February 23, 2022 |
Buy less, love your clothes more: it’s always been the mantra of Vivienne Westwood. Long before deadstock and upcycling became fashion buzzwords, and today’s fresh faced designers charged forward on a sustainable clothing revolution. But even 50 years in the biz, and Dame Viv is still a student of fashion, discovering lower environmental impact alternatives to conventional materials with every new collection.
And so, with her AW22 namesake mainline collection, the fashion icon released a 22 page document which illustrates the brand’s improvements over the past few months. “Overall, the total amount of lower impact and cruelty free materials presented in this collection is 71%,” it reads. “We currently forecast this number increasing to 95% when we take into consideration what we actually produce to be delivered to stores.” What’s new, then? The brand has been working with a holistic farmer who practices regenerative agriculture to source its cotton, and six fabrics here are actually made up of leftover stock from previous collections.
On the shopping list this time around is check jackets, trousers and kilts peppered with Westwood’s orb, cut from mulesing-free wool. There’s also laser printed, recycled cotton denim twinsets with a punk edge, and recycled polyester minidresses; corseted and printed in hand-painted eyes inspired by Matisse.
Much of the collection is smothered in tiger stripes, nodding to the Chinese new year. Chosen by Westwood for its symbolism of strength and courage, these street centric pieces are worth roaring about.
Photography by Wayne Hanson and Jo Fetto.
