Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood’s Paris Fashion Week show

Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show

As a dedicated follower of fashion and a self-proclaimed historian of the punk era, I was utterly disheartened to learn about the tumultuous state of Vivienne Westwood Ltd. Having grown up in the vibrant, rebellious ’70s, the Sex Pistols’ punk image, crafted by none other than Dame Vivienne herself, left an indelible mark on my young heart.


On Saturday, during her arrival at Vivienne Westwood’s Paris Fashion Week event, Cardi B was observed taking a puff from a cigarette.

At the event, the 31-year-old rapper watched Irina Shayk confidently walk the runway, showcasing the Spring-Summer 2025 collection for the high-end fashion brand.

Cardi donned a mini dress that accentuated her figure, designed in the distinctive corset style of the designer, overlaid with a fishnet bodysuit beneath it.

She elevated herself with a pair of lofty platform boots, adding a compact tartan handbag as an accent.

At the same time, Irina, aged 38, exuded elegance wearing a stylish, deep-v neck, double-breasted white blazer paired with flared pants of the same color.

Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show

Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show

The model’s look was competed with a pair of silver flats and very subtle makeup look. 

On her deathbed, iconic fashion designer Vivienne Westwood called upon her fellow designer Jeff Banks and asked him a significant favor: to ensure her lasting impact by taking on the role as director of the company she had tirelessly cultivated over many years.

Approximately two years following Dame Vivienne’s passing, in July, Mr. Banks found himself leaving the company due to allegations of intense internal disputes and a boardroom takeover that has since left the enterprise in disarray, as reported by The Mail on Sunday.

It is reported that the previous presenter of the BBC’s Clothes Show was removed due to disputes about the fashion brand’s future focus and fears that its original creator’s influence was waning, according to sources within the company.

One insider remarked that the 2021 film ‘House of Gucci’ seemed more akin to a children’s show like ‘Play School’, due to its portrayal of the fierce struggle for power over the iconic Italian fashion company.

Divided by a split, Vivienne Westwood Ltd has two main figures: Mr. Banks, a friend of Joe Corre (Vivienne Westwood’s son), on one side; while on the other, we have Carlo D’Amario, the company CEO, and Andreas Kronthaler, who is both Dame Vivienne’s third husband and the creative director of the label.

One source noted a discrepancy between where Vivienne Westwood’s legacy currently stands and its future trajectory.

Vivienne Westwood, in the 1970s, catapulted into stardom by shaping the punk look for The Sex Pistols, subsequently amassing an impressive £70 million business empire.

Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show
Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show
Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show
Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show
Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show

However, as time went on, it is alleged that the designer, who received a damehood in 2006, became disgruntled with the management of the brand, and was reportedly penning a book to express her annoyance.

She expressed significant worry about a potentially harmful atmosphere within the company, and felt that some of their design work lacked sufficient creativity.

‘It reached a point where Vivienne wanted to shut it down,’ one insider said. 

‘She always believed in quality over quantity. She would submit a load of designs and the complicated, creative stuff would be overlooked.

They, including herself and the designers, would feel deeply saddened for having put so much effort into creating stunning pieces only for them not to see the light of day.

Just a few days before her passing in December 2022, at the age of 81, she called her lifelong friend Mr. Banks to her hospital bedside.

‘I felt like Cardinal Wolsey going to see the monarch,’ he later said. 

Cardi B wears a busty corset mini dress and puffs on a cigarette while Irina Shayk looks elegant in a plunging white suit at Vivienne Westwood's Paris Fashion Week show

As they chatted, she asked him to protect the brand he had helped her establish in the late 1980s.

However, it’s been discovered that Mr. Banks, aged 81, has been removed from the board of the holding company and is currently in discussions about the specifics of his exit.

An informant shared that Dame Vivienne would likely be dismayed if she knew about Jeff being removed from his position. Reports indicate that Mr. Kronthaler advocated for the dismissal of Mr. Banks, who chose not to respond over the weekend.

Vivienne Westwood Ltd did not respond to repeated requests to comment.

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2024-09-28 17:49

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