Vivienne Westwood - The Brand

Bright flashy tartans, plenty of zips and tons of attitude, Vivienne Westwood became the Queen of fashion following her success at bringing punk and new wave into the fashion mainstream. Aside from dressing the Sex Pistols with her controversial style, she also designed the show stopping wedding dress Carrie Bradshaw wore in the film adaption of Sex and the City.

History

After dropping out of fashion school to embark on a career as a teacher, Vivienne started selling her handmade jewellery on Portobello Road. From there she moved into clothing, and in 1981 showcased her first collection on the catwalk. Although inspired throughout her early career by punks and ragamuffins, she later modelled designs on girls the parodied the upper class.

Style

Vivienne’s designs still contain plenty of bold punk reference. The Mac Cambridge print combines startling blue and red stripes, and is perfect for countryside pub lunches – in a slight shoulder bag if you’re just carrying your phone and cash, or in a large tote size if you’re carrying an extra jumper for the unpredictable British weather. If you’re looking for a goes-with-anything clutch, Vivienne has designed an elegant black leather number with simple gold orb clasp that is a little bit roomier than anything else on the market.

Perfect For

Those who appreciate the fun and striking designs from the punk era. Vivienne’s robust bags aren’t for the faint hearted, but contain such wonderful snippets of British era’s been-and-gone.