One of the most important deigners in both contemporary streetwear and British coture is Dame Vivienne Westwood. In the late 70s along with then husband Malcom McLaren and artist Jamie Reid they created the main aesthetic for the , Punk movement which has endured to this day and heavily influenced the urban streetwear fashion scene as we know it.
Her influence doesn’t end there however she was also instrumental in creating the flamboyant New Romantic style (the next UK great street style to emerge after Punk), helped launch the career of some of the biggest names in British fashion, been a significant influencer in bringing art and fashion together and even played an important part in the story of “Sex and the Ciy”. One of the most succesful fashion designers to emerge from the UK she has been honored with both a retrospective of her work at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and being declared both an OBE and Dame of the British Empire.
Her influence continues to this day with her couture pieces which are amongst the most sought after designs in fashion, and her hugely successful Anglomania diffusion line. Although she recently admitted that she has little to do with her diffusion lines her influence runs strong throughout them, Anglomania takes the spirit of her punk and romantic designs and makes them more palatable for a contemporary consumer, its flagship store is even based in the former Sex/Seditionaires shop on the King’s Road in London which spawned the Sex Pistols and Punk.
Her latest advance into mainstream fashion is a collaboration between Anglomania and heritage jeans brand Lee. Set to launch for Fall/Winter 2010 it will include bondage and skinny jeans for men with washes that will run from indigo denim to metallic gold, and copper-colored denim. Certainly sounds intersting, although the jury will be out until we get a closer look at the collection. We will hopefully be able to share some images of the garments with you soon.
Source: Selectism
