Meghan Markle–Beloved Designer Roland Mouret Launches a Sustainable Bridal Collection
The Duchess served as a source of inspiration.
It’s likely you know French designer Roland Mouret for his signature Galaxy dress, perfectly proportioned and as attractive in the boardroom as it is out to play. That keen sense of silhouette is part of why, since its initial release 15 years ago, the dress and the brand have become beloved by A-list celebs and the new fashion-savvy generation of royals—one of which happens to be Mouret’s longtime friend, Meghan Markle. (Mouret has known Markle since before she became a Mountbatten-Windsor; the duchess even chose to wear his Barwick dress on the evening before her wedding, above.)
Though he was brought up with the addictive fashion mindset of the ‘90s, when It girls and It bags and It shoes left consumers only temporarily high and perpetually over accessorized, Mouret is now sending a different message: one that promotes style instead of stuff. Markle, he says, has no problem stepping out in the same dress twice—a role model in how to buy and wear clothes today.
It's with that mindset that he's crafted his spring 2020 collections, including his first bridal collection, filled with multi-faceted pieces that can be worn long after that special day. You can indeed approach a white collection in a clever way, Mouret says, and you should. “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.” Instead, his collection incorporates white pieces that have a home in the day-to-day, from blazers to jumpsuits to trousers.
“When you wake up and realize your creativity is destroying the planet...it’s quite a bitter feeling.”
In addition to a pared-down and practical bridal collection, Mouret is defying other industry norms. “My generation of designers went from two collections to four to six collections,” Mouret explains. “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.” His new BLUE® hanger, developed alongside Dutch company Arch & Hook, is one of Mouret's most noteworthy responses to the industry's waste. Made from a mixture of plastic and other ocean debris, Mouret's aim is for BLUE® to replace the single-use plastic hangers utilized only during the transport of clothing from the factory to the retailer. In the coming weeks, he’ll fly to L.A. to meet with the CFDA and other industry leaders to explain the project and advocate for industry-wide change. “I know what’s in store for the future and I know what’s happening. I think we’re in an emergency, so this project makes me happy and sad at the same time,” says Mouret.
Shop Items from Roland Mouret's Latest Collection
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