Legendary British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood
has died at the age of 81. She died on Thursday, December 29, in Clapham,
surrounded by her family, her fashion house in a statement said.

Her husband and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler said:
“I will continue with Vivienne in my heart. We have been working until the
end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with.”

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Who was Dame Vivienne Westwood?

Dame Vivienne Westwood was a British fashion designer and
businesswoman, largely responsible for introducing modern punk and new wave
fashions into the mainstream. In the 1970s, she ran a boutique on London’s King’s Road alongside Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren.

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She established a global fashion brand that today has stores in the United Kingdom, France, Italy, America, and Asia. The legendary designer was also well known for campaigning on issues such as pollution and climate change and supporting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

In 1989, she dressed up as Margaret Thatcher for a magazine cover and drove a white tank near the home of former prime minister David Cameron to protest against fracking.

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Westwood was born on April 8, 1941, in the village of Tintwistle, Derbyshire. Her father Gordon Swire was a storekeeper in an aircraft factory and her mother’s name was Dora Swire.

She pursued a jewelry and silversmith course at the University of Westminster, then known as the Harrow Art School. After one term, she dropped out to take up a job in a factory and study at a teacher-training college. During this time, she designed her jewelry, which she sold at a stall on Portobello Road.

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Dame married Derek Westwood on July 21, 1962. She had two children. Ben Westwood, her son with Derek Westwood, is a photographer of erotica. Joseph Corre, her son with Malcolm McLaren, is the founder of the lingerie brand Agent Provocateur.

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She tied the knot with her former fashion student Andreas Kronthaler in 1992.

According to celebritynetworth.com, Westwood had an estimated net worth of $50 million.