Upcycling at the Oscars

Nearly a year ago we blogged about Livia Firth , also wife of actor Colin (aka Mr Darcy) Firth, who wore an ‘upcycled’ dress at the Oscars. This year, she’s done it again! Her beautiful dress was made using material from eleven damaged dresses from the 1930's era. And keeping in line with her passion for ethical fashion, her jewellery had to be Fairtrade, fair-mined and ecologically certified. It’s all part of The Green Carpet Challenge in which Livia was challenged by her friend to attend red carpet awards events dressed only in sustainable style. Click here to read the full story on why Livia wore an ‘upcycled’ dress to such a prestigious event.

So it looks like ethical fashion is more than just a passing phase for Livia. Some vintage lovers, however, have been critical about the cutting up of eleven dresses and how sustainable this process was. The dresses were found in charity and vintage shops around south east London. Don’t forget that they were damaged. Perhaps the dresses were destined never to be worn again in their original form. Isn’t it then better that these dresses went into making a new and different fashion statement rather than collecting dust on a hanger or, even worse, rotting in a landfill?

Here we have a celebrity who is using her status to raise awareness about the issues tied to fast fashion and to lead by example. What do you think?

Image Credit- Roger Wo on Flickr at Creative Commons