British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is credited with bringing modern punk and new wave fashion to the mainsteam. Westwood is a well-known political activist, with an anarchist style. As her fame grew from London boutique to international design house, she started incorporating historical references to challenge prescribed ideas and subvert existing norms. Historicism and sexuality are central to many of Westwood's designs. Key collections included within the Archive: Pirates (FW 1981), Anglomania (FW 1993/4), and Harris Tweed (FW 1987/88).
The Fashion Photography Archive contains more than 6,000 looks over 52 collections by Vivienne Westwood, spanning two decades, from the 1980s to 2000, and contains couture, ready-to-wear, womenswear and menswear collections.
