Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Westwood received her honour in the 2006 New Years lists in recognition of her services to the fashion industry, and one can't help reflecting on the irony of this - one of the most radical figures of the 1970s, linked to the anarchic Sex Pistols, gaining mainstream recognition from the establishment. However, her career shows just how much of an impact she has made on national consciousness since her early days in the King's Road, Chelsea, when she opened the Sex / Seditionaries boutique with her partner of the time and Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm McClaren. Indeed, their shocking designs gave birth to and defined punk fashion - bicycle chains, safety pins and razor blades as jewellery and the inclusion of tartan. Yet were there any clues in her background that hint at her later career?

“Their shocking designs gave birth to and defined punk fashion”

To whom is she related?

Vivienne's early formative years showed no sign of the dramatic career path that was to come - she started out as a primary school teacher in North London, though she had attended the Harrow School of Art. Her parents, Gordon Swire and Dora Ball, had married two weeks after the outbreak of the Second World War and Vivienne was born two years later, at which time her father was forking as a storekeeper in an aircraft factory; previously, he had worked as a fruiterer. However, if we go back one further generation, there is evidence of Vivienne's future calling. Her grandfather, Ernest Swire, was a bootmaker, and further examination of the family tree shows that making shoes, boots and 'clogs' was a skill that had been passed down, generation to generation, since the middle of the nineteenth century. Ernest was born in Hadfield, Glossop, in 1878 and until his marriage to Florence Sheppard in 1905 lived with his family helping his father John to make boots and clogs. This was a thriving business; apart from Ernest, John's other sons Harry and Norman also spent their days in the workshop at their house, whilst a sister, Eleanor, was a dressmaker. One suspects that the family valued employment over education, though; the youngest children, John (16) and Gordon (14) were already apprenticed to a butcher and in an office respectively. John Swire clearly was skilled at his profession, taking on his father John Swire senior's business and employing staff until his children were old enough to get involved. This was what he had learned; as a boy aged 14, he worked with leather and lace, gaining the experience that he would pass on in turn.

Yet there are other branches of the family that also displayed similar creativity. Florence Sheppard was the daughter of a draper, Robert, who had previously worked in a print works so was clearly familiar with designs and patterns. And her maternal family also contained cloggers and weavers (the Eastwoods, via Vivienne's great-grandmother Mary), as well as cotton spinners - Dora's father, Edward, earned a living as did many in this profession. However, there is a tragic tale lurking further back; Edward's father, Peter Ball, died from tuberculosis in 1889 leaving behind a 30 year old widow, Mary Jane and four children - one of which, Peter junior, was born months after his father's death. Mary and her oldest daughter Annie were forced to work as cotton weavers to keep the family afloat; Mary eventually re-married a carter named Walter Schofield, and at the age of 39 started a new family.

What's in a name?

As you might expect, Vivienne's surname has a descriptive geographic origin - someone who would originally have lived near