Questions for Vivienne Westwood Ltd over bullying claims against CEO

From her 1975 "gay cowboys" T-shirt to pioneering catwalk collections that challenged gender norms, the late Vivienne Westwood has long been heralded as an LGBT+ icon.

- Rob Davies

But the fashion house she built over five decades faces serious questions about whether the late designer's values have endured, after allegations about homophobic bullying by its chief executive, Carlo D'Amario, were upheld by an independent investigation, the Guardian understands.

The Italian executive was accused by an employee in 2023 of using frequent homophobic slurs, bullying and discriminatory behaviour, it can be revealed.

An independent investigation by an employment barrister, which concluded in June 2023 after interviewing eight witnesses, upheld five of the complaints and found that D'Amario was likely to have broken employment law.

Yet, while the alleged victim of the bullying has left the company, D'Amario remains at the helm of the fashion house and enjoys a six-figure salary, company accounts suggest.

Vivienne Westwood Ltd did not return multiple requests for comment addressed to D'Amario and the company.

Questions over D'Amario's performance as the steward of the Vivienne Westwood brand first came to the fore in November last year, when Westwood's granddaughter - the designer and model Cora Corre - sensationally quit the company.

In her resignation letter, first reported by the Times, Corre accused D'Amario of misusing her grandmother's designs and contesting trademarks in a way that prevented the Vivienne Foundation - a not-for-profit organisation set up by the designer in 2019 that is separate from the business - from raising charitable funds.

Corre claimed that her grandmother had been "deeply unhappy" about how D'Amario was running the company and wanted him removed as its chief executive but that the Italian had "bullied" Westwood, who died in 2022.

The company did not comment on the allegations at the time.