According to a statement from her design brand, she passed away in London “peacefully and accompanied by her family.”
Westwood, 81, gained notoriety in the 1970s for her contentious punk and new wave looks and went on to outfit some of the biggest names in fashion. Marc Jacobs, a fellow designer, expressed his “heartbreak” and remarked that she “never failed to surprise and startle.”
He posted a tribute to her life and efforts on Instagram, saying: “First to act was you. I never stop learning from your words and all of your incredible inventions.” Westwood was dubbed a “force of nature” by supermodel Naomi Campbell, who memorably fell while walking one of his runways while wearing nine-inch platform shoes.
She described her own path from admiring Westwood from afar as a teenager to working with her and calling her a friend in a heartfelt homage.
Bella Hadid, a fellow model, called the designer “the sun” of the fashion world and expressed gratitude for being in her orbit.
“To the coolest, most fun, incredible, humble, creative, badass, intelligent, EPIC human being that has walked this earth… rest in love and Rest In Peace,” Hadid wrote.
After the announcement, Westwood’s husband and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler said: “I will continue with Vivienne in my heart. We have been working until the end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with.”
Westwood rose to fame thanks to her rebellious stance toward the establishment, androgynous designs, and slogan T-shirts.
She was renowned for being a fervent campaigner and brought issues close to her heart, like as climate warming, to the catwalk.
In 2006, the fashion designer was appointed a dame for her contributions.
She described her outfit as being intended to look “a bit like Che Guevara, an urban guerrilla,” a prominent figure in the Cuban Revolution in the 1950s who later became a symbol of rebellion. She had a black cap perched on the back of her bright orange hair, a dress with campaign badges, and tiny silver horns on her head.
Before opening the clothes store Let It Rock on King’s Road in Chelsea with her then-partner Malcolm McLaren in the early 1970s, Derbyshire-born Westwood worked as a primary school teacher.
Later, the company was renamed Sex, and McLaren started managing the Sex Pistols, a punk music band made up of regulars.
They became well-known in 1976 while sporting Westwood and McLaren creations.
A young American who later fronted the Pretenders was one of the shop’s employees.
In a tribute, performer Chrissie Hynde stated that the world was “already a less exciting place” without Westwood.
British fashion designer Jeff Banks described the passing of his close friend as a “moment in history” and expressed his deep sorrow over it.
She was a “genuine creator who will eternally stand head and shoulders above her contemporaries and take her position forever in the top echelons of her trade,” according to Banks, who was just made a director at Westwood’s design house.
Tracey Emin, an artist, claimed that while Westwood pushed and criticised her, he still liked and cared about her.
For more than 20 years, they were close friends.
Boy George, a singer, described Westwood as “wonderful and inspiring” and “without a doubt… the undisputed Queen of British fashion” when they first met in the early 1980s.
She was dubbed “a ballsy lady who shocked the fashion world and stood fiercely for what was right” by music superstar Sir Paul McCartney.
As a courageous designer who “created historic fashion design moments that woke us all up and shook the industry to its core,” his daughter, fashion designer Stella McCartney, credits Westwood with inspiring her career.
According to Sex Pistol bassist Glen Matlock, it was a “pleasure to have rubbed shoulders” with her in the 1970s during the early days of punk. He described her motivation as follows: “She desired to cause a sensation. But she did everything exceptionally well.”
Victoria Beckham, a Spice Girl and fellow fashion designer, described her as a “renowned designer and activist.”
Along with climate change, Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, is battling extradition to the US to answer to charges under the Espionage Act. Westwood has become a strong backer of Assange’s release. She warned against an Assange “stitch up” in a huge bird cage while wearing canary yellow in July 2020.
Assange’s wife Stella praised Westwood as a “pillar of the anti-establishment” after wearing a bridal gown made by the designer.
She said that Westwood was a “wonderful friend” and “the best of Britain” in a letter on behalf of her husband, who is presently being held in Belmarsh Prison.
The Westwood family’s sons and granddaughter established the Vivienne Foundation, which will debut in the next year with the mission to “honour, safeguard, and carry on the legacy of Vivienne’s life, design, and advocacy.”
Her family stated that it will work with non-governmental organisations to promote awareness and bring about change in the areas of capitalism, halting war, defending human rights, and combating climate change.