 1977. Fast forward 43 years and here is Vivienne Westwood showing a lot of her legs and exposing her support stockings, this time without garters, in the spring-summer 2021 lookbook for the collection Andreas Kronthaler For Vivienne Westwood. These were moments of conscious exhibition. But the most famous, on the other hand, was probably unplanned and took place in 1992 when she went to Buckingham Palace to receive her OBE. She was dressed in a New Look-style suit, and when she turned to face the cameras and the skirt flew up, it became clear she had left her knickers at home.

Clothing was his preferred means of transmitting political messages

The style of Vivienne Westwood was not defined solely by exhibitionism. She also showed her political beliefs in her clothing. An ardent activist, the designer took the idea of the slogan and ran with it: she printed, knitted and pinned manifestos onto clothing and accessories that functioned like flexible, portable sandwich boards. Passionate about the history of fashion, with a particular predilection for the 18th century, Vivienne Westwood attended galas in full-skirted dresses that could have come out of paintings Francois Boucher or Franz Xavier Winterhalter. For the “Anglomania” exhibition at the Costume Institute in 2006, she was draped in the Union Jack and wore a dress of her own design. Unlike many stylists who appear in jeans and t-shirts, Vivienne Westwood wears her own clothes on the catwalk and in everyday life. Throughout his career, Vivienne Westwood has become a sort of avatar of herself. (It's an idea she plays with by appearing in her own PR materials.) With the designer, you get what you see: pure fashion and signature style. The proof by 7.

1. Punk

2. Provocative

3. New Romantic

4. Royalist

5. Companion and mother

6. Bike Fan

7. Icon

Translation by Amandine Lhoste.

Article originally published on Vogue US