Looking for stuff to do while you’re at home? Never fear! SWAN Day has gone virtual for 2020. Our FF2 team has gathered recommendations of films celebrating women artists across many categories. And of course, the films are made by women, too! Watch and read at your leisure, or collect all of them to have a marathon on the official SWAN Day weekend of March 28.
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist, featuring fashion designer/artist Vivienne Westwood
Directed by Lorna Tucker, Westwood is available to stream on Amazon Prime today! If you’re looking for a little light in this ever darkening world with the news in our periphery constantly, possibly Vivienne Westwood’s life and legacy will give you the hope you need.
Westwood became an incredible fashion designer during the Punk Era in England. Her designs were seen as garish and costume but as her popularity with the people grew, the critics realized that this was a woman with a unique vision in the fashion industry. Today Westwood strives to challenge the production of fashion by investigationing its sustainability efforts – she’s found little effort to keep carbon emissions and excessive waste down. Because of this, Westwood continues to be an activist and icon with the fashion community.
Lorna Tucker decided that it was time to discover what led Westwood to becoming the badass that she is today. Tucker interviews Westwood about the different stages of her life – her “boring” first marriage to Derek Westwood, her deep dive into the punk world through fashion, and of course, landing on her fight to maintain creative control over her brand with her innovative efforts towards sustainability.
The film has a warm heart and a punk rock soul, something that Tucker and Westwood seem to have in common. There is a coolness to this documentary that is hard to find; the film feels as though it was just pieced together through years of the two of them hanging out. Westwood:Punk, Icon, Activist is the perfect addition to your quarantine queue because it reminds us that there is revolution in creativity, even if it begins on a dress form in your one bedroom apartment.
To stream it: https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/westwood-punk-icon-activist
Read FF2’s review of the film here: https://ff2media.com/thehotpinkpen/2018/06/04/westwood-2018-review-by-ff2-media/
Top photo: Vivienne works on a collection.
Bottom photo: Vivienne strikes a pose.
Photo Credits: Finished Films
SWAN Day Poster Design: Emma Werowinski
© Maiya Pascouche (3/18/20) FF2 Media
