Dame Vivienne Westwood’s last request was for the funeral to be decorated in £45,000 of tartan

Dame Vivienne Westwood’s last request before her death was for her funeral at her local Derbyshire church to be decked out in £45,000 worth of tartan in an intimate family-only ceremony.

The punk icon, who died at the age of 81, on December 29she was buried in her hometown of Tintwhistle, where she grew up.

Mark Greig and his wife Julie, of Harris Tweed Scotland, were asked if they would help fulfill the fashion designer’s latest request, which was for 45 meters of Harris Tweed fabric to be used to decorate the church.

Dame Vivienne told her closest friend, British designer Jeff Banks, that she wanted the church where her funeral would take place draped in her beloved MacLeod Harris Tweed tartan, which she used in several of her collections.

The church was decorated with reams of the cloth, before some of it was quietly smuggled away by locals who wanted a souvenir of their local hero.

Dame Vivienne is credited with changing the fashion world forever when she burst onto the scene with her punk clothing and unique talent, often wearing tartan in her work.

Mr and Mrs Greig recounted how they drove from their home in Bothwell, Lanarkshire to Burnley in Lancashire to personally deliver the fabric after being defrauded by a courier company.

They received an email about Hogmanay from Banks’s PA, who said he was urgently trying to find Harris Tweed for the service, which took place earlier this month.

Mr Greig said: ‘That then progressed to this wonderful story that unfolded.

‘Vivienne Westwood’s last request was that she have a small family funeral.

‘It wasn’t to be fancy, it wasn’t to be put in the press, it was just for the family in a small run-down church.

He wanted the church dressed in his favorite Harris Tweed.

The firm in Bothwell, South Lanarkshire, is run independently of Harris Tweed, who allow the couple to use their brand name.

Around £45,000 was spent decorating Christ Church, in the village where Vivienne Westwood grew up.

Fabric was draped throughout the upper levels of the church with Harris Tweed cushions placed on the pews for close family.

At the end of each pew were dried flowers tied in bows with the tweed.

Mr Greig said: “The really interesting part about it… there are hundreds of different tweeds to choose from, but it had to be the MacLeod tartan.”

That was Vivienne Westwood’s favorite Harris Tweed.

“Normally you have to buy Harris Tweed fabric from the mills in Harris, it’s not freely available, particularly 45 yards, which is a lot of fabric.

‘They came to us on Saturday and everything was closed.

“Nobody was answering the phone because it’s Hogmanay and Scotland and our phone is almost always on.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have large stocks of Harris Tweed because there are so many of them that it’s impossible to keep rolls and rolls,” he said.

“By sheer luck, we had a whole roll of Macleod Harris Tweed fabric.”

The couple then had to find the quickest way to send the cloth to the church.

They hired a specialized courier service to transport it due to its great length and weight, but the company did not arrive.

Mr Greig said: ‘The alarm bells began to ring.

“We were in charge of providing the fabric for Vivienne Westwood’s funeral and they needed it by Friday.

“We made the decision that we had to personally deliver the fabric.”

Vivienne Westwood’s family was ‘blown away’ by her efforts to make sure the designer’s wishes were carried out.

Mr Greig said: ‘Alison, Jeff Banks’ personal assistant lived in Burnley and we drove there to personally deliver the roll of cloth.

‘If we had to get on a plane, that’s what we would have done.

‘They entered the church the following week to dress the church.

“I think there was a cost of around £45,000 to decorate the church the way she wanted it to.”

He said his wife received a thank you letter from Jeff Banks and a necklace from Vivienne Westwood after the funeral.

Mr Greig said: “He said he would have loved the service and it was his favorite Harris Tweed.”

Jeff Banks, who launched the BBC’s fashion show The Clothes Show in 1986, revealed that locals pinched the cushions after the service.

Added Greig: “They wanted to leave the cushions in the church so they could be there forever, but the locals found out and decided they wanted some Vivienne.”

All the cushions went for a walk, but the Harris Tweed was recycled and given to a fashion school.

‘We offer a great deal of Harris Tweed all over the world, but in the grand scheme of things we are just a small company.

“We treat it like any other order we get, but obviously this was very, very special.”

Vivienne Isabel Swire was born on 8 April 1941 in Tintwistle, Derbyshire, the eldest of three children of working-class parents who encouraged their children to be creative.

In her early teens, she was picking up second-hand clothes from markets to better understand cut and tailoring, and she was an extraordinary believer in her innate talent.

“Honestly,” he once said, “at the age of five I could have made a pair of shoes.”

The designer died at the age of 81 “in peace and surrounded by her family” at Clapham in London, her representative said.

In a statement, her husband and creative partner Andreas Kronthaler said: ‘I will continue to hold Vivienne in my heart.

‘We have been working to the end and she has given me a lot to keep going. Thanks sweetie.

The statement from her reps added: ‘Vivienne continued to do the things she loved, right up to the last moment, designing, working on her art, writing her book and changing the world for the better.

‘She led an amazing life. The innovation and impact of it over the last 60 years has been immense and will continue into the future.”

He also said that The Vivienne Foundation, a non-profit company founded by Dame Vivienne, her children and her granddaughter in late 2022, will launch next year to “honor, protect and continue the legacy of life, design and the Vivienne’s activism”. ‘.