Vivienne Westwood accused of plagiarism

OHMYGOSSIP — Vivienne Westwood has been accused of plagiarism in her self-titled biography.

According to the author of ‘The Look: Adventures in Rock and Pop Fashion‘, Paul Gorman, the British-born designer has copied numerous passages almost verbatim from the work in her self-titled biography which was released last week, counting 29 instances of plagiarism altogether, reports The Independent newspaper.

The book was written in collaboration with historian and biographer Ian Kelly and is also said to include both grammatical and factual errors, including false claims the fashion legend thought up the idea and title for punk rockers, the Sex Pistols’ track ‘Anarchy In The UK’.

Than band’s frontman John Lydon – known as Johnny Rotten in the band – said: “The silly cow is claiming she had the idea for ‘Anarchy’? What a f**king liberty. That’s audacity of the highest order. Go back to making frocks.”

While Paul added: “I greatly admire Vivienne’s achievements but she has been let down badly by her publisher by this sloppy book.”

Both the 73-year-old fashion designer and the publishers Pan MacMillan are yet to respond to the accusations surrounding the work through which Ian claimed he was pleased to have finally told the “truth” about the “huge-hearted” designer.

The biography follows the life of the fashion legend from her upbringing in rural Derbyshire, her career and her relationships with her husband and business partner Malcolm McLaren – who was The Sex Pistols manager – as well as her second marriage to her former student Andreas Kronthal.

The work also features heartfelt letters from Vivienne’s close friends – which throughout her life have included Pamela Anderson, Prince Charles, human rights campaigner Shami Chakrabati, models Naomi Campbell and Jerry Hall, Bob Geldof and Julian Assange.