Last night I was lucky enough to get invited to a smart awards ceremony in London marking achievements in the world of luxury goods and services. There were folk from various brands and companies such as Chanel, Aston Martin, and the like. Lots of nice expensive champagne, dishy women and impeccably dressed chaps. At the end of the event, an award was given to a certain Vivienne Westwood, one of Britain’s most famous fashion designers. She started her career back in the 1970s in the world of punk, associating with Malcolm McClaren, who went on to manage the Sex Pistols, before moving on to other fields. To describe Ms Westwood as a gloriously bohemian figure is an understatement: she wore this amazing red dress, had bright orange hair and her face was painted a sort of white to create the impression of an eccentric 18th Century party-goer in the court of Versailles.
I was struck by two things. On the one hand, Ms Westwood is a great entrepreneur. She has a fashion business empire that stretches around the world, employing loads of people, creating jobs and income, not to mention fashions, for thousands of people. My wife adores some of her stuff. She has been heaped with honours and is the toast of Milan, Paris, London and New York.
And yet as soon as she opened her mouth in the ceremony last night, we were treated to meandering monologue about how how “Britain has far less culture than France”; how cheap labour is the evil that causes wars, how mankind is threatened with extinction in a few year’s time; how the French were great because they had central planning back in the 17th Century to create a fashion industry, how she was soooooo glad that Obama was in the White House…..on and on it went, bringing together in one speech an amazingly concentrated collection of fatuity.
It keeps amazing me how people in business, even tremendously successful businesspeople, can hold views that would make any sixth-form pupil cringe with embarrassment. But part of me loves the free market precisely because even an eccentric like Ms Westwood, while decrying global capitalism, can make a mint out of it by selling people stuff that they want. Just don’t ever take her views on world affairs seriously.
Oh well, at least she is more fun to watch that Polly Toynbee and like I said, she has created a great business.
Westwood is simply using the tribal language of the ruling elite.This is how the recognise each other and bond,there is no thought behind it.
There were folk from various brands and companies such as Chanel, Aston Martin, and the like. Lots of nice expensive champagne, dishy women and impeccably dressed chaps.
JP, you really are Bond in your dreams aren’t you? Good on ya for it.
Malcolm McClaren, mr modesty himself, and never one to blow his own horn, has always said that Vivienne has no talent at all.
What she does have (that he gave her) is a very old Encyclopedia of Fashion, which she dips into and pick and mixes the stuff she finds in there.
I cant believe that she has much to do with the marketing either.
Within the human gut are many “helpful” organisms, principally bacteria. A biological balance determines their functions within an overall healthy or stable physiology.
Examined or dealt with separately from those functions and away from biological balance, the individual bacterium may even seem toxic, and certainly unpleasant to deal with.
In fact, when the balance is disturbed, and the bacteria become rampant, they can be a source of organic destruction, but, more often imposing limits on the normal functions of other portions of the human organism.
Going back to, say, Mandeville, we have attempts to observe and comment on that which is similar in the social organisms. However, we should keep in mind we are dealing with the equivalent of bacteria.
I remarked on something similar here(Link), only not so well, and I didn’t get to go to the awards ceremony. To sum up: yes it is amazing how these ferocious capitalists don’t realize that’s what they are.
She is generally considered talented in the industry, as opposed to a mere provocateur or novelty. She hasn’t designed her own stuff for several years now, leaving most of it to her husband. Back in the day though, she had talent enough, and more importantly the energy and self belief that is required of the successful entrepreneur.
As for the speech, yes, I think a lot of it is basically tribal bonding, and saying acceptable platitudes – I’m not sure one is ever required to do anything else at these kinds of events. I’m not sure these kinds of platitudes have actually got worse over the years, although it’s a shame they haven’t got better either.
Just met one of these, about an hour ago.
There I was, sitting on a park bench with the broad pacific to my back, start swimming and the next stop is chile.
Anyway I was multitasking, reading and watching the world stroll past, when a lady, clipboard in hand, brochures proffered and broad American accent on show, asked me if I wanted to save the planet.
Sigh.
“From what?” I asked.
“From mining.” she replied.
And so it started. I don’t think she had ever met anyone who was able to counter her vague assertions with facts, and she was clearly enjoying herself. She came out with the lot – the last two weeks of rain (which hadn’t happened) was proof of something weatherwise, truther – twin towers was a controlled explosion, Gorista, blood for oil, secret conspiracies, change you can believe in. Hell, she even seriously started linking the Rothschilds, Rockerfellers and the Illuminati.
I was getting bored; had no desire to be rude but the more blunt I was, without being cruel, the more she stayed and the more twaddle she spouted.
I ended feeling sorry for her, it must be dreadful to live in a world controlled by so many malign forces.
Maybe they do, and they feel guilty?
Not paradoxical if you jump on the “progressivism is a ruling class conspiracy” bus with me :oD
Also, a bowl of slowly congealing custard is more fun to watch than Polly Toynbee.
Ian B, your point is reinforced when one considers that a Westwood dress costs the equivalent of an average wage-earner’s monthly salary.