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Were Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren in a relationship?

VIVIENNE Westwood first made waves in the fashion world in the 1970s.

Her partnership with Malcolm McLaren launched her fashion career and here is what you need to know about them.

Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood worked together in their clothing boutique SEX
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Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood worked together in their clothing boutique SEXCredit: News Group Newspapers Ltd

Who was Malcolm McLaren?

Malcolm McLaren was born January 22, 1946, in London.

He was a musician, fashion designer and the colourful and provocative manager of the iconic punk band The Sex Pistols.

He and his girlfriend Vivienne Westwood opened the avant-garde clothing boutique called Sex.

He went on to record his own music, releasing his album Duck Rock in 1983, generating popular hits Buffalo Gals and Double Dutch.

Read more on Vivienne Westwood

In 1985 he told in Toronto: "I'm much more of a magician than a musician, I steal other people's songs and try to make them better."

In 1984 he released his album Fans, a mixture of urban and opera music, which included hit Madame Butterfly.

He also released two more albums Waltz Darling (1989) and Paris (1994).

He has gone on to be linked with film, TV and radio projects.

He helped produce the film Fast Food Nation and presented two series for BBC2 radio, Malcolm McLaren's Musical Map Of London and Malcolm McLaren's Life And Times In LA.

He passed away in April 2010 aged 64 in Switzerland and is survived by a son.

When did Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren meet?

Vivienne met Malcolm in 1965 which ended her first marriage to Derek Westwood.

She was 25 years old and Malcolm was 20 at the time.

Were they in a relationship?

Their relationship and work together is thought to be the driving force behind the punk movement of the 1970s.

Vivienne says she was not keen on entering into a romantic relationship with Malcolm.

In extracts from her memoir she wrote: "Malcolm chased me. I didn’t want him for my boyfriend."

"The point is, I didn’t want Malcolm at first, but I did, in fact, end up getting pregnant by him," she writes. "Even then, I didn’t really want him."

However on his passing, Vivienne said: "When we were young and I fell in love with Malcolm, I thought he was beautiful and I still do.

"The thought of him dead is really very sad. We hadn’t been in touch for a long time."

Their relationship ended in 1981, so she raised her children and started designing alone.

Do they have any children?

The pair had one child together, a son called Joseph Corre on November 30, 1967.

Joe is a British businessman and activist, who is known for being the founder of Agent Provocateur.

He founded and opened the independent clothing boutique A Child of the Jago in 2008.

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He made headlines in 2016 for burning £5million worth of rare Sex Pistols memorabilia on a boat on the Thames to protest the death of punk.

Vivienne also has a son with first husband Derek Westwood, Benjamin.

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