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 Vivienne Westwood is a woman who's all about change and taking risks. Few people have made as big an impact in clothing and in culture as this London-based designer. Vivienne Swire became Vivienne Westwood when she fell in love and married Derek John Westwood. Soon after she had a son, and even though she loved Westwood, she was also quickly bored with the housewife gig and left. She moved into a house her brother Gordon shared with a few film students and the man who would change her life. This man was then called Malcolm Edwards. In 1971 he would become Malcolm McLaren, the man who helped bring the UK punk rock, in the form of the Sex Pistols. In 1971 Vivienne herself made a big change. She hacked off her long hair in favor of a short, spiky do. Even before Ziggy Stardust, Vivienne was the first to create the spiky, peroxide-dyed, bristling hairstyle-a style that was to become a trademark of punk culture.  In November 1971 they opened the shop "Let it Rock at Paradise Garage" at 430 Kings Road. The shop began with Westwood and McLaren selling knock-offs of teddy boy clothes. But, disgusted with teddy boy politics, they soon turned their back on that image, changing the name of the store with it. In 1973 they reopened as 'Too Fast to Live Too Young to Die.' It was during this time Westwood began designing slogan-printed T-shirts. They were invited to show at the annual National Boutique Show in New York. There they were interviewed by Andy Warhol's Interview magazine. The New York Dolls paid them a visit, bringing NY's rock culture to them and them to NY.Again they reopened their shop in the late summer under the name "SEX"-to sell their own products of sexual fetish. The name was shocking and so were the fashions. Explicit T-shirts, ripped clothing, safety pins, dog collars, latex and leather pants, dresses and full facial masks. She outfitted the Sex Pistols (originally put out on the SEX label) and as they changed music, she changed fashion-from the streets of London to the back alleys of New York. No other designer has had such an impact on culture, trends and modern society as Westwood.  And that didn't stop with the punks. In the end of 1979/beginning of 1980 came the New Romantics. Led by Boy George and bands such as Adam and the Ants and Spandau Ballet, the New Romantics turned their backs on sexual distinction in dress. Instead, they dressed up in extravagant costumes with long, styled hair and extreme make-up. Westwood responded to the change in music with her own style: the modern pirate. McLaren tried to respond the same way he did to push Vivienne's slashed T-shirts and safety pins through the nose. He tried this time with the band Bow Wow Wow. That band didn't quite work as well. Thank god. Again, the stores name changed, now called "World's End." The Pirate Collection was more successful for Westwood then Bow Wow Wow for McLaren. She had her first catwalk show with it in 1981, and in 1983 her first show in Paris, and the first Briton to show in Paris since Mary Quant. As punk quickly snaked its way into society, you could say the Pirate Collection did too. Even though Seinfeld made fun of the Pirate shirt, he still wore it on national TV on one of the highest rated shows in history. McLaren and Westwood split. He went on to create the great rock and roll swindle and she to become one of the world's greatest fashion designers. In 1984, Vivienne had her first Tokyo show; in 1989 she was named one of the best six designers in the world, and the only woman.Now in 2003, Westwood has again managed to shock a fashion world that has an attitude of "been there, done that." Down the runway sauntered men at the epitome of androgyny. A sort of Marilyn Manson meets Calvin Klein. The men wore figure-hugging knitwear with fake breasts underneath. Once again, alternative meets mainstream, gender bending for the masses. Director of fashion at Sydney TAFE, Alison Mason, said "while Westwood's designs have always been controversial they have largely made their way into our everyday wardrobe. The look is controversial but we may see it in some diluted manner in stores." And sexperts and trend watchers have recently hypothesized that gender will be the next frontier, a prediction that seems to be coming true. In San Francisco, transsexuals received front page billing as gender reassignment surgery for city employees is now paid for. Hedwig, the off-Broadway musical, has been made into a hit movie.  So if gender bending is no longer on the outer fringe of the fringes of society, what makes Westwood's new designs so special or unique? She's treating it as if it's already mainstream. There's no fancy make-up, no drag queen camp. Not even DD porn star camp. The breasts are average to small, sewn into form fitting knits in dark or muted colors, knits that could have been designed by the Queen of Plain, Donna Karan, or King of Frat, J. Crew.It's not as if these men are dressing up, but merely dressing-celebrating their feminine side. Men with a fetish for breasts can have their own. And if your fetish is cross-dressing, you're in luck. Haute couture has now officially deemed it okay. Whether or not anyone will ever buy or wear Westwood's creations remains to be seen. Most cutting edge haute couture is worn rarely by few. And this line will most likely be no exception. I'd love to see full figured men walking down the street. It may take a few years, but the look could catch on. After all, Marilyn Manson has disciples. Maybe like all other high fashion it probably comes down to the price tag. Most men wouldn't pay high fashion prices for a sweater, breasts or no breasts. The Queen of Fetish Fashion may still be trying to shock but she's doing better than most. Few fashion designers can say they helped to start a cultural revolution. If Vivienne Westwood's track record is any indication, we may soon see men with breasts choosing toilet paper in the grocery store, the same way we see boys with dog collars, green mohawks, and clothes held together with safety pins in line at the bank. Photos courtesy of and © 2003 by mital-U
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