Legendary British fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood has died at the age of 81.

A statement said she died today in Clapham, surrounded by her family.

Dame Vivienne found fame in the 1970s when she brought punk fashions into the mainstream, running a boutique on London’s King’s Road alongside Sex Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren.

She went on to establish a global fashion brand which today has stores in the UK, France, Italy, America and Asia.

“Vivienne Westwood died today, peacefully and surrounded by her family, in Clapham, South London. The world needs people like Vivienne to make a change for the better,” her fashion house tweeted.

Her husband and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler said: “I will continue with Vivienne in my heart.

“We have been working until the end and she has given me plenty of things to get on with. Thank you darling.”

The Derbyshire-born designer was also well known for her campaigning – standing up for issues such as pollution and climate change, as well as supporting WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

She once dressed up as Margaret Thatcher for a magazine cover, and drove a white tank near the home of former prime minister David Cameron to protest against fracking.

Dame Vivienne also showed her rebellious nature when receiving an OBE from the Queen in 1992.

She turned up without underwear – a fact she proved with a twirl of her skirt for photographers.

“The only reason I am in fashion is to destroy the word ‘conformity’,” she said in her biography.

“Nothing is interesting to me unless it’s got that element.”

The designer was recognisable to many for her dyed orange hair – a nod to the punk aesthetic she helped popularise.

“There was no punk before me and Malcolm,” she said in the biography. “And the other thing you should know about punk too: it was a total blast.”

TV host Jonathan Ross was one of the first to pay tribute, tweeting: “RIP the great Vivienne Westwood. Unique. Brilliant. Uncompromising. Thanks Viv x.”

Culture Secretary Michelle Donelan posted: “A sad day, Vivienne Westwood was and will remain a towering figure in British fashion.

“Her punk style rewrote the rule book in the 1970s, and was widely admired for how she stayed true to her own values throughout her life.”