What Was Vivienne Westwood's Net Worth?
Dame Vivienne Westwood DBE RDI was an English fashion designer and writer who had a net worth of $50 million at the time of her death in 2022. Vivienne Westwood was famous for bringing punk elements into modern fashion, as well as new wave designs. Though these elements had existed for years, it was her influence and designs that helped bring them mainstream. Westwood became known in the '70s when she designed clothing for the SEX boutique on King's Road, which she ran with her second husband, Malcolm McLaren. Malcolm began managing the Sex Pistols in 1976, and the band wore Vivienne's designs. Westwood co-wrote books such as "Fashion in Art: The Second Empire and Impressionism," and she published the memoir "Vivienne Westwood" in 2014. Vivienne was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1992 and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 2006, and she was named a Royal Designer for Industry (RDI) by the British Royal Society of Arts in 2001. In 2022, she was ranked #4 on the "Sky Arts" television channel's list of the 50 most influential British artists of the past 50 years. Westwood passed away on December 29, 2022, at the age of 81.
Early Life
Vivienne Westwood was born Vivienne Isabel Swire on April 8, 1941, in Tintwistle, Cheshire, England. Vivienne was the daughter of Dora Ball and Gordon Swire, and at the time of her birth, her father worked as a storekeeper in an aircraft factory. The family relocated to Harrow, Greater London, in 1958, and Westwood enrolled in a jewelry and silversmith course at the Harrow Art School but left the school after one term. She said of the decision, "I didn't know how a working-class girl like me could possibly make a living in the art world." Vivienne later found work in a factory, and after attending a teacher-training college, she began working as a primary-school teacher. Around this time, she also made jewelry and sold it at a stall in the Notting Hill district.
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Career
From 1974 to 1976, Westwood and her future husband, Malcolm McLaren, ran the boutique SEX (formerly called Let it Rock and Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die) at 430 King's Road, London, and it specialized in punk fashion. Vivienne said of that era, "It changed the way people looked. I was messianic about punk, seeing if one could put a spoke in the system in some way. I realised there was no subversion without ideas. It's not enough to want to destroy everything." Vivienne and Malcolm released the fashion collection Pirate in the early '80s, and they followed it with Savages, Buffalo/Nostalgia Of Mud, Punkature, Witches, and Worlds End within the next few years. After her partnership with McLaren ended, Westwood released the Clint Eastwood collection in late 1984. Vivienne called 1981 to 1985 her "New Romantic" period, and that's when she created the band Adam and the Ants' signature look. In the mid-1980s, the ballet "Petrushka" inspired her to create the mini-crini, which has been described as "an abbreviated version of the Victorian crinoline."
In 2013, Westwood and Richard Branson worked together to design new uniforms made of recycled polyester for the Virgin Atlantic crew – a red suit for women and a three-piece grey and burgundy suit for men. As of late 2015, there were more than 70 Vivienne Westwood stores worldwide, including 12 in the U.K. and 18 in South Korea. In 2011, Vivienne Westwood Ltd agreed to pay HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) £350,000 in taxes and £144,112 in interest for underestimating the brand's value. The business had sold the rights to Westwood's trademarks to Latimo, a Luxembourg-based company she controlled, for £840,000 nine years earlier. After HMRC examined this deal, it concluded that the business has been undervalued. Vivienne's designs were featured in the 2008 "Sex and the City" movie, and Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw chose a wedding gown designed by Westwood after becoming engaged to Chris Noth's Mr. Big. A knee-length version of the gown was available to buy for $9,875 on Net-a-porter, and it sold out "almost instantly."
Personal Life
Vivienne married Derek Westwood on July 21, 1962, and they welcomed son Ben (born 1963) before divorcing in 1966. She also had a son, Joseph Corré (born 1967), with her second husband, Malcolm McLaren, who she was married to from 1967 to 1980. Joseph co-founded the popular Agent Provocateur lingerie brand. Westwood wed Andreas Kronthaler in May 1992, and they remained married until Vivienne's death in December 2022. Kronthaler was a former fashion student of Westwood's. In 2000, he convinced Vivienne to move from her ex–council flat in Clapham to a 300-year-old home in Clapham that was previously owned by Captain Cook's mother. Westwood was a vegetarian and a Taoist, and she was featured in a PETA ad campaign to promote vegetarianism and World Water Day.
In 2005, Vivienne designed limited edition t-shirts and baby clothing to raise money for Liberty, a British civil rights organization. In 2007, she announced that she had decided to switch her support from the Labour Party to the Conservative Party because of concerns about human rights and civil liberties. In 2008, she took part in a Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament demonstration at the Atomic Weapons Establishment in Berkshire. In 2015, Westwood expressed her support for the Green Party, stating, "I am investing in the Green Party because I believe it is in the best interests of our country and our economy." She endorsed Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in the 2017 and 2019 general elections, and in November 2019, she signed a letter of support that called Corbyn "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world."
Death
On December 29, 2022, Westwood passed away at the age of 81. No cause of death was disclosed, and her fashion house announced the sad news on social media, stating, "Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better." Many celebrities posted tributes to Vivienne on social media, including Paul McCartney, Chrissie Hynde, Boy George, Simon LeBon, and Russell Brand. A memorial was held at London's Southwark Cathedral in February 2023, and it was attended by Marc Jacobs, Victoria Beckham, Anna Wintour, Kate Moss, and Elle Fanning as well as Helena Bonham Carter, who gave a eulogy at the service.
Awards and Honors
In 1996, Westwood won a Bambi Award in the Fashion category, and in 2021, she was named Game Changer at the "GQ" Men of the Year Awards. At The Fashion Awards, she won the award for British Designer of the Year three times, and she was honored with the Swarovski Award for Positive Change in 2018. In 2007, she received a Fellowship at King's College London, and the following year, she designed numerous new gowns and hoods for the school's students to wear at their commencement ceremonies. That year Westwood also was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, Scotland.
