"Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die"

Vivienne Westwood has always been an inspiration of mine, as a rebellious teen I often lashed out against the norm, turning up to school with half my hair shaved off and a few new piercings here and there and generally concerning myself with all the wrongs in the world and figuring out how I could make them right...


Emerging in the 1970's she was the driving force behind the 'punk era', teamed with Malcolm MacLaren, manager of the Sex Pistols, they were a force to be reckoned with and their London based Boutique (Sex, Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die) stocked with Westwood's outrageous designs revolutionised fashion...

Everyone has there own interpretation of a designer and their work and mine of Vivienne Westwood is it's very 'tongue in cheek' and about sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll - you either get it or you don't... but when you do get it, it's hilarious - though she takes her work very seriously she has fun with her brand and I think it's brilliant, personally I think it's because she's a Northerner as there is a pinch of what I would consider to be Northern humor in her campaigns, but then that's just me being biased I suppose, she was born not too far from where I study infact...


This is one of my favourite campaigns, Vivienne Westwood being sick! Most of her campaigns have an outrageous, 'shock' factor element to them with a hint of androgyny, I love them and always look forward to seeing them. Now you wouldn't see Karl Lagerfeld doing this would you?


Obviously the other reason I am fascinated by her is her clothes, shoes, bags, jewellery... that goes without saying. There is so much drama in everything she sends out onto the runway, each garment is sculpted with unusual angles or crafted with her signature tartan/striped fabric... her shoes are still to this day designed with straps and buckles not so far away from her 1970's punk roots. Her statement Orb logo is all over what she does, especially her accessories and she still uses skulls, bones and safety pins each season to create fantastic statement costume jewellery year upon year...


It is crazy to think that once upon a time the beautiful and outlandish Vivienne Westwood we know and love was once a primary school teacher... thank goodness Malcolm MacLaren opened up their boutique and brought her work to the world, without it the state of British fashion would be someone different and the punk era of the 70's may have ceased to exist...

Forget the Queen, long live Vivienne Westwood - now there's a woman who makes you proud to be British!