Following Dame Vivienne Westwood’s passing, tributes to the “undisputed Queen of British fashion” have poured in.
Vivienne Westwood, the designer who defined the look of punk, using rock iconography, royalty, art and religion as recurring motifs in collections that brought a rebellious edge to British style, and who later went on to a long career in high fashion, died on Thursday in the Clapham neighborhood of South London. She was 81.
The designer was made a Dame for services to fashion in 2006.
Her death was announced by her company, Vivienne Westwood, which did not specify the cause. She died “peacefully and surrounded by her family” in London, her fashion house said in a statement.
Westwood, 81, made her name with her controversial punk and new wave styles in the 1970s and went on to dress some of the biggest stars in fashion.
She married Kronthaler, a former student of hers, 25 years her junior, in 1992. He became creative director of her company and increasingly was responsible for design work in later years.
By the 2000s, Westwood was designing wedding dresses for the likes of model Dita Von Teese, who dressed in her purple gown to marry singer Marilyn Manson, and Princess Eugenie who wore three Westwood designs for the wedding of Prince William and Catherine.
Her designs also featured in the 2008 film version of Sex And The City.
Memorable runway moments include her nine-inch platform shoes, which famously tripped up model Naomi Campbell.
As well as climate change, Westwood became a vocal supporter for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting extradition to the US to face charges under the Espionage Act. In July 2020, she dressed in canary yellow in a giant bird cage warning over an Assange “stitch up”.
