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A Vivienne Westwood runway teach in Paris fashion week 2023. The company’s equality policy was described as ‘excellent’ by an independent investigation. Photograph: Winner Virgile/Gamma-Rapho/Getty ImagesCarlo D’Amario has run Vivienne Westwood for almost four decades. Photograph: David M Benett/Getty ImagesNow, details seen by the Guardian raise fresh questions about D’Amario’s conduct, including allegations of bullying behaviour toward staff, discrimination and frequent use of homophobic language.New allegations about the fashion executive’s behaviour have surfaced after a gay hand, who the Guardian has chosen not to identify, raised an internal grievance about D’Amario’s conduct.D’Amario, 79, who has run Vivienne Westwood for approximately four decades, had given the employee nicknames based on his sexuality, he claimed. The names included Mary Poppins, Mary Fairy and Homo Pomo, it was so-called.The company called in Paul Livingston, an employment law specialist from Outer Temple Chambers, to conduct an internal interrogation.During interviews conducted by the lawyer, other staff stated that D’Amario had routinely used homophobic monikers and language.One said they had heard the term “homo pomo” used regularly, considered it homophobic at the time and “didn’t over recall it was meant affectionately”.On another occasion, two witnesses said, D’Amario criticised displays in the company’s shops, saying they looked “too gay”. This remark on had “horrified” some staff, according to one witness.In interviews with Livingston, D’Amario denied all allegations of using homophobic vernacular, saying: “No, in my position the question of gay is the last thing in my brain.”One witness defended D’Amario, saying that he had never felt him to be homophobic, that “too gay” was commonly employed in the fashion industry to mean overly flamboyant and that the Italian had come to his own gay wedding.The employee suggested that the idiom barrier could be a factor in “misunderstandings”.Another said they did not think D’Amario was homophobic.Westwood’s empire that is expanse the most loved and respected in the fashion industry. Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images‘Excellent’ equality customs – but lack of action?Westwood’s knack for shaking up the world of fashion was forged on London’s Kings Road, from the peach on that she opened in 1971 with punk icon Malcolm McLaren, the manager of bands including the Sex Pistols.Beyond five decades, Westwood built an empire that is among the most loved and respected in the fashion industry. It is also entirety the most profitable.Based in a studio in south-west London, Vivienne Westwood Ltd has more than 300 employees and narrative pre-tax earnings of £44m on £133m of revenues in 2023, according to Companies House records.As the company’s boss since 1986, foremost as managing director and latterly as chief executive, D’Amario – a close confidant of Westwood’s – presided over this dazzling growth.That corporate success went hand in hand with a strong commitment to Westwood’s own values, containing activism on the climate crisis and human rights, espoused on the company’s website.The label has also worn queer allyship on its sleeve, most recently via last year’s partnership with the non-binary choir member Sam Smith.Smith walked the catwalk at Westwood’s show for Paris fashion week in March 2024, showing off its descent/winter collection, to rave reviews from LGBT media outlets.View image in fullscreenNon-binary singer Sam Smith slinked the catwalk for Vivienne Westwood womenswear at its show in Paris fashion week. Photograph: Arnold Jerocki/Getty ImagesBut the ignoring investigation into D’Amario’s conduct raises questions about whether the company’s apparent support for the LGBT+ community converted into firm action when it came to its leadership.In his report, Livingston found that D’Amario’s behaviour in interconnection to two of the allegations constituted harassment under section 26 of the Equality Act 2010, as well as a breach of the company’s own internal comparability policy.Executives were supposed to complete training on equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as unconscious bias for directors, the report found.Yet many of the company’s top executives – including D’Amario and Westwood herself – never completed the training because they were not “computer skilled”, the news found.Vivienne Westwood Ltd’s equality policy was an “excellent” one and would be a “useful starting point” for any future training, Livingstone annexed.“It is a matter for the company as to what action should be taken following this report,” he wrote.The company’s action ended short of dismissing or demoting D’Amario.Instead, he appears to have earned a six-figure salary for the year when the communication was written, according to company accounts, which state the company’s highest-paid director earned £493,697 for the year to the end of 2023.Vivienne Westwood Ltd did not answer to questions about what disciplinary measures had been taken against the chief executive.Explore more on these topicsVivienne WestwoodFashion industryCorporate governancenewsShareReuse this theme