Vivienne Westwood Doesn't Follow Fashion

19 August 2013

Dame Vivienne Westwood

Dame Vivienne Westwood doesn't follow fashion.

The esteemed British designer never pays attention to what her rivals are doing and only attends catwalk shows when she wants to make a personal statement.

She told French VOGUE magazine: "I must admit, I don't follow anything that happens on the runways, I have no idea what other people are doing. I only went to one single fashion show last season in Paris, and only so photographers would get a picture of my t-shirt supporting [WikiLeaks founder] Julian Assange."

The 72-year-old star claims to be equally clueless about whether her collections will flop or not, since she only makes clothes which appeal to her punk-inspired aesthetic and not women as a whole.

Vivienne confessed: "To be honest, I've never wondered what women want from fashion. I only create based on my own tastes and I'm incapable of predicting the success (or failure) of a collection.

"I have had certain intuitions - my Victorian corsets, for instance, worked well but it was a bit risky at the time. I just think I owe it all to luck rather than the power of prediction."

The fashion legend cites iconic French designer Yves Saint Laurent - who passed away in June 2008 - as one of the all time greats and believes no one has quite met his high standards yet.

Vivienne said: "I try to avoid the question of whether fashion is art. But I'm still tempted to give a simple answer: it depends on who's doing it. In my opinion, only Yves Saint Laurent has ever been able to manage it.

"Everything he did was always perfect, always a triumph. He metamorphosed women into real animated artworks."