Influential Fashion Designer Vivienne Westwood Dead at 81

Vivienne Westwood has died. She was 81 years old.

A statement was issued about the world-renowned fashion designer’s death via Instagram, which says she died “peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London.”

“Vivienne continued to do the things she loved, up until the last moment, designing, working on her art, writing her book, and changing the world for the better. She led an amazing life. Her innovation and impact over the last 60 years has been immense and will continue into the future.”

“The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better,” it said.

Westwood was born on April 8, 1941, and came to prominence as a designer in the 1970s when she became well-known for her “punk and new wave aesthetics,” per BBC. She leaves behind her husband and creative partner of 20 years, Andreas Kronthaler, whom she married in 1992. Kronthaler, who is 25 years her junior, is also her former fashion student. They met at the Vienna School of Applied Art in 1988.

“I will continue with Vivienne in my heart,” Kronthaler said in a statement. “We have been working until the end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with.”