Dame Vivienne Westwood famously outlined the style aesthetic of London’s punk motion within the Seventies—assume security pins, studs, and tartan—and helped to create the Intercourse Pistols’ iconic look. However lengthy after punk’s heyday, the edgy British designer continued to push trend ahead. In 2007, earlier than vegan couture had change into mainstream, Westwood banned fur from her traces after assembly with representatives of PETA U.Ok. and studying concerning the struggling that animals endure earlier than they’re used for fur coats, collars, and cuffs. The final of Westwood’s fur objects have been eight rabbit fur purses, which her firm allowed PETA U.Ok. to donate to a wildlife sanctuary for use to for orphaned child animals to snuggle as much as.
Westwood’s fur ban went hand in hand together with her dedication to environmental points and her name for true sustainability within the trend business. Most animals killed for fur immediately are raised on manufacturing unit farms, which produce tens of 1000’s of tons of waste yearly, and fur clothes are handled with a stew of poisonous chemical compounds to maintain them from decomposing—making fur neither sort nor sustainable.
Westwood’s progressive, animal-friendly equipment—such because the skin-free Derby Bag and Jungle Crocodile Bag—additionally scored a number of wins in PETA U.Ok.’s annual Vegan Trend Awards.
A number of years after stripping fur from her collections, Dame Vivienne stripped right down to a bathe cap for a provocative PETA video concerning the meat business’s depletion of world water provides. “I’m an eco-warrior, however I take lengthy showers with a clear conscience as a result of I’m vegetarian,” she stated within the spot, which launched in 2014. As a chunk in The New York Occasions identified on the time, it takes 4 million gallons of water to supply 1 ton of beef however simply 85,000 gallons to supply a ton of greens. “By avoiding meat, you do extra for the atmosphere than recycling or driving a hybrid automotive,” Westwood stated.
Talking out in opposition to disposable “quick trend,” Westwood as soon as urged customers, “[I]nvest on this planet. Don’t spend money on trend, however make investments on this planet.” Her quintessential, animal-friendly clothes and accessories show that we are able to do each.
