REUTERS/Luke MacGregor
Fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and her son, cofounder of lingerie company Agent Provocateur, Joseph Corré attend the Fortune Forum Summit in London December 4, 2012.
Corré said in a press release that he was burning the collection as a protest against the Queen declaring that 2016 is the "Year of Punk," as tributes to the 40th anniversary of punk are taking place this year at different locations throughout London.
"The Queen giving 2016, the Year of Punk, her official blessing is the most frightening thing I've ever heard," Corré said according to Crack Magazine, "Talk about alternative and punk culture being appropriated by the mainstream. Rather than a movement for change, punk has become like a f---ing museum piece or a tribute act."
Corré, who is the owner of lingerie line Agent Provocateur, said the bonfire would take place in Camden on November 26th, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Sex Pistols' Anarchy in the
The main point of Corré's protest is "Punk London," an event celebrating punk throughout the capital. Like his parents, Corre is a political and environmental activist.
According to Crack, Corré expressed disgust at a range of London institutions like the British Library, the Design Museum, Museum of London, The Photographers' Gallery, Rough Trade, and the Roundhouse for running "40th anniversary of Punk" in concordance with "Punk London," which according to Corré is supported by the Queen and Mayor of London Boris Johnson, and received a £99,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.
In the press release, Corré went on to say that 2016 resembled 1976 in some ways: "A general malaise has now set in amongst the British public. People are feeling numb. And with numbness comes complacency. People don't feel they have a voice anymore," he says.
"The most dangerous thing is that they have stopped fighting for what they believe in. They have given up the chase. We need to explode all the s--t once more."