If you call buxom actress Pamela Anderson a bimbo, 'what does that say about you?'
That was fashion doyenne Vivienne Westwood's defence of the Baywatch bombshell, whom she made the face of her spring/summer 2009 campaign and sent down the Paris runways with hands tied behind her back.

In an e-mail interview with Urban for the Audi Fashion Festival (AFF), Westwood says: 'Pamela is one of the most intelligent women I've ever met.'

Certainly, the British-based designer is not afraid to take contrarian views. Her physical absence from the AFF speaks of a defiance that only she can pull off.

She will not be here next Sunday because 'she is watching her carbon footprint and doesn't like to fly unless it is absolutely necessary'.

So explained friend and AFF creative director Colin McDowell at the AFF's press conference last month.

Only her designs - the Anglomania autumn/winter 2009 collection - will be shown at the close of the AFF here on May 10.

The woman herself will beam her presence via a live feed to be seen by guests at the AFF tent at Ngee Ann City's Civic Plaza on show day.

The 68-year-old high priestess of punk - she invented the 1970s ripped, safety pin-embellished look - has never been short of controversy.

There are her risque fashion choices, including bondage gear made good and tartan prints gone wild (see below).

The orange-haired ex-teacher is notorious for having gone knickerless when Queen Elizabeth presented her with an Order of the British Empire in 1992 and made her a Dame in 2006.

Westwood tells Urban that the recession has not dented her business much.

For instance, at multi-label boutique Tyan at Palais Renaissance, which has sold her diffusion Anglomania line since 2005, sales have been 'better than expected'.

Says Lasalle College of the Arts' head of fashion, Emma Dick: 'Westwood's anarchic approach to the establishment in the early years...her exuberance, eccentricity and style all make her the true grand dame of British fashion.'

Local fashion show producer Daniel Boey, who produced her Fabric Of Scotland show at the Edinburgh Fashion Festival in 2006, says he was impressed by her meticulous approach.

'Her team edited a collection ruthlessly and we were casting models right up till the day before the show,' he says. 'The experience taught me to never compromise on quality.'

She gives Urban her take on the world today.

You rail against consumerism, yet are very much a prominent player in the industry. How is this possible?

I see my fashion as giving people a choice in the age of conformity.

I'm simply using my platform as an avant garde fashion designer to voice my opinions.

What exactly about today's culture irks you most, and why?

We've got what I would call a pseudo-culture that is incredibly superficial and not controversial in any way. It does not make people think. My definition of culture is the exploration and the cultivation of humanity through art. It isn't what is trendy because what is trendy is not original or new.

If you seem so against the modern world, what do you turn to for inspiration?

The last thing I am interested in is keeping up with the times. I look at paintings, clothes in museums, photographs of couture. If you can grasp what is original about (those) designs, you can use it. The only place to find ideas is by looking at what people did in the past.

What do you think about Michelle Obama's dress sense?

She's got her own style and always looks good.

I'd love to be able to help her look even better. I'd say: 'Come into my Aladdin's cave. Let me give you whatever you want.'

Given the economic climate, what should fashion be about today?

Dress up and do it yourself. Wear a necklace out of safety pins; blankets, table cloths, curtains or a metre of beautiful fabric as coats or skirts, dresses and trousers when pulled through the legs. Handkerchiefs can be worn as knickers or tied up as a bag.

Style them with beautiful pieces from your wardrobe or from that of your mother, child or husband. There is status in wearing your favourites over and over until they grow old and develop a patina or fall apart.

This article was first published in Urban, The Straits Times.