Vivienne Westwood’s granddaughter has resigned from the late fashion designer’s label after accusing it of “bullying” and “betraying” her grandmother’s legacy.
Cora Corre, 27, quit the firm which bears her grandmother’s name Tuesday claiming she had been “betrayed and disrespected”.
The model and activist, who was campaign manager at the design house, called for the removal of chief executive Carlo d’Amario in an all-staff email seen by The Times.
Dame Vivienne, the pioneering British fashion designer known as the queen of punk in the 1970s, died at the age of 81 in 2022.
“In the years leading up to my grandmother’s death, she was deeply unhappy with the way the company was being run,” the letter read.
“It was her wish that … D’Amario was removed and the company was managed in a way that respected her values.”
Corre claimed in the letter hat her grandmother transferred all of her intellectual property and copyrights to the Vivienne Foundation before she died.
The charity was formed in 2019, three years before Dame Vivienne’s death, and is managed by her surviving relatives.
But she said the Vivienne Westwood company, which sells items under her name, has since contested the foundation’s trademark and not paid it royalties.
“Effectively Carlo is preventing [the foundation] raising money to support the charities Vivienne was so passionate about,” the letter claims.
The letter goes on to allege that the company has not communicated with the foundation for two years and that legal threats have been sent instead.
Earlier this month, the Vivienne Foundation claimed on Instagram that the company was showing a “blatant disregard for Vivienne’s wishes” by collaborating with the streetwear label Palace “without consulting the foundation”.
“It is a great shame that for their recent collaboration with Palace, the VW company has decided to base the designs on Vivienne’s archive without consulting the Foundation,” the post read.
“This shows a blatant disregard for Vivienne’s wishes, her legacy and the Foundation.”
Andreas Kronthaler, 58, Dame Vivienne’s widower, is the creative director at the company.
Mr d’Amario, the chief executive, first joined the brand in 1986 as managing director.
The Vivienne Westwood company was approached for comment by The Telegraph.
