The real people to follow, if you want to know how to be more fashion sustainable are those who have found a good balance of living well and more eco fashion, with the conviction to live the way they talk. Here are 3 of the best, who we think lead by example and do it with a ton of style.
Clare Press is the clear Australian Queen of practical, stylish eco fashion. She has a list of achievements in advocating for sustainable fashion as long as your arms. And legs. Combined. She is the presenter of the Wardrobe Crisis podcast, Australian Vogue's Sustainability Editor-at-Large and Global Ambassador for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Make Fashion Circular initiative. Clare holds senior advisory roles for Fashion Revolution, Copenhagen Fashion Week and the University of New South Wales Art & Design Council and is one of Global Fashion Agenda’s Content Experts.PHEW. If there is one person to follow to get a handle on the fashion industry’s efforts towards sustainability, the formation of a new fashion activism counterculture, and what a sustainable tomorrow might look like, it’s Clare Press. She has authored three books: The Dressing Table (Penguin, 2011), Wardrobe Crisis, How We Went From Sunday Best to Fast Fashion (2016) and Rise & Resist, How to change the world (2018). Clare Press is also a prolific public speaker. You can catch her at events around the country most months.
For a woman like Iris Apfel, you assume the first thing that is going to be said about her is her age. But it shouldn’t be. It should be that she is a walking beacon for personal style, an eclectic mix of high and ready-to-wear fashion, vintage designer pieces with op shop eureka moments. She is on trend every day of her life because she simply, does not, follow trends. Iris shows us all that fashion is not being a puppet to fashion fads and in this respect, she is our antihero in the fight against fast fashion. Although Iris does admit that fast fashion allows experimentation as to what one’s personal style might be, but suggests perhaps use it as a short-term guide only. By the way, at 97 Iris is arguably the most relevant fashion icon that the world needs RIGHT NOW. Read this great interview with Iris in Cultured Mag to gain more insights into her unbridled creativity and fashion mantra. In perhaps the not so cultured, but excellent messaging, in 2018, she got her very own Mattel Barbie Doll. Not even joking.
In a landscape seemingly bereft of male support, Liam Hemsworth is one Australian who is walking the talk with regard to sustainable fashion. Publicly announcing his vegan food choices over two years ago, Liam extends his wardrobe choices to vegan clothing and has become a target for vegan clothing lines. A natural clothes horse, Liam is often spotted on the red carpet donning vegan clothes and he’s not afraid to spread the word and challenge masculine stereotypes. Plus he’s an Aussie making a difference on the world stage and influencing upcoming consumers. And we love that.