Vivienne Westwood Red Label F/W 12

  Over the years Red Label has collected ideas from history and from all over the world, but whatever Vivienne Westwood does always ends with a collection that is British, the world looked at through her eyes.

Perhaps there is no city more cosmopolitan than London, so here is a British collection which shows an interest in everything;

Tailoring, masculine- Savile Row inspired long Edwardian jackets (velvet trimmed), clean white shirts and Jermyn Street stripes, feminine tailoring- checks + tartans, lots of wool, mohair, blankets + capes, prints + jacquards taken from African body painting, Ikat, mottled effect prints that remind you of feathers and fur but also somehow of old ladies in Provence.

For evening looks paper taffeta and duchess in checks, stripes and block colours are used for wrapped and twisted dresses.

More formal ‘portrait’ suits and cocktail dresses are shown alongside traditional ‘smoking’ suits in satin finish wool and glitter stretch.

This show was in support of the Environmental Justice Foundation’s (EJF) ‘No Place Like Home’ campaign for climate refugees.

The t-shirts Vivienne Westwood designed, seen in the show, support the campaign to raise awareness of the plight of people who have been forced from their homes and land due to the increasing and intensifying impact of climate change.

This can happen through violent calamity, but also and often people are forced into a decision to move because their land is no longer habitable.

EJF believes that climate change is one of the most profound threats to people’s rights to life, food, health, water and shelter.

Unlike the 10 million refugees recognized by the UN Refugee Agency, these people currently have no legal status or protection. EJF is calling for urgent international action to provide them with legal recognition, assistance and protection.

The bespoke t-shirts are made using an exemplary low carbon supply chain and are manufactured using renewable green energy. Priced at £20, the exclusive t-shirts are on sale at VivienneWestwood.co.uk and Ejfoundation.org .

Pictures: © Catwalking.com

How do you like the collection? Which looks are your favourites?