While other Hollywood players jostled for the cameras at Metropolitan of Art’s Costume Institute Gala in over-the-top couture on Monday night, Livia Firth made a different kind of red-carpet statement. Arriving on the arm of her husband, award-winning thespian Colin Firth, the “Queen of the Green Carpet” wore an Antonio Berardi gown composed of “Newlife” fabric, which is woven from yarns spun from 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic bottles. According to WWD, the dress is a rerun of an outfit Berardi designed for Firth’s “Green Carpet Challenge” in 2012, albeit with a “Chinese twist” in honor of the Met Ball’s Eastern theme.
GREEN SUPREME
“Antonio knew I always loved the gown, so he worked on that and gave it a Chinese twist,” Firth told WWD, adding that the Met Ball has a “special place in my heart, as it is where we truly unlock all the potential and creativity of the Green Carpet Challenge.”
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Colin—no laggard in the ethical-fashion department—repurposed his organic-wool Tom Ford suit from the 2011 Academy Awards, where he won Best Actor for The King’s Speech.
Fast-fashion retailer H&M, which dressed several celebrities at the event, gave a cursory—if uninspired—nod to planet-friendly style, as well. Sarah Jessica Parker’s black-silk dress featured a patchwork panel derived from “sustainable fabric and embellishments,” per the company, “highlighting H&M’s vision of making fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable.”
If you say so, H&M. If you say so.