Dame Viv is publishing her diaries

The godmother of punk has got a new book on the way. Entitled Get a Life: The Diaries of Vivienne Westwood, the book “spans six years of Climate Revolution, fashion and activism” according to the publisher.

Westwood is known for straddling roles as a fashion designer and political activist – and this book will pay testament to the fact. In between designing multiple collections a year for her eponymous label, she fearlessly campaigns for environmental issues. In recent times, she’s driven up to David Cameron’s house in a tank and attempted to present the PM with a Christmas present of asbestos in anti-fracking protests.

“My diaries are about the things I care about,” says Westwood. “Not just fashion but art and writing, human rights, climate change, freedom. I call the diaries Get a Life as that’s how I feel: you’ve got to get involved, speak out and take action.”

Taking action is something Westwood does all the time – earlier this week she hit headlines for criticising the British Museum, calling for it to end its controversial sponsorship deal with oil and gas company BP. “As the impacts of climate change are being felt more forcefully around the world, it is vital that prominent public institutions like the British Museum play their part in minimising the environmental impacts of their activities...” she said.

“Vivienne Westwood is someone who says exactly what she thinks – all the time,” says Mark Ellingham, publisher at Profile Books and Serpent’s Tail. “That’s what makes her diaries so compelling. You never know what she’ll be writing about nor what she’ll choose to say about it.’

This isn’t the first book that Westwood has penned; she’s written around nine titles over the course of her career, including 100 Days of Active Resistance (2011) and Fashion Rebel (1994). Get a Life will be released on October 6, later this year.