As the industry gets painted green it’s not just high street
consumers who are being encouraged to bring their morals into their buying, celebrities
are also being encouraged to recycle their enviable wardrobes.
For most, it would be a blissful dream to be able to wear a
new outfit everyday and to be avalanched with gifted designer garments but, if
you’ve ever seen an episode of MTV Cribs, you’ll see that for those in the
public eye it is quite the norm.
Kate Middleton, the regal trendsetter, has been championing
this ethical ideal. Style spies have clocked the Duchess of Cambridge wearing
this pink Emilia Wickstead dress twice in ten days. After 'recycling' her blue Missoni coat on numerous occasions, it's been announced for re-release and expected to sell out in hours.
Kate’s influence on fashion has been phenomenal. Her love of
the British High Street has helped sales boom and her thrifty attitude to
clothing has been seen as setting a great example by Queen Elizabeth.
To be honest if I
owned a McQueen dress or Chanel suit it’d probably have to be forcibly removed
from my person every day, no problem with sustainability here!
This is no new concept but is one which is at the forefront
of industry. In 2009, Livia Firth and Lucy Siegle, of Eco-Age, launched their
Green Carpet Challenge to bring sustainable style to the most prestigious
a-list events proving eco-fashion is not just for hemp-loving hippies. Eco-age.com
is a valuable resource for all things ethical, sustainable and eco-conscious across
lifestyle industries.
Their latest member is actress/model and ethical activist
Lily Cole who accompanies fellow a-list supporters Cameron Diaz, Meryl Streep
and Elizabeth McGovern in the campaign. The movement encourages designers to
create environmentally conscious designs and stars to recycle their red carpet
outfits.
Check out the Eco-Age website and Livia’s blog for Vogue.co.uk.