AUTHOR: linda TITLE: Vivienne Westwood: a story of the extreme DATE: 3:24:00 PM ----- BODY:

Vivienne Westwood's signature counter-culture fashions are on exhibit at the de Young museum, the reason to warrant a visit to the landmark neighborhood attraction.

Starting with items from the London boutique she opened in 1971 (which had been topped by a backward 13-hour clock), the pieces portray an unexpected sensuality with the juxtaposition of rubber, chains, tartan, taffeta, penis buttons and studs. Her fashion is a reinvention of historic garments mixed with fearless nonconformity, manifesting provocative, practical garments that give expression to the extreme.

Attributed to launching punk fashion in the 1970s and reinventing the corset in the 1980s, she is known as one of the most inventive and influential designers of our time.

"I'm comfortable being so arrogant," she says in a video showcasing her 40 years of fashion. "Because I'm so appalled at the banality of everything else."

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