Vivienne Westwood “Ecotricity” AW17: A vital message dressed in elegant punk fashion

In quintessential Vivienne Westwood style, the collection on display for London Fashion Week Mens embodied deep environmental and political undertones with a magnificent nod to punk fashion. 

On the 9th January Vivienne Westwood closed London Fashion Week Mens, and continued to establish fashion as a field with a cornucopia of artistic and campaigning possibilities. The collection comprised of a range of autumn and winter wear, including jumpers, dresses, coats and suits; some of which featured small extracts from Westwood’s diary, “Get a life” (2016), that spoke largely of politics, embodying a personal touch to the garments.

Steered towards unisex wear, “Ecotricity” boldly focussed on sexuality, by featuring men in a tulle dress, a long ruffled rah rah skirt and integrating phallus pins into the outfits. Thorough experimentation with shapes and textures materialised within many of the garments, from flowing draped coats to the finely scrunched effect on the waistlines and shoulders of the dresses. 

The punk aesthetic was certainly visible within the collection, consisting of classic pinstripe suits and shirts, clashing patterns, bold skull emblems and models donning DIY look hats, vibrant and emblazoned with the word “Ecotricity”. Westwood’s ability to meld punk visuals with elegance and grace is undoubtedly a talent, and was most notable in the grey scale printed silk maxi dress. Beautiful, flowing and topped with DIY look headwear, it appeared as though the model had emerged from an ethereal-punk-underworld.

Closing London Fashion Week Mens in perfect fashion, “Ecotricity” AW17 blends Westwood’s renowned punk style with an important underlying message about our climate.