Vivienne Westwood's franchise partner of 18 years has placed itself into liquidation following an out-of-court settlement to end its agreement with the eccentric fashion designer.

Middle England is scared of tattoos. It thinks they speak of deviancy, murky criminal subcultures and broken Britain. A barcode, if you will, to sort out the wrong 'uns.

Notebook

Dame Vivienne trawls the past for inspiration

Mind yer head," says Stephen Webster, indicating the low-hung chandelier with the giant crystal globes, "Mickey Rourke bashed 'is head on that, an' I thought 'e was done for." We are closeted together in the tiny buyer's boudoir at Webster's flagship store in Mayfair, surrounded by photographs of his devoted clients: Kate, Sienna, Madonna, Sharon, Jennifer... If the plush sofa in here could talk, it would purr for hours about the fabulousness of the celebrities that have perched on it, discussing gems with Mr Webster.

Researchers have tried to quantify how happy people are by charting the emotion on an index. From Tuesday, it is the turn of the arts to explain happiness, with a new exhibition aiming to express the emotion through objects.

Super-elevated, cobalt blue Gillie platforms so high even Naomi Campbell took a catwalk tumble in a pair in 1993, equally vertiginous wooden "rocking horse" soles and, of course, the famous "pirate" boot first shown in 1981 and a bestseller to this day. These are just some of Vivienne Westwood's best-loved shoe designs, featured in the new fashion and textile gallery at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle, Co Durham, from today until 10 July.

The Fashion Museum in Bath remains among this country's best-kept secrets.

Fashion editor Susannah Frankel celebrates the life and work of our most imaginative – and imitated – designer

"I'm writing a new column called 'Susannah shops'," I told my other half last week. "But you don't," he replied, which just goes to show how effective my sweeping through the front door, carrier bags in tow, never catching his eye and shouting "It's not for me" must be. Most of the time that's a lie. Obviously. I certainly wasn't buying the Rick Owens' fine-knit harem pants I came home with most recently for anyone else.

The restoration of Sir John Soane's Museum offers an enticing new view of one of the world's most sumptuous architectural treats, says Jay Merrick

What to see and where to be seen

The Brit Awards – those bronze, helmeted female statuettes that have served as the Oscars of the British music industry for more than three decades – are to be given a makeover by the high priestess of punk, Vivienne Westwood.

Elton John opened his own pop-up shop in Covent Garden to sell his old outfits. Kylie Minogue's costumes were the subject of an exhibition at the V&A. Yet despite being the frontman for the band named "Best Act in the World Today" at this week's Q Awards, Kasabian's Tom Meighan chose to dispose of the contents of his wardrobe at his local branch of Oxfam, in Leicester. The singer recently made two trips to deposit more than 100 items at the charity shop, including an £800 Vivienne Westwood jacket, signed T-shirts and Leicester City football strips. Meighan wore many of the garments at gigs and festivals; they have, allegedly, been washed since. "He was quite interested in how much money we made," store manager Ahsan Sheikh told the Leicester Mercury. "I said I'd let him know." (Let us know, too!) Among the apparel from Meighan's collection available to buy online is a pair of black jeans, which staff have helpfully placed in the "Women's Clothing" section of the store's website. Hmm. I always thought they looked a bit tight.