When Vivienne Westwood died in late 2022, the fashion world held its collective breath. Everyone wondered: what happens to the punk heart of British fashion when its queen is gone? Honestly, the answer was standing right there the whole time, usually in a kilt or a pair of towering platforms. Andreas Kronthaler Vivienne Westwood isn't just a brand name or a professional credit anymore; it is the living extension of a 30-year creative marriage that basically rewrote the rules of what a fashion house could be.
They met in 1988. She was the visiting professor at the Vienna School of Applied Arts, 25 years his senior, and he was the student who blew her mind with Renaissance-inspired dresses. Most people focused on the age gap. They missed the point.
The Student Who Became the Soul
Andreas wasn’t just a "plus one." He was a catalyst. Before he arrived in London in 1989, Vivienne was working in bed with pins and scraps of cloth. She was conceptual, a researcher, a thinker. Andreas brought the three-dimensional muscle. He’s a trained goldsmith and industrial designer, which explains why his clothes look like wearable architecture.
He didn't just join the team; he started telling everyone what to do. Vivienne once admitted he made her lengthen her skirts and she was "not very happy about that" at first. But she trusted him. By 1991, they had their first joint collection, "Cut & Slash." By 1993, they were married in a secret ceremony at a registry office in Wandsworth.
The partnership was a constant tug-of-war between his desire to subtract and simplify and her instinct to layer and complicate. If you've ever seen a Westwood gown that looks like it’s defying gravity, that’s likely the Andreas touch. He brought a "European couture" sensibility that Vivienne—ever the British rebel—hadn't fully embraced before.
Why the Label Name Changed
For decades, he stayed in the shadows. He was the "unsung hero" behind the Gold Label. In 2016, Vivienne did something radical: she renamed her most prestigious line Andreas Kronthaler for Vivienne Westwood.
It wasn't a retirement. It was an act of honesty. She wanted the world to know that the clothes people loved were as much his as they were hers. This shift allowed her to focus more on her "Climate Revolution" activism while he handled the grueling reality of seasonal runway shows.
Life After the Queen
Losing a partner is one thing; losing a co-pilot of three decades is another. Since Vivienne's passing, Andreas hasn't just "kept the lights on." He’s gone deeper into the archive.
For the Spring/Summer 2024 collection, he literally went through her personal wardrobe. He numbered her old clothes—the things she wore for 20 years until they fell apart—and redesigned them. It was emotional. It was also very "Vivienne." She hated waste. She believed in "Buy less, choose well, make it last."
The Fall/Winter 2025-2026 show in Paris proved the brand isn't fading into a museum piece. He sent out "brainy sexiness"—slashed trousers, operatic trench coats, and even a gilded birdcage handbag. It felt dangerous and refined all at once.
What People Get Wrong
There's a common misconception that Andreas is just "doing Westwood-lite." That’s wrong.
- The Sustainability Pivot: While Vivienne was the face of the protest, Andreas is the one figuring out how to make a coat out of a 19th-century quilt or using "forsaken" fabrics from Italian mills.
- The Silhouette: Vivienne invented the modern corset, but Andreas evolved it with stretch inserts and architectural draping that actually allows a human being to move.
- The Gender Fluidity: Long before it was a marketing trend, Andreas was wearing the archives himself, sleeping in the studio, and blurring the lines between the men’s and women’s collections.
The 2026 Outlook
Looking at the brand today, it’s clear the "Andreas Kronthaler Vivienne Westwood" era is about refinement. In 2025, he even staged the house's first-ever dedicated bridal show in Barcelona. It was a massive success because he understands that the Westwood "bride" isn't looking for a cupcake dress; she's looking for a suit or a corset that feels like armor.
He’s also leaning into "reduced" collections. Instead of flooding the market, he’s making fewer pieces with better materials. It’s a pragmatic approach to the "bleak future" he often talks about in interviews.
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How to Shop the Legacy
If you're looking to invest in a piece of this history, don't just buy a logo t-shirt. Look for the structural signatures:
- The Corsetry: Still the gold standard. The newer versions by Andreas often feature more forgiving construction than the 90s originals.
- The Tartan: It’s a house code, but under Andreas, it’s often clashing with Renaissance prints or streetwear silhouettes.
- The Accessories: The "Orb" is iconic, but the recent jewelry projects—which Andreas personally loves—are where the real craft is hiding.
The most important takeaway? Andreas isn't trying to be Vivienne. He’s trying to be the man she trusted to carry her fire. So far, the flames are still plenty high.
Next Steps for Enthusiasts:
If you want to understand the technical side of their work, track down the "Cut & Slash" (1991) archive photos and compare them to the "43 Old Town" (SS24) collection. You'll see the exact moment the student’s precision met the teacher’s chaos, creating the aesthetic that still dominates Paris Fashion Week today.