Vivienne Westwood became famous for punk fashion after opening the boutique SEX with Malcolm McLaren in London.
Westwood and McLaren opened the King’s Road boutique in 1974, and its name and presentation changed several times before and after SEX. The shop sold provocative clothing influenced by youth rebellion, fetishwear, historical references, and anti-establishment graphics. McLaren later managed the Sex Pistols, linking Westwood’s designs with the emerging punk music scene.
Westwood’s work was not limited to torn clothing or slogans. She also reinterpreted corsets, tailoring, tartan, eighteenth-century dress, and traditional British references. Her fashion became known for deliberately challenging accepted ideas of propriety and good taste.
The designer later achieved recognition within the Paris fashion system while retaining her political and environmental interests. Her punk period is one important phase of a much broader career.