One of the main features of Vivienne Westwood’s natal chart is the placement of the Sun (Aries), Moon (Leo) and Rising sign (Sagittarius) in fire signs, so we expect her to make a dramatic impact. The spontaneity of her temperament and penchant for innovation (Moon square Uranus) raised street fashion to haute couture. Vanity is a potential fault (four planets and Ascendant in fire element). Westwood once boasted that she gains undivided male attention in a room full of beautiful women. Fashion entrepreneur, Gene Krell, said of Westwood as punk rock catalyst in the 1970s that ‘her attitude, her body language, her look was striking – it took your breath away’. Aspects to Uranus (Moon square Uranus, Mercury sextile Uranus, and Saturn conjunct Uranus) point towards flamboyancy and exhibitionism, enabling Westwood to seize opportunities and take risks. Eccentricity is a feature (Moon square Uranus):
‘…I am unorthodox … I’m never satisfied to do things
the way other people do them … I am proudly eccentric’
She
is attracted to ingenuity and novelty, but may also be perverse, finding
herself at odds with the establishment and taking the law into her own hands
(Mars opposite Pluto). Westwood has shown courage against the ‘taste
dictatorship of the masses’ (her words). This is compatible with her
involvement with Malcolm McLaren and the punk movement. Fashion as a threat to
society in the form of Teddy Boys, Mods and Rockers, and the jeans/t-shirt look
of James Dean and Marlon Brando are the foundations of Westwood’s work as a
fashion designer, but more than that, Westwood created acceptance through
alternative fashion trends because these were the uniforms of society’s social
rejects. Misfits, minority groups, the unemployed and disabled felt relevant through
her clothes. Her designs gave women a license to dress assertively and to own
the tools of subjection, usually reserved for men, like whips, razor blades and
chains. This had not been the case with previous music cults.
Westwood
said of Malcolm McLaren, ‘I felt there were so many doors to open, and he had
the key to all of them’. They became involved after meeting in 1965 through Westwood’s
brother, Gordon. Together
they sought new forms of expression (McLaren’s Aquarian Sun conjunct Westwood’s
Aquarian Mars). The relationship had a strong Uranian signature. Ideas were
important to them. McLaren’s Uranus trining her Midheaven signified mutual
career goals that involved nonconformity and purpose. A student at Croydon Art
School, McLaren had his finger on the pulse where contemporary culture was
concerned and enjoyed the idea of using art as a way of creating chaos (Moon
conjunct Neptune in Libra). Westwood held the technical ability to translate
his ideas into clothing (Saturn in the sixth house). So began the evolving
vision of Westwood and McLaren that was to change the cultural climate of Britain
in the 1970s, the effects of which still prevail.
This extract is taken from Astrobabble, issue 14, available through Red Eye Records, Repressed Records and the zine fairs of Sydney and east coast Oz
