Westwood praises fashion campus

Dame Vivienne said the facilities in the Borders were excellent

Dame Vivienne Westwood has praised the facilities offered to fashion students in the Scottish Borders.

She was receiving an honorary degree at the Heriot-Watt campus in Galashiels for her contribution to the industry and use of Scottish textiles.

The top designer said she did not believe there were any other facilities in Britain which could "come anywhere near" to what the Borders offered.

She was made a Doctor of Letters for her "outstanding achievements".

Dame Vivienne said she was pleased to accept the award on Monday afternoon.

"It is true that I am often asked to accept an honorary degree from a university and Doctor of Letters seems a little strange," she said.

"But I have always been a reader, so I accept it on that basis."

'Very impressed'

The designer said she usually turned down recognition from institutions, but had visited Heriot-Watt 20 years ago.

"I am very, very impressed by the facilities that they have here and I am sure there is no other college or university in the whole of the British Isles that can come anywhere near to this," she added.

Dame Vivienne said she wanted to use the honour to promote her own manifesto, Active Resistance to Propaganda, which encourages learning.

The University of Dundee will also honour Dame Vivienne in June.