Vivienne Westwood has always been a rebel with a cause. Leading 1970’s Britain into the Punk Rock fashion movement, Westwood has continued to address political issues throughout her career with her designs. This summer has seen the seventy four year old Dame collaborate with Greenpeace to tackle a new charitable challenge.
For the month of July, London Waterloo underground station housed a unique photography exhibition. Comprising of sixty muted colour portraits, the models were all celebrities including Sir Ian McKlellan, Kate Moss, George Clooney, Chris Martin, Kylie Minogue, David Tennant, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne and Vivienne Westwood herself. Sporting Vivienne Westwood designed organic unbleached cotton t-shirts with “Save The Arctic” emblazoned across the chest, the campaign aims to raise awareness for the protection of the unique and fragile Arctic and the wildlife that live there.
The campaign’s relevance is a specific attack on oil company Shell and is strategically situated along the escalators leading up to the company’s London headquarters. For many months, Shell has stated they plan on drilling in the Arctic and at the end of July the Obama administration gave final approval for the company to begin drilling.
Though this action is a massive loss to green activists and protestors who opposed granting permission, support can still be given by purchasing a Vivienne Westwood t-shirt as modelled in the star-studded portrait exhibition. Available to purchase from the designer’s website [www.viviennewestwood.com/shop/save-arctic] the t-shirts retail at £55 for adults or £25 for children’s sizes. All profits from the collection go directly to Greenpeace. Alternatively, donate and sign the petition by visiting the Greenpeace website [www.greenpeace.org] or the campaign’s website [www.savethearctic.org]. This summer, why not be charitable with your fashion choices?
