© Courtesy of Burberry/David Sims
For the first time, British heritage house Burberry and designer Vivienne Westwood join forces to support rainforest charity Cool Earth.
By Doreen Melein
The collaboration between storied British fashion house Burberry and the legendary Vivienne Westwood marks a significant step toward sustainability and environmental responsibility in luxury fashion. Together, they’re championing rainforest preservation and climate protection, lending their support to the nonprofit Cool Earth.
The limited-edition collection, available since 6 December 2018, has done more than turn heads in the fashion world — it has sharpened awareness of environmental issues far beyond it. The trio behind it, Vivienne Westwood, her husband Andreas Kronthaler, and Burberry chief designer Riccardo Tisci, pooled their creative instincts to produce a collection that is as stylish as it is purposeful.
Since its founding in 2007, Cool Earth has notched up impressive wins in rainforest protection, safeguarding more than 360,000 hectares of this precious ecosystem. The partnership between Burberry and Vivienne Westwood underscores their shared commitment to fighting deforestation.
Archive Designs, Reimagined
The collection is at once a tribute to the past and a step into the future. Vivienne Westwood revisited her own iconic archive pieces and gave them a contemporary twist. Among the highlights: a miniskirt referencing a style Kate Moss wore for the “Café Society” Spring/Summer 1994 collection, and a shirt-and-tie ensemble once worn by Naomi Campbell. A “hugger jacket” and a “mini kilt” from the 1993 Anglomania collection also make a reappearance, reworked for today.
A standout piece is a T-shirt bearing a handwritten quote from Vivienne Westwood herself, which captures the collection’s message in a single line: fashion can be a driving force for environmental protection. Proceeds from the collection go toward supporting Cool Earth’s vital work preserving the rainforest and protecting our planet. Burberry and Vivienne Westwood are proving, in the process, that luxury fashion and environmental responsibility can go hand in hand.
