Vivienne Westwood: From Punk to Funk

Eccentric Paris glam is only to be expected, when you attend the show of a lady who signs more political petitions, than flashy restaurant bills these days. Not only did she feature her involvement in the Leonard-Peltier case, but she had the studio walls spray-painted in graffiti to add to the experience for the audience.

In the past we’ve seen provocative messages plastered over some of her clothes. Take last summer’s collection for instance, named “Active resistance to propaganda”, where “I am not a terrorist” was printed across the chest. Last night’s theme continued the Westwood tradition. The words “I Am Expensiv” (sic) had been plastered over t-shirts, and she had both a hip-length cape and a skirt to match the grafittied walls.

Unlike most other shows this season, Dame Westwood introduced colours. Pink, purple, bottle-green and yellow were featured most strongly, but the stem colours were lighter shades of grey and crisp white. Shapes were loose-fitted as always - tucked, gathered and layered. There were no corsets and crinoline, no punk nor tartan, but this still wasn’t a far cry from our usual Westwood caricature. Energetic, vibrant and fun. Long live Viv.

Vivienne Westwood : An Ode to Human Rights

Paul Valley at the Independent asked Bono in a May-issued interview if celebrities have the power to change the world. No, is his simple conclusion. Though, adding at the end that “celebrity involvement can make campaigns fashionable, helping to build momentum that NGOs would otherwise struggle to achieve”.

This brings to mind Dame Vivienne Westwood... Who could forget her involvement in movements such as the “Stop the War coalition”, and the co-work with Liberty? Designing t-shirts emblazoned with the message “I’m not a terrorist” projected the widespread concern about the government’s anti-terror measures. It was her upbringing, plus the influence of a politically passionate schoolteacher that primarily coloured her opinion on Habeas Corpus.

Her highly controversial prêt-a-porter collections have, of course, been full of radical twists too; we’re not just referring to the “bondage suit” created in the seventies for Malcolm MacLaren. Interviewed recently by Dazed and Confused, Westwood talks about the Leonard Peltier case and how that has influenced some of her most recent collections. “It was shocking, the in-your-face and blatant legal manipulation, the abuse of the law, and to do that to Leonard. He has spent 28 years in jail and there is no proof at all that he committed a crime.”

Westwood, recently honoured Dame, organised a petition for the wrongly imprisoned Peltier, collecting the signatures of Elton John, Giorgio Armani, Marc Jacobs and Madonna, to name but a few. Vogue raved about her a/w 2006 collection (pictured above), and referred to Westwood as a “statement maker” that knew what she was talking about. We couldn’t agree more.