This year saw a welcome change to the awards ceremony annual event, with stars adorning the carpet in reused and recycled gowns.
It appears organisers sent a style guide to attendee's suggesting a more sustainable approach to the red carpet dress code. Created by London College of Fashion, this transition is perhaps due to the shift in attitude by many of the Hollywood ceremonies who have recently been serving vegan meals to their guests. BAFTA have revealed their intention was to have an event with neutral carbon impact on the planet with a 100% recycled red carpet, suggested dress code and event ban on single-use plastics the organisers have definitely been doing their best for a more sustainable future of ceremonies.
Although not many attendees took the organisers advice, the Duchess of Cambridge seemed to make a huge impact rewearing an Alexander McQueen dress previously worn for a state visit to Malaysia in 2012. Having made only slight adjustments on the sleeves the Duchess wowed viewers with her elegance and royal sophistication.
The puzzling thing for viewers is how only so few attendees followed this so called style guide. According to stylist Ilaria Urbinati, dresser of stars such as Dwayne Johnson, Rami Malek and Chris Evans, the awareness of this guide was fewer than you may have expected. She states "Good idea but who exactly did they ask? First I've heard of it," she continues to add "Based on the lack of recycled looks tonight I'm assuming I'm not the only one who didn't get the memo?"
Although awareness of the campaign was achieved is a sense, I can't help but feel the outcome could have been much bigger and globally set a standard for similar events in the future.
In a time of such importance for climate change and the awareness of such drastic measures needing to take place I can't help but feel there is one major party involved that this all impacts negatively. The Designers. With co-operations and global events making changes to what's known as part of awards ceremony culture, designers are the obvious link in the chain that will be dropped. With the reducing need for new gowns, designers newest creations will end up never seeing the carpet at all as the idea of bringing new pieces out for such occasions will soon be something of the past. Not only will this mean less business for the design houses but also less advertising, leading to less need for product and therefore less sales, all the way down the chain.
Perhaps a way of reducing this impact could be for celebs to take their owned pieces back to the designers and in order for them to rewear them they could be restyled, redesigned for a fresh take on an original piece. The designers could embellish the original gown with off cuts of fabric, as well as old collections no longer being sold, turning the final outcome into a somewhat new piece, however using no new materials. This way the celebs still have the big entrance and excitement of a new gown, the designers get to reinterpret their pieces keeping their business, press and label, as well as keeping to the sustainability pledge and reusing old garments.
In a world that's full of positive change and having a impact for the right reasons red carpets and premiers are now more about what message you are conveying rather than who you are wearing. What are you supporting and why, rather than what colour and style.
St.
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