What a sad life.
Pele and Dame Vivienne Westwood both icons in their respective industries died within 24 hours.
What a sad way to end 2022.
The only time I remember an incident like this was when the ‘King Of Pop’ Michael Jackson and ‘Charlie’s Angel’ Farah Fawcett died around the same day.
Unlike Football.
I know plenty about unconventional fashion.
And to me Vivienne Westwood was the poster child for that.
She started of from humble beginnings making one off pieces for rock bands during the legendary ‘punk area’.
And from then threw the fashion rule book out of the window, or as she delicately put ‘putting a spoke in the system’.
And to me that’s what made her the star we all know and love.
She was not willing to conform and was eager to express her voice though her clothes something that was rare in that period,and that is the factors that born her lucrative brand.
Her death personally hit me hard.
She was part of my fashion upbringing.
When I was younger I loved Paramore, 30 seconds to Mars,Fall out Boy,Slipknot and Green Day.
You get it I loved the punk scene.
But I used to express that through my clothes mostly like mod colours and wearing black nail varnish ,and a leather jacket was part of my fashion staple(But I always worried at times that instead of channeling James dean I ended up looking like an extra from Grease’
Don’t get me wrong I wasn’t a bonafide rock chick ,but I truly liked the idea of experimentation through my clothes ,as I didn’t like being just part of the rest.
So to me, I definitely share the dame’s ‘rebel heart’.
Without her contribution into the world of fashion.
I don’t think we would have had talents like Alexander McQueen and Heatherette e.g.
To me she embodied a life without taking chances is pretty dull.
Don’t get me wrong I’m not telling people to make erratic choices, but taking a sensible gamble at times can pay off.
Check out Dame Vivienne due to her challenging the ‘’status quo ‘’ she ended up being burdened with collaboration offers, and inspiring a new generation of fashion lovers.
The one thing I hope is that her family will show more of her unearthed pieces and have a fashion museum which would act like an archive.
So her work will live on.
The thing I’m happy even though Dame Vivienne Westwood and Pele are from different sides of the career spectrum.
The one thing they both share in common was their love for family, and they both died peacefully with their families at their side.
Not everyone is lucky to have that.
I now know heaven has now welcomed the ‘ultimate punk princess.’
May your spirit live on Dame Vivienne Westwood.