Fashion Public Relations - A flying penis, voluminous robes and a call to release a convicted prisoner -- British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood brought it all to Paris in a shrill show on Tuesday.
In an autumn-winter collection inspired by Greek themes, 64-year-old Westwood paraded models in long, gold shimmering coats and girls showing off colorful tights under bright purple layered dresses with the word "Innocent" printed on them.
"I think it is terribly important to have opinions, and to think. We live in a world of action without thought," said Westwood, who has kept her eccentric edge since her bondage- inspired creations for the Sex Pistols punk band in the 1970s.
Westwood, who is famed for using British fabrics such as tweed and tartan for her daring clothes, has not been shy to add a political touch to her clothes. Last year, she presented tops reading "I'm not a terrorist. Please don't arrest me" to protest against a tightening of anti-terrorism measures.
Wearing two sparkling little devil's horns in her bright red hair, Westwood told reporters she wanted to raise attention to the case of Leonard Peltier, a American Indian activist convicted for the 1975 killings of two FBI agents.
"Leonard Peltier is innocent. He's been in jail for 30 years now," Westwood said, pointing to the invitation letter for her show, featuring a blue penis with wings and the word "Innocent."
"The Greek penis is a good luck sign. It suits Leonard, because if you're in the wrong place at the wrong time and you get arrested, maybe you're getting jailed for the rest of your life. So you need good luck not to be a criminal," she said.
Peltier, whose case has received international attention, has been serving two consecutive life sentences for the agents' deaths on an Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He has unsuccessfully brought a number of appeals.
Wearing buttons reading "Innocent," models at Westwood's show presented short suit jackets to wide voluminous ballroom skirts, or coats with large shoulders spiking out.
The British designer recently told German magazine Stern she would be ready to dress German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a pastor's daughter from the communist east who is known for her conservative dress sense.
Westwood's collection included a golden suit with a wide hood, toga-style dresses in pink and purple and accessories such as a police-man style visor in sparkling gold.
Westwood seems untiring in her work. But she told Reuters: "The story of my life is (that I think) 'When I finish this pair of trousers, I can read my book'. It's always been the same. When I'm not having to work on fashion, I'm usually not thinking about it at all."
Posted by Constance Wherrity on March 1, 2006 4:47 PM
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