British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood is dead. She died on Thursday at the age of 81.

Her agent told the British press.

She passed away peacefully with her family in south London.

Her husband and artistic companion Andreas Kronthaler said he would "continue in his heart" with Vivienne.

"The world needs people like Vivienne to change things for the better," she said on her official Twitter account.

“We worked to the end and she gave me a lot of things to move on with.

Thank you darling,” Kronthaler wrote.

Vivienne Westwood is considered a pioneer of punk in the fashion industry.

She ran a boutique on London's King's Road with Malcolm McLaren, manager of the punk band Sex Pistols.

She then built a global fashion brand that now has stores in the UK, France, Italy, America and Asia.

Crazy outfits were her trademark for a long time.

Westwood was also known as an environmental activist and brought climate change to the catwalk.

She is survived by two sons, photographer Ben Westwood and Joseph Corré, founder of lingerie company Agent Provocateur.