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RIP - Dame Vivienne Westwood

29th December 2022

The world has just lost one of the most remarkable, influential and fearless women that ever lived, a woman who could truly say that she did it her way. Whether it be through her revolutionary clothes designs, confrontational slogans or politics, she was entirely committed to free speech, equality and saving the planet right to the end, trail-blazing throughout her life with the spirit of a modern day suffragette...

From the first time I saw her in the early 70s, clanking down the Kings Road, with that shock of cropped blonde hair, biker t-shirt, leather mini skirt, ripped tights and Persian lamb boots chained together, to the very last time I spoke to her about 4 years ago when we were both cycling up the Mall, Vivienne was always unmistakable. That glorious day I spotted her way off in the distance looking like a very chic homeless person with ripped and faded clothes flapping in the wind. She had on one of those oversize 80s silk blouson jackets with a vivid Picasso print on it, bits of printed fabric wrapped around her body and head, gold cupid print stockings, red high heel court shoes and her then black lips and signature red eyebrows, and she looked fucking incredible! She casually mentioned she had been asked to give advice to the Duke of Edinburgh at Clarence House about something that she couldn’t really remember, but she wasted no time in inviting me to a lecture she was giving about the perils of fracking. It was a joyous, uplifting and unforgettable encounter and so typical of the woman we all loved and admired so much.

Vivienne always had an amazing enthusiasm for all things stylish and was obsessed with historical dress and detail. I remember only too well spending an entire day at her flat in Clapham in 1979, as she bombarded me with influences and ideas for her latest pirate collection for the new Worlds End shop I was about to design. Every surface of her tiny living room was piled high with historical reference books, art books, fashion magazines, records and bin liners full of clothes.. Amidst it all, Vivienne talked infectiously about her influences as she constantly rifled through old books showing me fabulous reference pictures of colonialized Native Americans at the turn of the century sporting top hats and frock coats decorated with feathers and war-paint, and infamous 18th century pirates, wearing customized Naval uniforms, alongside her passion for science fiction. I got a clear message that with this new collection she was going to create a world of style which would drag the past screaming into the future. Vivienne and Malcolm had already thrown the rule book out of the window years ago and changed fashion forever, so nothing was going to stop her now.

When we were building the Worlds End shop Vivienne would occasionally stop by on her bike, always dressed immaculately in one of her latest creations, even so she was always very hands on and never afraid to pick up a hammer or paint brush. She was fascinated with the shop build being an organic process, always encouraging teamwork and lending great vision to the project. We would have lengthy discussions over where and how the clothes should be displayed, and that the key outfits be displayed in a line on metal scarecrows like drunken sailors. She always maintained a strong belief that ideas should be shared and in effect be a collaboration, with no one person receiving full credit. She would obsess about different paint finishes and in particular the interior colour of the shop, which was actually re-painted five times until we got the right subtle shade of turquoise, such was her attention to detail.

A NOTE FROM ALAN MOORE

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