Attitude’s Style Hero Award: Vivienne Westwood

The undisputed grande dame of British Fashion (as well as being an actual dame too) Vivienne Westwood has been causing anarchy on the catwalk for decades, and we’re thrilled to present her with Attitude’s Style Hero Award, supported by Renault.

An environmental activist, Vivienne uses her exposure through her fashion shows to articulate her political beliefs, demonstrating that fashion can be much more than clothes. Dame Westwood is vocal about tackling climate change and, clad with a megaphone, has led marches against fracking in the capital city. Most recently, she drove a tank to David Cameron’s house to protest it.

Vivienne has sent men down the runway wearing fake breasts and spearheaded an Ethical Fashion Africa collection, which employed thousands of local women to make bags, ensuring that they earned a fair wage in return.

Westwood has kept her bonds to Britain tight. Plenty of union jacks, nods to Queen Elizabeth (both current and Tudor) and capsule collections constantly display her love for London and Britain. She has designed for the English National Ballet and launched a capsule collection to celebrate the Queen’s diamond jubilee.

A designer at the inception of the modern punk and new wave, she helped shape the aesthetic of the era. Full of tartans and safety pins, her clothing screams out at you. It’s bold and ostentatious and never for the wallflower.

Dame Westwood manages to evolve her designs and constantly innovate as fashion changes. Her fire is still burning as bright as it did when she started back in the 70s, and shows no sign of diminishing. God save the queen of British fashion.

You can read about Vivienne and the rest of our winners from the Attitude Awards, in association with Virgin Holidays, in the new issue of Attitude – available to download from 11pm tonight from attitudedigital.co.uk and in shops tomorrow.