There is no denying that fashion is influential, and I'm not just talking about what they are designing for the next season. I'm talking about the true heroines of the industry, the women who make the clothes, who have used their clothes and their position as outspoken designers for the greater good, as well as models who have overcome great odds have single-handedly changed the fashion industry, and maybe one day...the world.
Vivienne Westwood: Dame Vivienne Westwood, an English fashion designer, and is known for launching modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream as well as "pulling a Britney" aka going "knicker" less on numerous occasions.
After divorcing her first husband, Derek Westwood, she met Malcolm McLaren. McLaren was the manager for the punk band The Sex Pistols, but decided to open up a shop with his wife called Let It Rock (other names have been, SEX, Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, and Seditionaries), where Westwood began to sell her outrageous designs. Thanks in part to The Sex Pistols; the punk style began to gain notoriety when the band wore clothes from Westwood and McLaren's shop at their first gig.
The "punk style" included BDSM fashion, bondage gear, safety pins, razor blades, bicycle or lavatory chains on clothing and spiked dog collars that were used as jewelry, as well as outrageous make-up and hair. Westwood invented the slashed A symbol for Anarchy at this time. The inclusion of more traditional elements of British design, such as tartan fabric, amongst the more unusual elements of her style only served to make the overall effect of her designs more shocking. Together, Westwood and McLaren revolutionized fashion, and the impact is still felt today.
Vivienne Westwood: Dame Vivienne Westwood, an English fashion designer, and is known for launching modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream as well as "pulling a Britney" aka going "knicker" less on numerous occasions. After divorcing her first husband, Derek Westwood, she met Malcolm McLaren. McLaren was the manager for the punk band The Sex Pistols, but decided to open up a shop with his wife called Let It Rock (other names have been, SEX, Too Fast To Live Too Young To Die, and Seditionaries), where Westwood began to sell her outrageous designs. Thanks in part to The Sex Pistols; the punk style began to gain notoriety when the band wore clothes from Westwood and McLaren's shop at their first gig.
The "punk style" included BDSM fashion, bondage gear, safety pins, razor blades, bicycle or lavatory chains on clothing and spiked dog collars that were used as jewelry, as well as outrageous make-up and hair. Westwood invented the slashed A symbol for Anarchy at this time. The inclusion of more traditional elements of British design, such as tartan fabric, amongst the more unusual elements of her style only served to make the overall effect of her designs more shocking. Together, Westwood and McLaren revolutionized fashion, and the impact is still felt today.
