English fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, who brought punk style to the world, died on Thursday aged 81. “Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London,” her team tweeted on her official Twitter page. “The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better.” The announcement also includes the following quote from Westwood, “Tao spiritual system.”
“There was never more need for the Tao today,” it continued. “Tao gives you a feeling that you belong to the cosmos and gives purpose to your life; it gives you such a sense of identity and strength to know you’re living the life you can live and therefore ought to be living: make full use of your character and full use of your life on earth.”
Westwood is survived by her third husband Andreas Kronthaler and her two children, Ben Westwood and Joseph Corré. “I will continue with Vivienne in my heart,” said her husband Andreas Kronthaler in a statement, according to Entertainment Weekly. “We have been working until the end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with. Thank you darling.”
The iconic fashion designer first rose to prominence in the 1970s as the co-owner of the boutique SEX along with Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren. The Sex Pistols began wearing her work which ultimately influenced England’s punk scene and eventually global fashion. Westwood went on to become a major force in the fashion world, producing collections that were shown in Paris and London throughout the 1980s.
As the outlet states, her clothing has been worn by the likes of Marion Cotillard, Pharrell Williams, and Princess Eugenie of the British royal family. Westwood was also a noted political activist, often using her designs to champion causes she was passionate about, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, climate change, and civil rights. There’s also a 2018 documentary, Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist that chronicles her life and work.
