Vivienne Westwood died

Vivienne Westwood, an influential fashion maverick who played a key role in the punk movement, died Thursday at age 81.

When she wanted to sell 1950s-style clothes at her first shop, she found old clothes in markets and took them apart to understand the cut and construction. She approached her work with gusto in her early years, but later seemed to tire of the clamor and buzz. Her son with Derek Westwood is the fashion photographer Ben Westwood. The rebel eventually became one of its most celebrated stars, known for reinterpreting opulent dresses from the past and often finding inspiration in 18th century paintings. “Fashion can be so boring,” she told The Associated Press after unveiling one of her new collections at a 2010 show. When asked if she regretted the swastika in a [2009 interview with Time magazine,](https://content.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1871537,00.html) Westwood said no. She even [designed the dress Stella Moris wore when she married Assange](https://apnews.com/article/europe-lifestyle-london-weddings-julian-assange-60936be569eae0d6d2f929b4a507f49d) this past March at a London prison. That breakthrough is credited with taking Westwood in a more traditional direction, showing her interest in incorporating historical British designs into contemporary clothes. But still she spoke out against consumerism and conspicuous consumption, even urging people not to buy her expensive, beautifully made clothes. In her punk days, Westwood’s clothes were often intentionally shocking: T-shirts decorated with drawings of naked boys and “bondage pants” with sadomasochistic overtones were standard fare in her popular London shops. She dressed like a teenager even in her 60s and became an outspoken advocate of fighting climate change, It’s very much rooted in the English tradition of pastiche and irony and satire.

Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood has died at 81, architect Arata Isozaki has died at 91, and more global art news.

[[The New York Times]](https://click.email.artnews.com/?qs=d7c2de1e7c6b6b4e87685c46d078d033d2fb77d3ae58194893ee468c9d7051d665617c30a6fcb9c40d5575d9901e0c2822d46e4c0e6c7daf) The delightful-sounding [Martial Arts History Museum](https://click.email.artnews.com/?qs=d7c2de1e7c6b6b4e19bef38bcb2eeb880c3bea3255768538fe9ccd3cfda71e50146a3dab459ffc86a1c2cad469b475bb90d648c23594c55b), for one, holds the headband worn by Ralph Macchio in The Karate Kid Part II. In this month’s Artforum, artist and director John Waters has his much-loved [annual list ](https://click.email.artnews.com/?qs=d7c2de1e7c6b6b4eb1d3a3dd68a7e243fc22061c3a9bdcdd686d296334db5e8a9da2b9b85d98b537a0eaf91b5573745064dafd26cd308b4e)of his favorite films of the year, which include Detainee 001 and Dinner in America (“a wonderfully nasty, politically incorrect punk-rock romantic comedy”). Arts-festival organizers Seán Doran and Liam Browne have been toasting the centenary of the publication of James Joyce’s Ulysses this year by presenting events all over Europe. Critic Sebastian Smee paid a visit to the blockbuster “Modigliani Up Close” show at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. [a list of five](https://click.email.artnews.com/?qs=d7c2de1e7c6b6b4ef283762e7f33f1775dd3171ba101fcd432480f757d035f90312e5e472f06580fedbc4f2c9a7f13eefa0c790702431067) that stuck with her this year, including Wakanda Forever and Neptune Frost (“one of the best films of our time”). Photographer Uta Barth, whose lucid images plumb perception, currently has a show at the Getty in Los Angeles. Still, there are concerns that the effects of climate change could make it precarious again. In a 2014 memoir, the Times notes, Westwood wrote that some “seem surprised still that you can have been in punk and then also be in couture, but it’s all connected.” [VIVIENNE WESTWOOD](https://www.artnews.com/t/vivienne-westwood/), the freewheeling fashion designer who pioneered punk and became one of her era’s leading cultural lights, [has died at 81](https://click.email.artnews.com/?qs=d7c2de1e7c6b6b4ef05ddd772998c2dbc5895c0d5b5afaa6dc6582af0bea5a37a728c7b7bc285d5a49ddf9a4d49b5122a5d36c577dff1ecd), the New York Times reports. For Cultured, artist Mickalene Thomas compiled Are you looking for some films recommendations?

She died “peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London,” a statement on the brand's official Instagram said.

She agreed to design something for The Times of London, where he then worked: a badge in the shape of a bird that readers could cut out and wear to support the England team in the 2006 World Cup. Westwood was too good, too inventive for the Britain of the late 1970s and 1980s in which she became famous, or by that era’s measure—notorious. Westwood was treated with derision, not the respect that her designs and visionary genius merited. She was a provocateur, and one with a deep understanding of what made her homeland tick: that peculiarly British blend of history, class, sex, Romanticism, and tradition, which she worked up into the most magical and imaginative of clothes.” The pair used fashion “to shock, irritate and provoke a reaction but also to inspire change,” punk musician Viv Albertine wrote in her memoir, saying the clothes reflected the kind of music she was trying to make at the time. Her innovation and impact over the last 60 years has been immense and will continue into the future.”