Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood DBE RDI, (née Swire), born in the village of Tintwistle, Cheshire, England, UK, on 8th April 1941, was a fashion designer, businesswoman, Primary school teacher & activist, largely responsible for bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Vivienne came to fame when she made clothes for SEX, the boutique that she & Malcolm McLaren ran on the King's Road, London. The couple's ability to synthesise clothing and music helped shape the '70s UK punk scene, led by McLaren's group, the Sex Pistols. Westwood viewed punk as a way of "seeing if one could put a spoke in the system". She opened 4 shops in London then expanded worldwide, selling an increasingly varied range of merchandise, some of which promoted causes including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change activism & civil rights groups.