The fashionable funeral: How the elite paid tribute to Vivienne Westwood

Choosing funeral attire can be more stressful than picking a wedding outfit, even without the fears of upstaging a bride or groom. Guests at the London memorial service for Dame Vivienne Westwood overcame their inhibitions by paying tribute to the fashion trailblazer in vivid tartans, bright suits, punk cargo pants and glittering cocktail dresses.

Westwood died in December, aged 81, a designer respected by the establishment despite a rebellious spirit honed at the safety-pin strewn forefront of the punk movement. At the service timed for the beginning of London Fashion Week, mourners including Victoria Beckham, Kate Moss, Yasmin Le Bon and Helena Bonham Carter cherry-picked from Westwood’s style signatures of debauched Victoriana, highland flimsies and exaggerated tailoring.

The sight of designer Marc Jacobs in a pearl necklace, nightclub promoter Phillip Sallon in boxing gloves and singer Paloma Faith in a copper ballgown might surprise those used to mourning uniforms of black, but even in the front row at funerals, Westwood’s tribe is on trend.

“An increasing number of people believe that we should celebrate a person’s life the way that they lived it,” says Kate Morgan, founder of Tomorrow funerals in Melbourne. “That can be through the way we dress, which can help with the grieving process.”

“It’s becoming more common for guests to be asked to dress in a certain colour. To help people through what can be a difficult time, it’s important to be clear about the dress code on the invitation.”

The dress code for Westwood’s memorial of “if in doubt, dress up” was suitable for a designer who popularised fetish wear at her store Sex and created a wedding dress for Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie Bradshaw in the Sex and the City movie.

For Kate Moss, that meant a beret and black floral dress, unbuttoned to reveal fishnet stockings and the type of sky-high heels that memorably sent Naomi Campbell tumbling to the runway in 1993. Former model Liberty Ross, a regular on the Westwood catwalk, layered a faux-fur trimmed coat over a low-cut cocktail dress.

“Letting your own creativity come through can be healing,” Morgan says. “It’s about dressing in a way that the person who died would love to welcome you.”