When i think of fashion designers taking to the world to the fullest, the first person who comes to mind is Westwood.

In the world of arts and fashion, no one has ever combined two elements into a finer fusion than the one and only Vivienne Westwood. Over three decades, Westwood continues to give punk a new platform from modern fashion to new wave fashion, and we’re not just talking about the infamous platform shoes worn by Naomi Campbell.

As one of the most recognized and celebrated fashion designers in Britain, Westwood has created herself quite an empire. Honoured with the Order of the British Empire in outstanding contributions in fashion in 1992, her work has been recognized and adored by many celebrities such as the likes of Linda Evangelista, Sarah Jessica Parker, Cameron Diaz, Gwen Stefani, and Mick Jagger, just to name a few. Not bad for someone who ditched the University of Westminster after just one term.

Her love has always been in teaching and music, something reflected in her work. Music, in particular, was a big part of her life as punk rock was her inspiration, her muse if you will. Along with her husband Malcolm McLaren, the manager of The Sex Pistols, she built an empire that revolutionized punk fashion as we now know it today. The two also have a son, Joseph Corre, founder and designer of Agent Provocateur.

The Sex Pistol wore Westwood and McLaren designs throughout their furious career. Westwood is responsible for the ‘Punk Style’ image that made the Sex Pistol famous in the eyes of new age fashion, pretty much defining the Punk Rock scene with its bondage gear, giant safety pins, studded belts, razor blades, heavy black clothes with outrageous hair do’s and excessive chains that connected around the wrist. Indeed, it is safe to say that today’s popular ‘Emo’ or ‘Alternative’ styles can be traced back to Westwood’s Punk vision.

Other than the ever present Punk style, Westwood always adds a historical element into her designs. Especially inspired by the style of the 17 - 18th century, Westwood chose to draw on it and juxtapose it with modern elements. In one of her many collections corsets, figure hugging dresses, velvet and modernized knitwear proved to be a big hit and so Westwood has managed to bring the elements of fashion history back into style.

Westwood’s influence in fashion and popular culture in general is not something that goes unnoticed. Not only has her designs and style has been showcased on runways worldwide, but they have also been a travelling retrospective exhibition in many galleries and museums. We salute Ms Westwood for bring such hip history back into mainstream pop culture.