Why Westwood?!

vivienne westwood – Profile

nominated designer

Dame Vivienne Westwood has rebooted London through putting her stamp on it with her thorough research of history’s costume making to create traditional, tailored and quintessentially Londonesque, British designs. The Dame herself informs that “I wanted
to show people how exciting the world of fashion can be by presenting the different ways it is communicated” (Wilcox, 2004). This interlinks with what Grand Union is forming as they both want to strike out from the standard. Both Grand Union and Dame Westwood focus on London and their heritage of being one of few originals from London and all the marvel it holds. When selecting which designer to collaborate with, this was a strong key to the interlink, previous collections of this mixed with culture of crowns, punk styles, being eco friendly and recreating past structured pieces. Dame Westwood’s home is London and being one of a few originals from London knowing the marvel it holds she understands and believes deeply in a city’s culture stating that “The only thing I really do believe in is culture” (Wilcox, 2004).

When selecting which designer to collaborate with, this was a strong key to the interlink, previous collections of this mixed with culture of crowns, punk styles, “Famed for her high-heeled shoes and punk-inspired collections” (Wilcox, 2004), the emphasis on shoes will be emphasised through the collaboration along with being eco friendly and recreating past structured pieces. It is the perfect time for Dame Vivienne Westwood to be making a landmark on London, especially as “In London you feel your back’s to the wall from the very beginning” (Wilcox, 2004).

Anything goes and this has been shown through Westwood’s previous collections, involving her collaboration with the imagery of the safety pin in the lip of the Queen was saying: “You too can be punk” (Wilcox, 2004). Anybody is adaptable and can be ‘out there’ the selling and marketing of Royalty is what will be created for Grand Union’s exclusive collection. London’s Queen British designer Dame Vivienne Westwood designing for the landmark of London Grand Union in 2012.

Queen of fashion

ECCENTRIC – Flora is 28 (going on 36) year old who enjoys being involved in many different creative activities at one time and often works long hours to finish what she has started and believes hard work pays off in the long run. Her eccentricity is shown through bright, tailored outfits, well made with a little bit of something extra added to them. The goal of Flora is to be independently successful, both financially and spiritually. Companions to Flora are other independent creative types from various industries that like to meet together to share their ideas, dreams and aspirations. Flora enjoys travel and different cultures, and lives in London
as central as possible. Flora works in the creative industry and is interested in using blogs and other mediums to communicate her creativity. She uses travel and people watching as a continuous progress for learning. Flora wants to make a difference and strives to be a role model to other women.

REBEL – Zoe is 26 and moved to London right after finishing high school to pursue her dream to work in fashion PR. Her parents wanted her to complete her degree first, but a rebel at heart, she decided to go ahead with her plan. After working her way up to senior management at a successful fashion brand, she got a PR position offered at the head office. A year later she opened her own boutique PR agency. Her office is near the epicentre of London’s fashion world. She works hard but she keeps a good work/life balance. She loves go out partying with friends and enjoys Sundays at Colombia Market or Brick Lane. Zoe loves a classic designer piece, is always on the hunt for an edgy vintage necklace or bag. She likes to keep her outfit simple both at and out of work: clean lines, neutral colours, interesting textures and statement accessories. Trademark rock’n roll inspired pieces to give her outfit a twist. REtRO – Ava is 26 who lives in one of the trendiest areas of London. She works as a freelance stylist; therefore she visits charity

shops and markets on a regular basis to pick up quirky vintage and second hand pieces which she then converts into a stylish look. Her income is average, but she likes to spend every penny on casualties, not a saving up type. Her flat and wardrobe reflects her love of vintage but there are designer pieces in there too, making it harmonious and trendy. Conscious of her appearance, she wants to be seen as different from the crowd but also sophisticated when she is out socializing. Her busy social life includes dinner with friends or going out for cocktails on a Friday or Saturday night. Ava spends Sunday doing creative activities, decorating, sewing etc.

Eco – Tara is 32, a white collar professional and has recently paid off her university student loan and now has increased disposable income. She is cohabiting with her boyfriend in a rented flat in central London and lives close to work. Tara has grown up being socially aware regarding recycling and organic food culture and has embraced these ideologies as an adult. Tara has become increasing aware of eco-fashion. She likes to travel locally and abroad, and minimizes her carbon foot by walking, cycling or using public transport. She spends her free time socializing with her single, recently married and cohabiting (straight/gay) friends through creative activities such as: art galleries, music festivals, dinner parties/restaurant dining, and a nights out drinking and a chatting.

Designer Vivienne Westwood Shuns Expansion

BY REUTERS 25 JUNE, 2013

Source: Reuters

MILAN, Italy — British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood said on Monday that she has no plans to further expand in China and defended the high prices of her designs as a way to encourage customers to buy fewer clothes. Westwood, who started selling clothes in London in the swinging 60s and now has shops in 15 other countries, said she is assessing her company, its operations and its aims. “I want to backtrack and control it,” Westwood said before showing her men’s spring/summer 2014 collection in Milan. “I don’t want to expand in China anymore at the moment.” Westwood, an environmental activist, said she has turned her attention to her supply chain, starting with the material used to make the protest T-shirts that have become a feature of her shows. “We do a lot of T-shirts and at least I’ve managed to get the jersey that we use for the T-shirts, which comes from Peru mostly. It’s organic and it’s not harmful,” she said. For the Milan show, staff and some models wore T-shirts supporting U.S. Army private Bradley Manning, who is accused of releasing hundreds of thousands of classified files, videos and other data to the WikiLeaks anti-secrecy website. A romantic idea of India, which was chosen by her husband and creative director, Andreas Kronthaler, is the theme of the show, which featured Harem-style trousers, kaftans and chunky necklaces along with military berets. Westwood, dressed in a grey sequined dress she had worn before, said she hoped other fashion icons such as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth and the duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton, would also re-wear their clothes. The designer added that she isn’t worried about people’s changing habits squeezing her profits. “If people like my clothes, it’s good if they don’t buy things for six months, then they’ll be able to afford them,” she said. Westwood defended the cost of her designs, which carry high price tags, with a man’s suit costing about 800 pounds ($1,200). “I think it’s ecologically friendly that the clothes should be expensive,” she added. ($1 = 0.6495 British pounds) By Isla Binnie; Editing by Patricia Reaney and Steve Orlofsky  

Famous storytellers to speak at SapientNitro event

By Ian Darby, campaignlive.co.uk, 08 May 2013, 08:55AM

SapientNitro has secured presenters including director James Cameron, designer Vivienne Westwood and cheffor its third annual Ideas Exchange event.

Flack Charity wants Vivienne Westwood

Flack

PR Week UK, 23 October 2009, 12:00AM

1. Disability charity Scope lured fashion doyenne Dame Vivienne Westwood to open its shop in Horley, Surrey.

The charity has kicked off a process to refit 13 Scope charity shops by 2010. It is hoping to attract more customers by Christmas.

2. Heard of comic Dave Gorman’s wacky attempts to meet others with the same name? Step forward Jill Woolf, managing director of Sussex-based Chimera Communications. She has just met Nancy Brockman, owner of Chimera Communications in Colorado, US. The pair found each other on the internet and have now agreed to seek opportunities for joint working.

3. Flack hereby presents a photo from the latest ‘2010 Australian Men of Cricket’ calendar, which raises money for the McGrath Foundation. Paratus Communications’ Adam Vincenzini oversaw the bulk of the shoot off the coast of Scotland. He admitted: ‘To be honest, it was a bit wasted on me.’

For more info, see http://www.flackcambridge.org.uk/FLACKmagazine/home.html

Vivienne Westwood brief history

The Brand Council case studies: Vivienne Westwood

brandrepublic.com, 09 December 2002, 08:00AM

Originally published in ‘Cool BrandLeaders’ August 2002. The book reviews the UK’s strongest cool brands as judged by the independent Brand Council Judges.

Case study provided by The Brand Council.

Famous for her innovative, inspiring and quirky designs, Vivienne Westwood has become a true fashion icon. Vivienne Isabel Swire, aka Vivienne Westwood, the daughter of a cobbler and a cotton mill worker was born in Derbyshire in 1941. She began designing in 1971 after meeting entrepreneur Malcolm McLaren, best know for managing the Sex Pistols. By this time she was living in London, had been a primary school teacher and had been married and divorced. For over a decade Westwood and McLaren ran a shop called ‘Let It Rock’ on the King’s Road which showcased their radical designs. Westwood rapidly became one of the leading inspirations of punk fashion and was even dubbed the ‘Queen of Punk’.

The shop also sold rock’n’roll records, which was unusual at this time as this kind of music was not broadcast on British radio and hippies were still in fashion. The shop was reinvented several times as Westwood’s ideas evolved. It was renamed and the interior redesigned first as ‘Too Fast To Live,Too Young To Die’ and stocked clothing for Rockers. By 1974 the shop was called ‘Sex’ and emphasized themes of bondage, sadomasochism, and body fetishes. In 1977 it was renamed again ‘Seditionaries’ and then ‘The World’s End’ in the 1980s; a name which it still retains. It now stocks Westwood’s Anglomania collection and accessories, while the building’s backward spinning clock is a renowned tourist attraction.

In the early 1980s,Westwood began showing in Paris; the first British designer to do so since Mary Quant. Collections such as Pirates (1981-82), Savages (1982), Buffalo Girls (1982-83), Punkature (1983), and Witches (1983) helped to create the ‘New Romantic’ look which penetrated throughout popular culture. By the end of the decade, John Fairchild, editor of fashion bible, Women’s Wear Daily, had hailed Vivienne Westwood one of the six best designers in the world in his book ‘Chic Savages.’

The 1990s kicked off with Westwood being named British Fashion Designer of the Year by the British Fashion Council, while ITV’s flagship arts programme, ‘The South Bank Show’, aired a one-hour profile of her.

Traditional British fabrics have remained greatly important to Westwood: Harris Tweed, Scottish Tartans, Irish Linens and wools are modified to the designer’s specifications, while specially designed tartans are woven for her, such as her own ‘MacAndreas’ tartan. This was designed for the Anglomania collection and named after Westwood’s designer husband Andreas Kronthaler. This is now displayed together with time-honoured, traditional tartans in the Lochcarron Museum of Tartan in Scotland — an incredible achievement for a designer to be accepted in this way.

Vivienne Westwood has amassed a string of other accolades including the Queen’s Award for Export (1998) in recognition of the company’s growing export market. In 1992, became an Honorary Senior Fellow of the Royal College of Art and, following her listing in the Birthday Honours issued by Buckingham Palace, was presented with an OBE. In addition, Vivienne Westwood is the first designer to be honoured at the Moët & Chandon Fashion Tribute. This prestigious annual event, held in conjunction with the Victoria & Albert Museum, honours leading lights from the world of fashion, whose creativity and vision has had a profound influence on our lifestyle.

The Vivienne Westwood brand now consists of four labels: Vivienne Westwood Gold Label sold in Westwood’s Mayfair store; Red Label which is the diffusion line; Man which, as one would expect, is the male collection and finally Anglomania, the designer’s casualwear line. Vivienne Westwood’s personality is reflected in all the collections and continues to challenge expectations.

© 2002 Superbrands Ltd

Vivienne Westwood makes uniforms for Virgin crew

By Loulla-Mae Eleftheriou-Smith, marketingmagazine.co.uk, 16 July 2013, 11:57AM

Vivienne Westwood, the woman known for her activism, high fashion designs and who once featured on the front cover of Tatler under the strapline “This woman was once a punk” while dressed as Margaret Thatcher, has turned to the skies for her latest project.

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Westwood has designed Virgin Atlantic’s new uniform with originality and sustainability placed at the core of the long-term partnership.

This month more than 180 specially selected staff will be trialling the new uniforms over a period of months before their official roll out across the airline next year.

Client: Luke Miles, head of design, Virgin Atlantic

Designer: Vivienne Westwood

Vivienne Westwood Spring / Summer 2014

What is Westwood going to do next?!

Fashion Brand: Introduction

Chosen brand the British fashion designer, Dame Vivienne Westwood…time to go back to the 70’s and relive the best work of fashion Britain has ever seen, in my eyes anyway. On 17th December, 2009 Just-style reports:

Designer Vivienne Westwood and Anvil Knitwear have joined forces to launch a limited edition T-shirt to support efforts at the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen to stop deforestation.

Danish manufacturer Anvil provided eco-friendly T-shirts from its AnvilSustainable collection.

Each shirt is made with a blend of recycled polyester, derived from approximately three recycled plastic bottles, and transitional cotton that comes from farms that are converting to organic farming methods.

Eco-friendly printing for the shirts was provided by New Buffalo Shirt Factory.

“I am so glad to have had the opportunity to do this tiny, tiny thing – design a T-shirt – every little bit helps,” said Westwood. “Act Fast/Slow Down and stop climate change. That’s the message. We must all commit ourselves. Say Yes to the Rainforest.”

A statement said that deforestation was responsible for approximately 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the world’s cars and trucks combined.

“Environmental issues are extremely important to Anvil – we manufacture in Central America, and rainforests are in our backyard,” said Anthony Corsano, CEO of Anvil Knitwear.

“We try our best to walk the talk by improving energy efficiencies, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using materials that are less harmful to the environment, and we are honoured Vivienne Westwood and the Coalition for Rainforest Nations selected us to partner with them on this important campaign.”

Westwood proves that doing something, if even in her words tiny makes a difference in the long run. What can you do/ will do to help and make the globe at least a little bit better?

Overview of Moshi Monsters:

– Brandchannel reports June 14, 2011,  Moshi Monsters are ready for prime time at International Licensing Expo in Las Vegas; alongside Angry Birds. Also Moshi Monsters announced an exclusive line of plush toys and figurines with Toys ‘R’ Us. Furthermore in Toys ‘R’ Us fabulous 15 Christmas 2011 ideas Moshi Monsters Moshlings 3 pack mini figures were included.

-November 14 2011, Brandchannel informs that Mind Candy moves Moshi Monsters into competition with Haribo with their candy roll-out.

– The Economist announces Mind Candy has monstrous success on March 10th 2012, in bold

AN ONLINE GAMES SITE FOR CHILDREN SEEKS MORE HITS IN THE REAL WORLD.

The Economist describes Moshi Monsters as Shoreditch’s ‘star turn’. Kids who join the site can adopt one of six types of monster. By solving puzzles they can earn rox, the currency of Monstro City, and buy monster treats. Monstro City is crowded: monsters have pets, called Moshlings; and other characters are dotted about

Michael Acton Smith aspires to be at the likes and levels of Disney one day, hopefully soon. Two year’s ago, Moshi Monsters became the bestselling children’s magazine in Britain, shifting nearly 163,000 copies a month in the second half of 2011. handheld console. There are also trading cards, toys and costly silver charms. Last year more than $100m-worth (£64m) of Moshi Monsters merchandise was sold worldwide. Mr Acton Smith claims that Mind Candy would be profitable with either its online subscription revenues or its merchandising sales alone. “Both are very high margin,” he says.

One advantage of starting with online content rather than film is that the fixed costs are much lower. It is also far cheaper to introduce new characters in an online world than in a cinematic sequel. And it is easy to tell how popular they are with customers.

Lady Gaga won an injunction of any work by her near-namesake Lady Goo Goo.