Designer Vivienne Westwood: "Don't invest in fashion"

"Everybody's buying far too many clothes," Dame Vivienne said at London Fashion Week

Published September 17, 2013 4:13PM (EDT)

Vivienne Westwood    (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett)
Vivienne Westwood (Reuters/Suzanne Plunkett)

"Buy less. Choose well. Make it last. Quality, not quantity. Everybody's buying far too many clothes."

That's the lesson Dame Vivienne Westwood, a British designer and climate activist, told the Telegraph she hopes people will take away from London Fashion Week. "Don’t invest in fashion, but invest in the world."

Grist takes this as Westwood telling people not to buy her clothes, but she really seems to be arguing against buying "anything cheap." So, one really good piece from the type of designer who gets featured at Fashion Week (like Westwood) instead of piles of mass-produced clothing that together would add up to the same price. It's the same thing Elizabeth Cline argues in "Overdressed": The emphasis should be on quality over quantity.

Of course, Westwood doesn't exactly fit in the middle ground; her special edition "Climate Revolution" T-shirt, which Lady Gaga was spotted wearing today, retails for $90. But she acknowledges that too, if a bit awkwardly:

"I mean, I know I'm lucky, I can just take things and borrow them and I'm just okay, but I hate having too many clothes," she said. "And I think that poor people should be even more careful."


By Lindsay Abrams

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Clothing Designer Goods Designers Fashion Week Lady Gaga