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Considered The Designers Designer Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood was born in Tintwistle, Derby, C England, UK. She became well known in the 1970s when, with Malcolm McLaren the rock music entrepreneur, she opened a shop in London that became the focus of the punk rock movement. She gained international recognition in the early 1980s with her Pirate and New Romantics look. Vivienne Westwood has played a vital role in the emergence of Punk Rock in the 1970s and has gone on to become one of the most original and influential designers of our time. Her designs combine a fearless unconformity with a sense of tradition. She is renowned for her gentle parody of Establishment styles, her use of very British fabrics such as Harris tweed and tartan, her re-use of historic garments such as the corset and crinoline. Yet, her approach has always been practical, driven by a curiosity about how things work, a process she describes as 'learning through action'. 1941 Vivienne Isabel Swire born on April 8th in Glossop, Derbyshire. 1957 Moves with her family to London, aged 17, and attended Harrow Art School for one term. 1962 Marries Derek Westwood. Aged 21, becomes a primary-school teacher in Willesden, North London. 1963 Her first son, Benjamin Arthur Westwood, is born. 1965 Marriage to Westwood ends. She meets 18 year old Malcolm Edwards (aka McLaren). 1967 With McLaren, a second son is born, Joseph Ferdinand Corre 1971 McLaren and Westwood's first shop opens at 430 King's Road, London, called 'Let It Rock'. 1972 The shop is redesigned and renamed by McLaren 'Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die'. 1974 Shop name is changed to 'SEX'. 1975 Westwood and McLaren are fined for 'exposing to public view an indecent exhibition'. 1976 430 King's Road is renamed 'Seditionaries - Clothes for Heroes'. 1979 'World's End' opens at 430 King's Road. 1981 March: McLaren and Westwood's first catwalk show, the Pirate collection (A/W 1981-2), shown at Olympia followed by Savage (S/S 1982). 1982 Buffalo (A/W 1982-3) and Punkature (S/S 1983) shown in Paris. Westwood and McLaren open a second London shop called 'Nostalgia of Mud'. 1984 'Nostalgia of Mud' closes. Westwood moves to Italy. Invitation to show the Hypnos collection (S/S 1984) in Tokyo at Hanae Mori's 'Best of Five' global fashion awards, with Calvin Klein, Claude Montana and Gianfranco Ferre. Deal with Giorgio Armani announced. 1987 Westwood designs the Statue of Liberty corset as part of Harris Tweed (A/W 1987-8). It is the first corset to be introduced into outerwear. 1989 November: Westwood's name appears in a list of the world's top six designers in John Fairchild's book Chic Savages (1989), along with Armani, Lagerfield, Saint Laurent, Lacroix and Ungaro. 1989-1991 Appointed Professor of Fashion at Vienna Academy of Applied Arts. 1990 First complete menswear collection, Cut and Slash (S/S 1991) shown in conjuntion with Pitti Uomo in Florence. December: The Vivienne Westwood shop opens at 6 Davies Street, in London's Mayfair. It sells the Gold Label collection. Westwood is the first fashion designer to be profiled on London Weekend Television's arts programme, 'The South Bank Show'.

The Past and the Present Fashion Designer Yves Saint Laurent was born 1936 in Oran, Algeria. After winning first prize in the International Wool Secretariat contest for his asymetrical cocktail dress in 1954, Saint Laurent went immediately to work for Christian Dior. Saint Laurent became Haute Couture designer when Dior died in 1957. He introduced the trapeze dress in his first collection for Dior in 1958. He was replaced by Mark Bohen in 1960, when he fulfilled his military obligations. Afterwards, he opened his own couture house, financed by Pierre Berge, in 1962. The Rive Gauche boutiques for women were established in 1966, and men's wear was added in 1974. His CEO is still Pierre Berge, volatile critic of the Chambre Syndicale. His muse has been Catherine Deneuve for many years. Saint Laurent frequently uses ethnic themes in his garments, as well as bright colors contrasted with black. His day clothes have a slightly masculine flavor, and his luxurious evening wear is tinged with fantasy. He is famous for "Le Smoking" tuxedo jacket, see-through blouses (1968), peasant blouses, bolero jackets, pantsuits, and smocks. Although a shy person, Saint Laurent believes he is the last true couturier. He maintains the highest standards of classic cut and tailoring, and he receives a standing ovation after every collection is presented. 1996 marks two surprising developments concerning the presentation of his new collections. In Summer of 1996, Saint Laurent was the first courturier to show his Haute Couture show live on the Internet. The other move was the decision to stop making big fashion shows for his Pret-a-Porter collection after 30 years of doing so. He now shows his new models only to a few selected journalists on appoitment basis. Pierre Berge was sentenced to a 1 million Francs (about $197000) fine for insider-trading in 1996. In 1992, he sold Yves Saint Laurent shares right before alarming economic figueres about the company were published. Yves Saint Laurent is a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture et du Pret-a-Porter.