What Happened: The world has been mourning the death of famed clothier, activist, cultural maven and elegance icon Vivienne Westwood since December 29. Dubbed “the high priestess of punk,” she reportedly died peacefully, surrounded by family in South London at age 81. Spiritually, she considered herself a Taoist, famously penning, “There was never more need for the Tao today. Tao gives you a sense that you simply belong to the cosmos and provides purpose to your life; it gives you a way of identity and strength to know you’re living the life you may live and subsequently must be living: make full use of your character and full use of your life on earth.”  

Almost every big name in fashion, including Nick Knight, Donatella Versace, Naomi Campbell, Bella Hadid and Kim Cattrall, has been paying tribute to an inimitable legend who stayed on the forefront of fashion for six a long time. Popularizing punk with husband Malcolm McLaren during their Seventies Kings Road London’s“Sex”store heyday, the duo dressed the Sex Pistols in those infamous “God Save the Queen” tees. Afterward, her eponymous high fashion label provided a number of the industry’s most memorable moments and entertaining runways. 

Westwood was intrinsically radical (doing things like gender-fluid dressing a long time before current incarnations) and remained a real punk and vocal activist to the tip, championing Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, environmental protection and anti-capitalism.

Her influence in Asia and China was also prodigious, in each personality and elegance. Upon news of her death, fashion fans and netizens flooded social media to precise sadness on the lack of one in every of fashion’s greats. The subject trended on Weibo with the hashtag #VivienneWestwoodpassedaway# gaining 110 million reads and 13,000 discussions as of today. 

The Jing Take: Westwood was not in need of admirers of all generations in Greater China, as these Weibo figures show. Nevertheless, lots of her fans weren’t aware that she followed the traditional Chinese Taoist philosophy. Top Weibo comments include: “RIP. She’s such a cool woman,” by user @猫小琦 and “RIP. She’s one in every of my favorite designers. The queen of punk without end,” by @紫琉璃蝶. User@住在秋天yang added: “I’ll always remember Carrie’s wedding dress in Sex and the City. It was beautiful!” 

As fashion fans in China mourn her death, the brand’s Shanghai flagship store shared a photograph of somebody laying a flower outside their door on their Xiaohongshu account. Her brand stays popular in each the mainland and Hong Kong, in addition to other Asian fashion hotspots like Japan and South Korea. Her accessories, bags and jewellery were particularly wanted over the a long time in Asia. But her visionary legacy in China was underlined through unusual and meaningful cultural activities like K11 Shanghai’s 2016 “Get A Life” exhibition — the mall’s first collaboration with a luxury fashion brand — that exposed Westwood’s tackle how the climate disaster will impact all of us. 

A Chinese fan leaves a rose on the Vivienne Westwood flagship store in Shanghai. Photo: Xiaohongshu

Amid 2022’s luxury retail woes, her business was actually expanding in China with two latest stores opening in Shanghai and Beijing, taking the whole variety of stores within the mainland as much as 12. Before she passed, she transferred ownership of her estate to husband Andreas Kronthaler and long-time friend and designer Jeff Banks. Just just a few months ago, the designer had a viral Chinese social media moment when local actress Zhao Lusi and South Korean pop idol Lisa of Blackpink each wore the identical Vivienne Westwood bridal dress at a Bulgari event. 

Chinese actress Zhao Lusi wears a Vivienne Westwood bridal dress while promoting Bulgari’s Eden High Jewelry collection. Photo: Bulgari’s Weibo

The designer’s relationship with China was reportedly mixed, once declaring apathy in regards to the country to WWD. But she also used Chinese ink painting prints in her designs and proclaimed to Shanghai Day by day upon a visit to the town a few years ago that, “To me, there was nothing more wonderful than Chinese painting…There isn’t a progress in art. Great art is timeless. Chinese painting is totally perfect and you may’t progress from something that is ideal.” 

The Jing Take reports on a chunk of the leading news and presents our editorial team’s evaluation of the important thing implications for the luxurious industry. Within the recurring column, we analyze every little thing from product drops and mergers to heated debate sprouting on Chinese social media.