 |
 | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 |
VIVIENNE WESTWOOD: What to Wear to the Protest
Vivienne Westwood, the grandmother of British
fashion is never afraid to gush out her hyper-
alternative design antics on a runway, and in classic
Westwoodian tradition, the Red Label collection was
a perfect arena to make a political statement. Dame
Viv’s war cry of the season: “Fair Trial My Arse -
Justice For The Prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.
REPRIEVE.” Yes, the collection is very British, with
tweeds, houndstooth and velvets infused throughout,
but it was her message that made this line-up
something that could be truly appreciated at a more
universal level. The placard that opened the show
was a prelude to the message in the clothing. The
recalcitrant, the proletariat, working woman that
charged the streets in protest in the 60’s and 70’s
was imbued in these designs. Holistically, the
runway was a terrific mélange of personalities
stomping for the common cause. The majority of the
models walked down the catwalk donning knee high
stomping boots, cabbie hats, leather-daddy hats, star
spangled tights, x-ray prints on t-shirts, painted on
mustaches and propaganda tucked away in one of
the model’s exposed garter belt. It was a great
display of iconoclasm in the streets, with bombastic
asymmetrical cuts and even incongruent lipstick.
Some of the clothes were chaotic in their assembly,
but one would suppose maybe that’s where the
political message is anyway: making a cohesive
piece out of disagreeing elements. In these politically
tempestuous times, collections like Ms. Westwood’s
serve as wonderful heraldic cries that art can still say
something about the state of the world and that it’s
the people; the secretary, the subversive, the punk
that can make the difference.
Vivienne Westwood, the grandmother of British
fashion is never afraid to gush out her hyper-
alternative design antics on a runway, and in classic
Westwoodian tradition, the Red Label collection was
a perfect arena to make a political statement. Dame
Viv’s war cry of the season: “Fair Trial My Arse -
Justice For The Prisoners in Guantanamo Bay.
REPRIEVE.” Yes, the collection is very British, with
tweeds, houndstooth and velvets infused throughout,
but it was her message that made this line-up
something that could be truly appreciated at a more
universal level. The placard that opened the show
was a prelude to the message in the clothing. The
recalcitrant, the proletariat, working woman that
charged the streets in protest in the 60’s and 70’s
was imbued in these designs. Holistically, the
runway was a terrific mélange of personalities
stomping for the common cause. The majority of the
models walked down the catwalk donning knee high
stomping boots, cabbie hats, leather-daddy hats, star
spangled tights, x-ray prints on t-shirts, painted on
mustaches and propaganda tucked away in one of
the model’s exposed garter belt. It was a great
display of iconoclasm in the streets, with bombastic
asymmetrical cuts and even incongruent lipstick.
Some of the clothes were chaotic in their assembly,
but one would suppose maybe that’s where the
political message is anyway: making a cohesive
piece out of disagreeing elements. In these politically
tempestuous times, collections like Ms. Westwood’s
serve as wonderful heraldic cries that art can still say
something about the state of the world and that it’s
the people; the secretary, the subversive, the punk
that can make the difference.
| Written by Alexander Patiño, Junior Editor |
 | |  |