Remember when Viviene Westwood was married to Malcolm McLaren, running the Chelsea “Sex” Boutique, changing the world of fashion while dressing Sid Vicious (and nearly getting him killed for wearing the pictured tee shirt in Texas)?
Well, neither does she, Dame Vivienne Westwood was quoted as follows in Vogue: “I must admit, I don’t follow anything that happens on the runways, I have no idea what other people are doing. I only went to one single fashion show last season in Paris, and only so photographers would get a picture of my t-shirt supporting Julian Assange.”
In the UK a “Dame” is the equivalent of a male knighthood, a high honor indeed, but Westwood was so cutting edge, such a symbol of so many things with her d&b fashions, her consumer nightmare dayglo, “one day you’re gonna wake up and see what side of the bed you got out of” change the world, reflect the world, anarchist, up against the walk situationalism, the though of her as Dame Vivienne is really quote upsetting.
McLaren’s dead, Sid’s been dead for decades, Strummer is gone, the Ramones are gone, and the one person who made it out on top, even more than Johnny Rotten, who would have been prime suspect to my mind, is Dame Vivienne. The fashion of rebellion becomes the mainstream and beyond.