On the eve of London Fashion Week, the great and the good of the British fashion industry turned out to pay tribute to the late Vivienne Westwood, who passed away in December at the age of 81. As Vogue’s Sarah Mower wrote in her tribute to the archetypal fashion activist: “Above all, she was a great Englishwoman—a unique designer who pushed fashion history forward, and who then used all of her power to stand up for the future of the world.”
Among the mourners in attendance at Southwark Cathedral on 16 February? Models and muses who had long worked with the progenitor of punk—many of whom put a fittingly renegade twist on traditional mourning attire for the occasion. (The tongue-in-cheek dress code for the memorial? “If in doubt, dress up.”) Step forward Kate Moss, who styled her black floral dress with a beret, while daughter Lila arrived in a pair of pirate heels.
Helena Bonham Carter, meanwhile, read a eulogy in a tartan corseted blazer and skirt—“Bodies wear out, spirits don’t,” she reassured the congregation—while Nick Cave performed “Into My Arms” with a piano accompaniment. Perhaps the most moving moment in the service, though, came courtesy of Westwood’s husband and collaborator Andreas Kronthaler. “What she wanted more than anything was to make the world a better place,” he reaffirmed.
See all of the photos from the memorial, below.
This article was originally published on British Vogue.