Jeff Banks ousted from Vivienne Westwood amid ‘in-fighting’ allegations

Fellow designer and close friend of the late Vivienne Westwood, Jeff Banks, is understood to have been pushed out of the business after a reported boardroom coup broke out.

Banks, who is understood to have met Westwood at her deathbed where she appointed him director of the brand, is believed to have been ousted following allegations of in-fighting at the company, according to sources for The Mail on Sunday.

The media outlet said that disagreements had arisen over how the fashion house was being run, with concern particularly arising over the protection of the founder’s legacy.

It is believed that while Banks, who is also a friend of the late designer’s son Joe Corre, is on one side of the battle, the company’s chief executive Carlo D’Amario and Andreas Kronthaler, Westwood’s third husband and the brand’s current creative director, are on the other.

Tension evident prior to Westwood’s passing

One insider was quoted as saying: “There’s a mismatch between the heritage of Vivienne Westwood, where it is now and where it is going.”

Tension at the fashion house had allegedly already become evident prior to Westwood’s death, however, with the designer reportedly irritated at how the company was being run and expressing issue with a “toxicity” among the team.

According to one source, Westwood was reportedly at the point of wanting to shut down the business entirely: “She always believed in quality over quantity. She would submit a load of designs and the complicated, creative stuff would be overlooked.

“She and her designers would be distraught over all that time spent making beautiful creations that would never be made.”

It was with this in mind that she is understood to have summoned Banks to her side and offered him the director position, for which he is now claimed to be negotiating the terms of his departure.