Rebel with a cause: Vivienne Westwood’s show at Paris Fashion Week

A model presents a creation by Vivienne Westwood during the 2016 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show, on October 3, 2015 in Paris. AFP PHOTO / PATRICK KOVARIK

The hotly anticipated Gold Label show by British grand dame of fashion, Vivienne Westwood, didn’t disappoint. Dubbed, Mirror The World, the collection was themed around the effects of climate change and the slowly-sinking city of Venice. Into the mix too, were pieces influenced by the works of Italian masters Bellini and Titian. Another avenue of exploration was that of Venetian carnivals, namely their elements of mystery and disguise. Men were dressed in heeled boots, platformed sandals and dresses. While ladies appeared wearing androgynous jackets – some suspended above the head - and face-obscuring creations of net and tulle. Based upon the harlequin character from the Italian Commedia dell’arte – a type of theatre characterized by masked figures – Westwood displayed patchworks on knitwear and swimwear. Unisex tailoring proved an equally integral part of the collection, borne out in suits fashioned from British linen and furnishing fabrics. Highly wearable dresses featured in classic Westwood draped form, many of which “gaps and cracks” exposing flesh to reflect global environmental damage and destruction.

Click on our slideshow to see images from the show or visit Vivienne Westwood's website to watch her video on climate change.