Dame Vivienne Westwood wowed the crowds last week with her first British fashion show in nearly a decade.

But fans hoping it could mark a fresh burst of activity from the legendary designer may be horribly disappointed - the show may well be her last.

The 69-year-old British fashion icon, who dressed the punk movement in the Seventies and famously left her knickers at home when she went to Buckingham Palace to collect her DBE in 2006, is planning to retire after nearly 40 years in the business, I can reveal.

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Last bow? Dame Vivienne Westwood may be considering retirement

The news will send shockwaves through the fashion industry, which billed Dame Vivienne's return to the catwalk after a nine-year absence as a triumph.

The politically-themed show coincided with the release of Westwood's £1,400-a-time book of photos, entitled Opus.

But sources say far from being a comeback for Dame Vivienne, the show was more a farewell.

"Vivienne is seriously considering retirement and will be slowly scaling down work commitments to have more time for herself," says a friend.

"She wanted to capture the essence of her career by compiling her book and putting on her first show in nine years. It was a kind of send-off, although she is not stepping down just yet."

Vivienne first showed her clothes on the Paris catwalk in the early Eighties. Her fans include Kate Moss, Jaime Winstone and Lily Allen, while Naomi Campbell famously toppled over on the Paris catwalk in 1993 while wearing a pair of 9in Westwood stilettos.

When I asked Dame Vivienne, left, about retirement at her Serpentine Gallery book launch last week, she said: "If only," adding: "I will get a lot of things done."

A spokeswoman for the designer also said: "She is not going to retire this year."

But son Ben insisted: "I know she wants to have a lot more time for herself and to do her own thing."