On the 29th of December, Vivienne Westwood died peacefully at her home in Clapham, South London, surrounded by her friends and family at the age of 81.
A true icon of British high fashion, Vivienne Westwood began designing in 1971 in London. By the end of the 70s, she was considered a symbol of the British avant-garde having pioneered the punk look. This movement and the designs associated with anarchic and rebellious attitude influenced far beyond the fashion and music worlds and are still felt today. In 1989, Vivienne met Andreas Kronthaler, her future husband and long-time design partner and now Creative Director. Vivienne Westwood is one of the last independent global fashion brands and strives to be more than just a producer of clothes and accessories. The voice of the brand raises awareness of the environmental impact of overconsumption, urging people to buy less and buy better quality.
Vivienne’s innovation and ethos will be remembered and continue through design and activism.
In late 2022, Vivienne founded The Vivienne Foundation with her sons and granddaughter. The not-for-profit Foundation which launches next year will honour, protect and continue Vivienne’s legacy, her life, design, and activism. It has been built on four pillars that were a big part of Vivienne’s work: Climate Change, Stop War, Defend Human Rights, and Protest Capitalism
With Mondottica, the exclusive Specsavers optical collection was one of the optician’s and Mondottica’s most successful launches. The SUN22 collection was very well received by the media and the general public. The collection saw coverage from top consumer press titles such as ELLE and Harper’s Bazaar and trade titles such as The Optical Journal.
We hope to continue Vivienne’s spirit and legacy with the launch of SUN23 and future sun and optical collections.
