Test Your Knowledge of Fashion Icon and Activist Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood was an English fashion designer and businesswoman who brought modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. She was rated the 4th most influential artist in Britain of the last 50 years by Sky Arts in 2022. Westwood co-managed the boutique SEX with Malcolm McLaren, which became a meeting place for early members of the punk scene. She opened four shops in London and expanded throughout the world, selling a varied range of merchandise that promoted her political causes such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change, and civil rights groups. Westwood was one of the architects of the punk fashion phenomenon of the 1970s. She collaborated with Gary Ness and McLaren on collections such as Pirate, Savages, and Buffalo/Nostalgia Of Mud. Westwood's designs were independent and represented a statement of her own values. She designed academic gowns for King's College London and uniforms for the Virgin Atlantic crew. Westwood Ltd operated 12 retail stores in the UK and 63 worldwide, including nine in China and two in the United States. In 2011, Westwood's company agreed to pay £350,000 in tax plus interest of £144,112 for underestimating the value of her brand. Westwood's designs were featured in the 2008 film adaptation of the television series Sex and the City. She campaigned for civil liberties, human rights, and climate change. In 2015, she donated £300,000 to fund the Green Party.Vivienne Westwood: Fashion Designer, Activist, and Author

• Westwood supported the Green Party during the 2015 UK general election campaign but was excluded from appearing on their university tour due to her avoidance of UK corporate tax.
• Westwood switched her support to the Reality Party candidate Nigel Askew in the Kent constituency of Thanet South in the 2015 election.
• In 2017, Westwood endorsed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn for the 2017 general election and in 2019, she signed a letter supporting Corbyn in the 2019 UK general election.
• Westwood created a manifesto called Active Resistance to Propaganda, which deals with the pursuit of art in relation to the human predicament and climate change.
• Westwood was a long-time supporter of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, and called for his release from custody.
• In 2013, Westwood dedicated one of her collections to Chelsea Manning and at her fashion show she and all her models wore large image badges of Manning with the word "Truth" under her picture.
• Eluxe Magazine accused Westwood of using the green movement as a marketing tool in 2013, due to the lack of eco-friendliness in some of her clothing lines.
• Westwood was awarded an OBE in 1992, advanced to DBE in 2006, and has earned the award for British Designer of the Year on three occasions.
• Westwood was featured in a Canadian-made television documentary called Vivienne Westwood's London in 2011.
• In 2018, a documentary film about Westwood, called Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, premiered.
• Westwood was commissioned by CIRCA to present a new video work on the Piccadilly Lights screen in Piccadilly Circus, London, to celebrate her 80th birthday.
• Westwood died in Clapham, London, on 29 December 2022, at the age of 81.