Even seditionaries get married. Who would’ve thought that Vivienne Westwood’s made-to-order, semi-couture bridal business was brisk and growing? But hey! Fashion is about being constantly surprised, and Westwood isn’t afraid to confound expectations. A further example: Her iconoclastic spirit doesn’t really apply to the design of her bridal gowns, which actually looked rather traditionally bridal. No pyrotechnics here. Gowns were beautifully cut, corseted comme il faut to enhance the décolletage; their hourglass-y, slightly provocative (but just a bit) silhouettes were inspired by 18th-century cocottes, and made from swaths of decadently draped white satin, mikado, or ethereal fil coupé. They’d make even the most circumspect bride-to-be look like a Grecian goddess.
But Vivienne Westwood’s clients aren’t created equal to other labels’ customers. They mostly come with a conscience, either ethical, social, or environmental; beneath their English-flora-printed, sinuously cut wedding dresses in glimmering briné satin, they are true, combative seditionaries. Hence they’ll have their gowns made in sustainably sourced viscose as a vegan alternative to silk, or in organically produced, eco-friendly and cruelty-free Peace silk, which allows the silk butterfly to live beyond the cocoon. So kudos to the indomitable Dame Viv: If all brides were eco-fighting seditionaries, responsibly choosing their beautiful wedding dresses, the world would be a better place.
