In a rare 1978 TV interview for Irish Television, Dame Vivienne Isabel Westwood, an English fashion designer and businesswoman, discussed her influential role in bringing modern punk and new wave fashions into the mainstream. Westwood gained public notice when she designed clothes for Malcolm McLaren’s boutique, known as SEX, on King’s Road. Their collaboration shaped the 1970s UK punk scene, dominated by McLaren’s band, the Sex Pistols. Westwood viewed punk as a way to challenge the system. Over time, she expanded her reach, opening shops in London and globally, selling merchandise that promoted political causes such as climate change, civil rights, and nuclear disarmament. Interestingly, in another interview, she succinctly described fashion as “about eventually being naked” when asked about its essence. Her counterculture aesthetic and commitment to environmental causes continue to influence the fashion world.
