As you would expect from a fashion queen, Vivienne Westwood says a lot about what she thinks of fashion without even opening her mouth. Such is the power of clothes and her iconic individual style.

Aesthetically, Westwood presents us with an eclectic mix. For the speech at the Union on Tuesday, she was dressed in elfin pointed platform heeled boots, a woollen jumpsuit buttoned all the way up (including exaggerated arms and legs that look like leg warmers), a Climate Revolution badge, a dog tag necklace, diamond earrings, trademark purple lipstick and red eyebrows, and, most curious of all, a conker necklace. It is a strange look, and one few others could pull off, let alone have the confidence to wear.

As we sit down to speak she is friendly but reserved. Intrigued by her ensemble, I start by asking about it.

What choices did you make getting dressed today?

“I went to work on a bicycle, so that had a bit to do with it. Otherwise I might have worn my cloak instead of my great big bomber jacket. I love this catsuit that I am wearing though, it is good for everything. It is really glamorous and it cuts a very good figure: it is an all-purpose thing.”

I ask about the string of conkers that sits confidently around her neck. “The conker necklace was a present from a student. I had one last year too.”

Your most recent show in Venice for SS16 was themed around the phrase “Mirror the World”. Do you think fashion ever reflects the present or is always looking forward or backwards? Do mirrors reflect or distort?

“There’s a very important thing you need to know about mirroring the world. I was giving a lecture the other day and we were talking about imitation. Imitation is what I mean by ‘mirroring the world’, and if you think about all the things we can do as Homo Sapiens, art is something we do that is not real. That is why we call it imitation. If you look at the Eiffel Tower: that’s not art, it’s real. I know everything is in flux and nothing exists, but to us it’s real. Whereas, art is something that represents the world. That’s what I mean by mirroring the world: that you should be a bit of the world, but very importantly, you should mirror the world as it ought to be, not just as it is. Because this leads to culture and us becoming more human and using our potential to express ourselves even more. And somehow, that’s what I think about fashion.

“Fashion is there to help. It’s there to make you look better. But perhaps if you’re twenty years old and you’ve got this perfect figure, nudity is the greatest look of all. I was once asked [about nudity] and I said ‘well I would like to have a pair of high-heeled shoes and with even a beauty spot you’re dressed’. Nobody really goes naked, do they? We do things to enhance who we are; we are the most incredible creatures in the world, and we walk beautifully on two legs. I just think fashion is about epitomising the human potential to look different and wonderful. I think fashion is a way to express who you think you are. My clothes are quite classy, they tell a story. They’re classic because they’ve always got something to add to whoever is wearing them: they’re theatrical in that sense. Fashion can help you to uncover a part of yourself that you didn’t really know existed.”

What other discipline do you think really influences fashion?

“Well, more than anything it’s paintings. Something visual.”

After the interview, Westwood is led into the chamber to give a speech. She opens by asking the Speaker’s officer to exit the stage and leave her alone to talk. “What are you going to do?” she asks as if confused. Westwood’s mission with this speech, as she explicitly states, is to “recruit you [students] as activists”. She goes on to explain that “It is our last chance to save the world” and that “we are the last generation who has a chance to help”. This message is one she re-iterated throughout.

Westwood covered a lot of hefty topics in her hour-long stream-of-consciousness speech. From bankers who are “really, really evil”, to the whole “rotten financial system”, to the “organised lying” of the politicians. Foraying into the “propaganda” of the press who “pretend everything is the same” to perpetrate what the “politicians say and do on climate change”, and emphasising the “danger of mass extinction”, Westwood went on to touch on Machiavellian comments on the common man and higher power, and continually returned to the climate change cause with discussion of the “regeneration of the sea”.

She did break her train of thought twice. Once when a photographer was taking too many photos of her – “I can only talk or pose for a picture. Sorry.” – and once because she really did just get distracted: “If I get distracted I have to talk about being distracted.”

Westwood spoke at length about art and culture, citing a friend who said “the world suffers from the isolation of the intellectual”; (when asked later about the intellectual exclusion of Cambridge, she said “Yes it is. But it’s not your fault. Make the most of it!”). She believes that art is “the transmission from brain to hand. None of this meticulousness.” There is, however, “no such thing as progress in art. There is only progress in life”. She went on to talk passionately about the connections between art and climate change, proclaiming “everyone who is an art lover is a freedom fighter.” However, “the world has forgotten more than it knows.” We have to cultivate our human genius: “there is genius in our genus”.

Though some of these problems had no solution, when there were solutions these were made clear. She spoke about a march happening in London on 29th November, for climate, justice and jobs. She also urged students to read her online blog – Climate Revolution – and to meet with fellow students to discuss it.

“I could just tell you about knowledge…” she dropped in lightly as if she was just referencing her morning breakfast. “Maybe I won’t” she countered, to a mixture of disappointment and relief among the audience members. “Maybe I’ve said too much.”

http://climaterevolution.co.uk/