Though activism plays a prevalent part in the fashion industry year round, its efforts have felt ubiquitous this fall, from the countless companies that offered pink gear in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month this October to the slew of American designers who created merchandise for Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in the run-up to next Tuesday’s presidential election.
London-based Vivienne Westwood is the newest name to join that long list of designers who’ve created clothing for a cause. And, in predictable Westwood fashion—this is the designer who used black face paint on models at her most recent show in Paris—her cause comes with a dose of controversy: the designer is selling “I’m Julian Assange” t-shirts in support of the WikiLeaks founder who is wanted in Sweden for questioning over sex-crime allegations.
The shirts, which feature Westwood’s photograph alongside the slogan, cost $65 and will be available on Nov. 3.Westwood has long championed Assange, and the decision to sell the shirts comes on the heels of her recent visit with him at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London last week. Now, with her Assange tee, customers around the world can show their support for “a real hero”—according to Westwood, anyway.