Mouret’s designs have long aligned with the idea of wearing pieces more than once, but now he’s taking an official stance on sustainability. Thanks in part to the Duchess of Sussex, who Mouret admires for regularly stepping out in the same dress twice and calls a role model in how to buy and wear clothes today.
“My generation of designers went from two collections to four to six collections,” Mouret said to marie claire. “When you wake up and realize your creativity is destroying the planet...it’s quite a bitter feeling. But back then, we didn’t know any other way.”
Mouret has set his sights on weddings in particular, which can be a wasteful affair. From the hundreds of flowers that find their way in the bin at the end of the day, to the excessive amounts of food and alcohol because no one wants a room full of hangry guests. Then there’s the wedding dress. Thousands of dollars are spent on a gown that only gets to see the light of day once in its lifetime.
Mouret’s new sustainably-focused direction is trying to change that. He’s launching a bridal collection in 2020 with pieces that are intended to be worn long after the ‘I dos’.
“I don’t think it’s relevant to buy a dress for one occasion anymore—women are way more practical than that,” Mouret told Vogue.
His official foray into bridal (he’s made many custom-made wedding dresses for his clients in the past) will include multi-faceted pieces like blazers, trousers, midi-dresses and jumpsuits that can be reworked into everyday style.
“The amount of fabric used for a bridal dress that you’re only going to wear once is a waste of material and a waste of space because you have to immediately pack it away,” says Mouret.
Another eco-friendly fashion change he’s making aims to replace the single-use plastic hangers that are used solely to transport clothing from the factory to the retailer. Together with Dutch company Arch & Hook, Mouret has developed the BLUE® hanger, which is made from a mixture of plastic and other ocean debris.