Just a few days after Greta Thunberg set sail on an epic (and environmentally friendly) journey across the Atlantic, Vivienne Westwood has come out to show her support for the young activist. 

As part of an interview with The Big Issue, the legendary designer claimed Thunberg would make a great world leader, and that having her as ‘world controller’ would result in a significant drop in carbon emissions. 

In reference to the climate emergency the planet is currently facing, Westwood said: “We are making some progress, thanks to Greta and the school strikes and Extinction Rebellion. They’ve forced our government to declare a climate crisis and set targets.” However, the designer was quick to confirm she still doesn’t think enough is being done to have made significant progress within the original timeframe: “The targets used to be 2020, now they’re 2050.” 

Westwood’s take comes as no surprise given the 78-year-old designer has long been a spokesperson for the climate emergency. 

Having teamed up with Greenpeace in 2014 to launch a photo campaign promoting its efforts to Save the Arctic, at her AW19 show she invited the organisation’s executive director John Sauven to deliver an impassioned speech about the problems the planet is facing and how we must work together to rectify them. She is also regularly seen protesting against fracking in the North of England (who can forget that dancing?).

The designer’s endorsement and support for the 2019 Dazed 100-er is a welcome change from the backlash she has faced from right-wing political figures recently. Last week, Brexiteer Aaron Banks tweeted that ‘freak yachting accidents do happen in August’ in response to the news of her trans-Atlantic trip. 

However, considering her determination to tackle the climate emergency while simultaneously holding global leaders accountable for not taking its ramifications seriously enough, we know whose hands we’d rather the world’s future was in.