Optimized Title: “Vivienne Westwood Funeral: How the Elite Paid Tribute to the Style Icon”

Selecting funeral apparel may be extra disturbing than selecting a marriage outfit, even with out the worry of upsizing a bride or groom. Visitors on the London memorial service for Dame Vivienne Westwood overcame their inhibitions by paying tribute to the style pioneer in vibrant tartans, brightly coloured fits, punk cargo pants and glittering cocktail clothes.

Westwood died in December, on the age of 81, a designer revered by the institution regardless of a rebellious spirit honed to the protection pin discovered all through the punk motion. Through the service scheduled for the beginning of London Style Week, mourners together with Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Yasmin Le Bon and Helena Bonham Carter selected from Westwood’s fashion signatures of riotous Victoriana, highland flimsies and over-the-top tailoring.

The sight of designer Marc Jacobs in a pearl necklace, nightclub promoter Phillip Sallon in boxing gloves, and singer Paloma Religion in a copper ballgown might shock these accustomed to black mourning uniforms, however even entrance row seats at funerals are the Westwood tribe’s stylish.

“Increasingly individuals consider we must always have fun somebody’s life as they lived it,” mentioned Kate Morgan, founding father of Tomorrow Funerals in Melbourne. “That might be due to the best way we gown, which will help with the grieving course of.”

“It’s more and more widespread for company to be requested to decorate in a sure color. To assist individuals by way of a tough time, it is very important be clear concerning the gown code on the invitation.”

The gown code for Westwood’s “when doubtful, gown up” commemoration suited a designer who popularized fetish put on at her store Intercourse and designed a marriage gown for Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw within the Intercourse and the town film.

For Kate Moss, that meant a beret and a black floral gown, unbuttoned to disclose fishnet stockings and the sort of sky-high heels that memorably made Naomi Campbell tumble onto the catwalk in 1993. Former mannequin Liberty Ross, a daily on the Westwood runway, layered a coat with a pretend fur trim over a low-cut cocktail gown.

“Letting your individual creativity come by way of may be therapeutic,” says Morgan. “It’s about dressing in such a manner that the deceased can be blissful to welcome you.”