Known for her wild, outrageous outfits, the cult designer Vivienne Westwood has made her mark in worldwide fashion. Now she has opened her first store in the North-East - but are we ready for it? Women's Editor Sarah Foster finds out.

WHEN Vivienne Westwood first began to make her name as a designer, to say she caused a few raised eyebrows would be a drastic understatement. The girl born Vivienne Isabel Swire grew up in Glossop, in Derbyshire, but by the age of 17 she'd relocated to the capital. It was in London's vibrant atmosphere of headonistic living that Westwood first met Malcolm McLaren, the famous manager of the Sex Pistols.

The pair launched clothes shop Let it Rock, which later changed its name to Sex, and sold a range of way-out garments often using zips and chains.

In 1983, the partnership ended, and Westwood started to embrace the thoughts and practices of couture. She began to show her clothes in Paris and achieved immense success, but never lost the cutting edge that had ensured her early fame.

Now Westwood's name is known worldwide, her garments sold throughout the globe and in the fairly recent past she's started opening more stores. The latest one has come to Newcastle, where Richard Duncalf, the chairman of Hervia, the UK's leading Westwood franchisee, believes its destined to succeed.

"We opened our first store in 1995 in Manchester and then we opened in Leeds and Liverpool and the Trafford Centre," he says.

"We're doing a bit of a roll-out at the moment and obviously Newcastle is next, then we're doing Nottingham in March and we're in negotiations for two or three more.

"We think it's a good time to be expanding the brand. It's one of those brands that has been quite low distribution in the past, but what we have found is that over the years, we've managed to educate people to the fact that Westwood isn't just what you see on the catwalk, which may be very avant-garde."

As well as flagrant non-conformity, the Westwood label is renowned for its traditional inspirations. It uses very British fabrics such as Harris tweed and tartan and has brought back a few old standards like the crinoline and the corset.

Of course, whatever Westwood does she adds her own distinctive twist and her eclectic, show-off style is not to everybody's taste. So will it really find a market in the heart of the North-East?

"It's a very commercial brand and people want to buy into it," insists Richard. "In the age of a lot of sameness on the high street people want something a bit different and we feel very confident in rolling out our brand. What's shown on the catwalk is only the Gold Label and worldwide we may only have ten, 20, 30 or 40 pieces, so it's not a big market for us. We have other labels which are very commercial collections and which derive inspiration from what you see on the catwalk."

Among the clothes that will be sold in Westwood's brand new northern franchise will be Red Label, which is a day wear line, and the more sporty Anglomania.

For men the simply-titled 'Man' will bring a touch of Westwood chic and those who may not dare to wear a whole ensemble from the store can buy accessories instead.

"A big area for us is obviously the accessories and people do buy into the handbags, shoes, jewellery and the perfume as well," says Richard. "We find that if we merchandise everything together, once we get people into the clothes they are very successful."

Though certain shops in the North-East already stock some Westwood lines, it's felt the brand new flagship store will better showcase what it offers. As Richard says, the idea is that it should be a "Westwood world".

"There are already a number of small stockists in the area and we're told that it's a very successful brand, so it's only natural that we want to capitalise on that with a full-blown store," he says.

"I think a lot of people will travel from a wide area to come into Newcastle and there are items that will only be available in the Vivienne Westwood store. I think really for us it's just having a full selection of all the ranges under one roof. It's a bit like the world of Vivienne Westwood."

The store was launched to local Press and some select invited guests at a party on Friday; its doors being opened to the public the following day. Though Westwood didn't make it herself it's hoped she'll pay a visit soon - and Richard is sure she will be greeted by the warmest of receptions.

"Vivienne Westwood has a very close eye on all our stores and she has approved the design of this one," he says. "I've known her for 14 years and she's a very nice person and very down-to-earth. She can be uncompromising, but she's a very endearing character. There is that element of eccentricity, but there's also an element of greatness. The effect she has on people is quite dramatic - people do actually love her."

* Vivienne Westwood, 1 Hood Street, Newcastle, 0191-260-522