Saturday 16 June 2012

FASHION | Green Carpet Challenge


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.

Friday 15 June 2012

FASHION | Hands On


I have a bit of a fascination with hands, hands, eyes and skulls and this often tends to trickle onto my wish list hence my collection of eyeball rings.

When I saw this photo of Diane Von Furstenberg in her monochrome maxi gown I got that burst of euphoric dress lust. Simple yet statement and quirky.

 
Her AW12 RTW collection features this demure midi version in keeping with the season’s sophisticated, covered up feel. The long leather gloves are an accessory statement injecting vampy colour to the ensemble.

 
Rodarte’s Mulleavy sisters also have two these printed dresses in the palm of their AW12 collection. The earthy colours are subtle and the hands create an almost eerie pattern.

 

Could this be a handy trend emerging?