Vivienne Westwood is throwing her lot in with the Greens. Never one to shy away from mixing fashion with politics, she used her Red Label AW15 show last night to urge everyone to vote for the party, even titling the collection Vote Green. Now she has declared her plans to tour UK universities in a bid to persuade students to choose the eco-party in the May general election. The 73–year–old designer hopes to visit a number of cities, including Liverpool, Norwich, Brighton, and Sheffield to try and help the party secure the student vote.
"At the moment we are controlled by the 1% of the world population who are in power," she said in a statement. "They preach consumption, and they preach war, and they’re taking us into disaster. We are in incredible danger. There is no point in voting for the others."
The Green Party has surged in popularity among young voters, leaving the Liberal Democrats in the dust. According to a recent YouGov poll, support for the Green Party among 18-24 year-olds is now tied with the Conservatives at 22 per cent. Support for Labour among young people has fallen from 45 to 32 per cent.
Westwood took part in a number of anti-fracking and environmentalist protests last year, including leading the London Fracked Future march. After penning a pamphlet titled End Capitalism, Westwood publically aligned herself with the Green Party. "I am investing in the Green Party because I believe it is in the best interests of our country and our economy”, stated the rebellious designer." She has reportedly donated a mammoth £300,000 to their cause this January.
Amelia Womack, the deputy party leader, will accompany Westwood on her university tour, and is set to speak alongside her. Will you be voting Green with Dame Viv?
Watch Vivienne Westwood talk about protest and politics below:
