Victoria Beckham and Kate Moss among stars at Vivienne Westwood memorial
Kate Moss, Victoria Beckham and Stormzy were among the famous faces who attended a memorial service for the late fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood in London. Many guests styled themselves in classic Westwood fashion, with tartan designs and colourful, bold tailoring on display at the service which was held at Southwark Cathedral on Thursday. Dame Vivienne, who was recognised as a punk legend, environmental activist and designer extraordinaire, died aged 81 in December. Former Spice Girl and designer Beckham wore a skintight black dress with a high neck, long sleeves and a leg slit for the service, while British Vogue editor Edward Enninful dressed in an all-black suit and blazer ensemble.
Supermodel Moss donned a black dress with a floral design and a black blazer and her daughter Lila Grace Moss Hack paired her outfit with a Westwood red bag. Actress Helena Bonham Carter, who has worn Dame Vivienne’s punk stylings at many events and red carpets, paid tribute to the late designer in a red and purple full tartan skirt and blazer set paired with a Westwood pearl necklace. Rapper Stormzy was also in attendance in an all-black suit and shirt combination as was artist Tracey Emin who wore a dark-coloured long coat and tartan scarf.
Emin became a long-standing friend of Dame Vivienne after meeting at a Vogue shoot in the summer of 1999 with the artist later saying that “within days” she had become her “muse”. Actress Elle Fanning was also spotted heading into the service in an all-black ensemble with a matching pillar-box hat. The US star collaborated with the fashion designer on many occasions, with Dame Vivienne styling the 24-year-old in a custom pink corset-style dress for the Independent Spirit Awards in 2021. Singer Paloma Faith wore a purple jumper under a rust, floral-patterned dress with red shoes while Mad Men actress Christina Hendricks dressed in a navy and black checked coat-dress for the service.
Actress Dame Vanessa Redgrave was also in attendance in a camel coat and hat alongside her daughter, actress Joely Richardson, who matched in a camel and black suit over a lime green top. Presenter Jonathan Ross opted for a black trench coat and blue jumper, Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie wore a classic black suit, as did fashion designer Erdem Moralioglu and Babs actress Jaime Winstone donned a black fitted dress paired with black lace-up platforms. US singer-songwriter Beth Ditto, fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes, singer Bob Geldof, Australian singer Nick Cave and his fashion designer wife Susie Cave, designer Matty Bovan and model Lorraine Pascale were also among the guests.
Dame Vivienne emerged on the fashion scene in the 1970s, with her androgynous designs, slogan t-shirts and irreverent attitude towards the establishment. She continued to break boundaries throughout her career and was responsible for some of fashion’s most famous designs – including her take on the corset, the ‘mini-crini’ – a shortened version of the Victorian crinoline dress – and Carrie Bradshaw’s bridal dress in the 2008 Sex And The City movie. The designer also made a name for herself as an activist, staging public protests to raise awareness around causes close to her heart. Notably, she actively campaigned for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting to avoid being sent to the US to face charges under the Espionage Act. Following her death, Assange said he was going to request leave from London’s Belmarsh prison to attend the fashion designer’s funeral.
Sculptor and designer Daniel Lismore used the memorial service to continue Dame Vivienne’s campaign efforts by wearing an outfit emblazed with an image of his face with the slogan #FreeAssange on it. In 1992, Dame Vivienne famously wore a perfectly tailored skirt suit with a grey matching hat while collecting her OBE. The outfit might have been demure, but she soon started twirling for photographers – only to reveal she was not wearing any knickers underneath. She returned to Buckingham Palace in 2006 to be made a dame, and was once again without underwear – but she refrained from doing any twirling this time.
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