Dame Vivienne Westwood, DBE, RDI (born 8 April 1941) is a British fashion designer largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream.
Westwood was born as Vivienne Isabel Swire in the village of Tintwistle, Cheshire (now in the county of Derbyshire) on 8 April 1941.
She studied at the Harrow School of Art, later to attend the University of Westminster, for one term.
Vivienne went on to attend Middlesex University's Trent Park College and later taught at a primary school in North London.
The first major retrospective of her work was shown in 2004–5 at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the National Gallery of Australia.
The exhibition, created from approximately 145 complete outfits grouped into the themes from the early 1970s to the present day, was drawn from her own personal archive and the V&A's extensive collection.
They range from early punk garments to glamorous "historical" evening gowns. Her Autumn/Winter 2005/06 Propaganda Collection drew inspiration from her archive, reinterpreting designs using Wolford’s exclusive knitting technology.
Westwood has worked in close collaboration with Wolford since 2003.
In 2006, she collaborated with Nine West, whose shoes are not designed directly by Westwood, however the Nine West brand name shares its label with Westwood.
Westwood's Gold Label and MAN hats are created by Prudence Millinery.
In December 2003, she and the Wedgwood pottery company launched a series of tea sets featuring her designs.
Vivienne Westwood website
