And The Winner Is…

While screen royalty Colin Firth may have stolen the show at the recent Oscars, his wife Livia has since stepped into the spotlight with her beautiful upcycled dress, created by Gary Harvey from 11 vintage/thrifted/charity shop dresses. Challenged by friend and author Lucy Siegle to take part in a ‘Green Carpet Challenge’ by stepping out during awards season dressed in sustainable style (and documenting it on Vogue.com), Livia’s stunning upcycled creation has now come under fire from vintage enthusiasts worried that using vintage dresses was destroying history. Lucy hit back, explaining to HuffingtonPost.com – “What I hadn’t anticipated was quite so much flak from the ‘vintage community’. They were worried about cruelty towards vintage gowns, and suggested Harvey had chopped them up with reckless abandon… Gary Harvey is no frock-butcher. I have never met anybody more meticulous with vintage fabric. The pieces were damaged to such an extent and or so tiny that they had little to no chance of resale in their original state… Rot on a hanger or make sustainable style history? You decide.” Ouch. We think Livia’s dress helps bring sustainable style into the mainstream and shows how creative (and equally beautiful) designers can be by utilising preloved materials – definitely a plus for the environment, and a win for the fashion industry.