1. There is nothing like a dame...
So sangthe chorusof love-sicksailorsinRogersandHammerstein’s1958 classic, South Pacific– they
have everythingtheywantedexcept,well,adame.
There are damesandthenthere isDame Vivienne Westwood,the British fashiondesignerand
entrepreneurwhorecentlyincurredthe wrathof the Britishmediaandthose whodon’tquite enjoy
herexaltedsocial andfinancial statusbysayingthatif the poor couldn’taffordorganicfoodthey
should“eatless”.
Dame Viviennewasinterviewedbythe BBC whenshe wasdeliveringapetitiontoNumber10,
DowningStreet,inLondon – the home of the BritishPrime MinisterDavidCameron –outlining
concernsaboutgeneticallymodifiedcrops.
Whenthe BBC reportersuggestedtoherthat “Noteverybody can afford to eatorganicfood”her
response, “Then they should eatless” had herbrandedas the Marie Antoinetteof the 21st
century.
To be fairto QueenMarie,she probablydidn’tsay “Letthem eat cake”but Dame Viviennecertainly
saidwhat she said.
Later, she saidthat she was “deeply upsetif anyonewould thinkIdon’tcare aboutstarving peopleor
don’tunderstand theterriblesituation somepeopleare in. I havespentyearscampaigning forsocial
and human rights”. Dame Vivienne,wholiveswithherhusbandinaQueenAnne house builtin
1703 intrendyupmarketClaphaminSouthLondon and isworthabout AU$20 million doesn’tread
newspapersorwatchTV so,presumably,she getsherunderstandingof the poorbydivine
inspiration.
To put everythingintoperspective–well,herperspective –considerthisquote: “Food should cost
more.Something is wrong when you can buy a cooked chicken fortwo pounds(aboutAU$3.60)”
Her oftenoutrageouspubliccommentsare frequentlycontrastedtoherlifestyle andthe
contradictionshave piledup.
She burst ontothe fashionscene inthe 1970s whenshe designedclothesfor,amongothers, TheSex
Pistolsand her ultra-chicoutfitsfeaturebondage gear,safetypins,razorbladesandbicycle and
toiletchains.She hassince movedona bitbut that inspirationremainsandithasmade her very
wealthy.
In 2007, she said, “Idon’tfeel comfortabledefending my clothesbutif you’vegotthemoney to
afford them,then buy something fromme – justdon’tbuy too much.”It wouldbe difficultformost
of usto buy anythingmuchlesstoomuch – an example of herrange wasa 2005 T-shirtfeaturingthe
slogan, “I AMNOT A TERRORIST, pleasedon’tarrestme” whichwas a real bargainat fiftypounds
(aboutAU$90). Andthat wasnine yearsago and she believesthatclothesshould “costmore”– well
herssure do.
“Fashion is a terrible thing,”she has said, “It’sall abouttempting peopleto buy but they should buy
less.” Meanwhile,herannual Spring/SummerandAutumn/Wintercollectionsare releasedatvery
exclusive,veryup-marketvenueswithsaturationmediacoverage.

2. While campaigningforeco-friendlycauses,she hasbeencriticisedbygreengroupsfornotmaking
herclothesand businesseco-friendlyandhercausesare many.Justpriorto the independence
referendum,she said, “Ilike Scotland becauseI thinkthey are better than we are.They are more
democratic.”She supportedthe “Yes”vote;the “no” vote wonby a democratic55% to 45%. As
noted,she livesinLondonandhasn’tshownthe slightestinterestinshiftingnorth.
In 2014, she cut off all herhair because – inthe wordsof herspokesman – “We mustall wakeup to
climate change”. If anybodyunderstandsthatthenplease letme know.
Two yearsago she saidBritishpeople “haveneverlooked so ugly.Everybody lookslikeclonesand the
only people you noticeare my age” whichmakesme wonderwhyshe chose as herhusband – a
formerstudent– a man whois twenty-five yearsherjunior.Perhapshe isthe onlymanon the
planetunder70 who isevenvaguelynoticeable.
Dame Vivienneisavegetarianalthoughtomyknowledgeshe hasneverestablishedanorganicfarm
and she has urgedherfansto followthe advice of Russell Brand–a UK “entertainer/social
commentator”- whohas said, “If the Governmentsaysit is good,then you know it’snot.Most
peopleagree withthis. They knowwhattheGovernmentisup to.Everything they say is rubbish,
everything they say is dangerous.”
Perhapsshe hasforgottenMr Brand is a comedianwell,allegedlyacomedian.
WestwoodHo!