Uniquess makes you stand out as well as enables you to make changes in the world, and Vivienne Westwood is the perfect example of that. She was a child of 5 born in a working class family and from the early years had a sense of spacial intelligence. She didn’t really trust people, partially because of her parent’s religion and Jesus cult, which she didn’t understand and was sceptical about. This lack of trust and questioning existing reality was crucial in her work and that is what made people notice her.
Vivienne married Derek Westwood, but after a couple of years they split up. As the 70s were coming, she started using her voice to speak up about things that mattered to her through fashion. I found it really inspiring how she promoted anti-establishment values and rebelled against norms of the older generation, also by music and lifestyle. Watching the documentary and seeing the Sex Pistols concerts, I could tell how frustrated the British youth was at that time and Vivienne was the one to make their voice be heard and allowed them to express themselves freely.
Apart from her huge contribution to the world of fashion, Vivienne Westwood was also very commited in enviromental activism. She used her influential platform to speak up about problems, promote sustainability and financially support various climate change organizations.
In 2011, Westwood donated over one million Pounds to Cool Earth, a charity organization fouced on preserving rainforests in various regions of South America, Africa and Asia. She was frustrated by the passive attitude of the governments and emphasized the need of immediate action that needs to be taken.
In 2013, Westwood collaborated with Greenpeace and was involved in their "Save the Artctic" campaign. She designed a special, organic cotton T-shirt with campaign's slogan and collaborated with a photographer Andy Gotts, making a series of portraits of celebrities such as Kate Moss or Naomi Campbell wearing the shirt in order to raise awareness of the problem. In 2015 the series was exhibited at various London elevators located near the Shell headquarters, an oil company responsible for drilling in Arctic.
Vivienne Westwood also prioritized sustainability within her own fashion brand, her design team avoided the use of hard to recycle fibers, limited acryl and poliester and eliminated using exotic skins and furs. By collaborating with a Greenpeace Detox supporter, Vivienne made sure to eliminate the use of hazardous substances during the manufacturing processes in order to minimalize the enviromental harm and ensure safer products.
In 2023, the company announced that their packaging is 100% plastic free, completely eliminating the use of single use plastics in their packaging processes. Additionally, the brand invested in energy efficient LED lighting in order to gather more energy from renewable sources and minimize its enviromental footprint.
Apart from being an iconic designer, Vivienne Westwood was an activist deeply enganged in our planet's well being. She proved, that fashion is not only a way of artistic expression, but also a platform to speak up about real problems, go against the norms and implement an actuall change for the better.
Bibliography
https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/vivienne-westwood-charity-donation?utm_
https://www.viviennewestwood.com/en-de/contentsearch/?fdid=greenpeace&utm
https://www.luxuo.com/culture/events/vivienne-westwood-arctic-campaign.html?utm
https://www.gq-magazine.co.uk/fashion/article/vivienne-westwood-earth-day?utm
https://www.theindustry.fashion/vivienne-westwood-cuts-down-office-hours-to-reduce-emissions/?utm
