Fashion and Perversity

Vivienne Westwood was born the "Queen of punk rock". Her fashions first scandalized and then fascinated the world. Today, she is rated as one of the world's most influential fashion designers. She has never lost her power to shock. From her models parading bare breasted down Paris catwalks to her notorious "look no knickers!" pose inside the gates of Buckingham Palace, her characteristically anarchic outrageousness is one of the reasons she is probably the most talked-about designer on both sides of the Atlantic. But little is known about this essentially private woman who conceals herself behind enigmatic and aloof remarks. This biography describes her childhood and early years - the Tintwhistle schoolgirl brought up in poverty by a mother who foraged in dustbins to feed her family - and traces her progress from diffident schoolteacher to situationist couturier of the Sex and Seditionaries boutiques to the formidable creative designer she is today. It relates the inside story of her stormy and bizarre relationship with Malcom McLaren - to whom she was first introduced by the author.
It recounts her subsequent solo triumph as well as the casualties of her relentless drive to succeed. It also analyses the dynamics of her witty and erotic creativity and her impact on the fashion industry.