February 15, 2020 |
There’s never a lack of radicalism in anything Vivienne Westwood does. For her comeback onto the London Fashion Week schedule, the legendary designer hosted a protest in the form of a fashion presentation, urging for freedom of Julian Assange. Her friend and the founder of WikiLeaks, Assange is currently in Belmarsh freedom and awaiting his four-day trial, and Westwood is organising a public demonstration next Saturday, February 22nd, in front of Australia House (71 Aldwych WC2B 4HN) in London in a call to set him free.
Her AW20 presentation served as a powerful promo for the main event, as it showcased Westwood’s latest mainline collection in the setting of the Serpentine Gallery which was plastered with hand-written signs urging for change. “My job as an activist is to demolish the narrative,” says Westwood in her show notes. And so she has been doing for decades, taking opportunities given to her fashion sensibilities and using them in promoting policies she believes in.
Criticising clothes in this setting might have been a bit odd, but the line is never clear between the message and the visuals at the house of this OG rebel. As for the clothes that appeared in the presentation, they weren’t your usual every-day protest-ready wardrobe. Electric hues of blue and lime green as well as her signature colourful tartans allowed Westwood’s army to be seen, while the silhouettes saw them suited and booted for the role of intellectuals she awards them with. It’s no news that now is the time to change the world – so consider the Westwood way as you make your next step.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
