Remembering Vivienne Westwood, Queen of Punk Manner Style and design, Good friend of Ukraine

My Westwood journey was born the working day I walked past Vivienne Westwood’s Anglomania selection at a fashion tradeshow in Las Vegas. I decided at that instant to incorporate the model to our assortment when I was the head of Zappos Couture again in 2008.

Decades later on, the selection to acquire her brand that working day in the end landed me the most splendid place as the president of revenue for Vivienne Westwood America. I was blessed to be doing work for a true icon and legend in the manner field.

Vivienne designed punk rock trend a phenomenon, reinvented the corset and with each collection was generally decades in advance of her time. Her types had been not designed for the mass-current market customer but for people of us who want to convey ourselves and who dare to “live fast and die youthful,” a single of her most well known statements. 

She reworked the way we perspective style and was incredibly influential, being concentrated on environmental challenges throughout her vocation. Her messages spoke loudly and evidently on her patterns: Vivienne influenced her prospects to emphasis on vital messages by her collections like End War, Weather Revolution, Politicians are Criminals, Save the Arctic and much more.

Vivienne and her workforce at Westwood despised war – specially the just one in Ukraine – and she spoke out many moments throughout her occupation about how war is the greatest polluter.

In addition she wrote a everyday weblog, “Climate Revolution,” where Vivienne featured me the day of the U.S. election in 2016 talking with her about how The usa required to “wake up” and not vote for Donald Trump.

I was blessed ample to invest time with her in Paris, Milan, and London wherever she taught all of us how corrupt the planet and men and women can be.

Vivienne was so passionate about conserving the environment she would practically choose to even reuse her tea luggage.  When in the Paris showroom we would have to depart a note on them to convey to the personnel not to throw them out so she could use them a 2nd or 3rd time. She would be upset if another person trashed them as she was totally committed to recycling.

I also vividly remember looking at her excellent a garment. She would see each and every depth and alter just the smallest section of it so the structure would be impeccable. All my mates who labored directly with her on the layout course of action mentioned they acquired so much functioning with Vivienne and she was their supreme instructor. There was nothing at all like seeing her operate and right up until not too long ago she however rode a drive bike to the design studio in London.

To this day about 50 % my closet is stuffed with Vivienne Westwood patterns and the other 50 % with Ukrainian vogue models. I’d say my wardrobe is perfection with the mix of this sort of talent.

The Westwood organization consisted of a crew that ended up some of the most unconventional forged of characters and I suit right in. Thankfully I nonetheless have the Vivienne Westwood workforce of folks who reside all all over the entire world in my everyday living so we will struggle to uphold her values alongside one another for long term generations. The globe will be significantly less educated without the need of her day-to-day activism and affect. She was a accurate legend the best disruptor and I will pass up her terribly.

Vivienne died on Dec 29.

Jen Sidary has led and applied partnerships between brand names and founded stores from all around the earth, with a profession spanning more than a few many years. 

Sidary founded ANGELFORFASHION.com in April 2022, a multi-brand fashion eCommerce web site to aid Ukrainian designers and their companies to survive the war. She has worked throughout numerous bold tasks with USAID Competitive Economic system Program as a fashion field qualified showcasing Ukrainian makes at New York and Paris Manner Months. 

Prior to her do the job with Ukraine, Sidary was previously the President of Profits for Vivienne Westwood The united states and the Head of Zappos Couture.