Emma Watson's Beauty and the Beast Red Carpet Designers Talk Sustainability in Fashion
The first step to becoming an activist is education — be that through personal experience, classes, conversation, or actual knowledge intake. Emma Watson has made activism a part of her personal brand — and her life as a UN Women Goodwill Ambassador — and she's bringing that passion to the red carpet. For her recent Beauty and the Beast global press tour, she worked with stylist Rebecca Corbin Murray and Livia Firth's Eco-Age consultancy firm to ensure that each and every one of her looks were produced as sustainably as possible. And though newer brands were incorporated into the mix, she relied on fashion heavyweights Elie Saab, Givenchy, and Emilia Wickstead to make all of her princess dreams come true. We talked to the three aforementioned brands about why Emma's sustainable red carpet takeover matters, what it's like working with the star, and more.
David M. Benett/Getty Images1/4Emma was the inspiration behind the bespoke, off-the-shoulder gown Emilia Wickstead designed for her Beauty and the Beast press tour. "We wanted to design a bespoke red carpet gown that felt as modern as she is," Emilia Wickstead told Teen Vogue. "Our aim was to create a contemporary Disney princess look with a clean, structured silhouette and an impactful romantic fairy-tale train. Emma was very involved in the whole process and the gown developed quite organically with her."
The sustainable component of the look was end-of-line fabric, that Wickstead and her team had worked with before. "We always enjoy the challenge of creating something beautiful from fabrics that can often never be found again," she exclaimed. "I love foraging in fabric shops around London, and hunting out charming and unique fabrics which can be used in this way." But the design portion wasn't without challenges — "in particular, fitting such a large train into the limited fabric meterage," Wickstead revealed. "Some very clever pattern cutting was involved." But it all came out quite beautifully, didn't it?
And Wickstead thought back to a time when fashion and sustainability did not always go hand in hand. "The awareness that Emma has created globally with Eco Age's green carpet challenge has been incredible and shown that small changes in the fashion process will eventually lead to a more sustainable industry," she expressed. "It is important that people understand the impact of each garment they buy. That is why we want to design and make beautiful clothes that will be worn and loved year after year, and hopefully passed down through generations."
ANGELA WEISS2/4"The custom-made Haute Couture gown designed for the New York Premiere of Beauty and the Beast is based on a close collaboration between the House of Givenchy and Emma Watson," a source at Givenchy divulged to Teen Vogue. "Givenchy had at heart the importance of transcribing in this gown the youth and modernity of the movie while keeping the iconic aspect of this classic, once again reinvented. The gown is a mix of romanticism and sensuality with this elegant bow in the back and the geometric pleats in the front: two signatures of the house. Five petite mains of the Givenchy Atelier exclusively worked on the gown for 900 hours."
The pleats in Emma's gown were also handmade, one by one. "The creation of this unique piece required 3 fittings with Emma before achieving the actual gown made of silk cady, chiffon, and lined in satin."
And because of Emma's commitment to sustainability, the house worked very closely with Eco-Age to make sure the fabrics used were eco-certified. "It was a fully sustainable gown, including faux-leather sandals that met her ethics," the source revealed. "And along with this project, we also launched especially for Emma the Horizon, which is a new bag for the house in faux-leather, to complete her sustainable wardrobe."
VCG3/4"Mr. Saab and the house had a relationship with Rebecca and Emma long before her Beauty and the Beast press tour, as we had dressed her in the past for different occasions," Elie Saab's Communications Director Emilie Legendre told Teen Vogue. "But it was our first collaboration with Eco-Age. Emma was particular about the requirements and very specific to ensure approval from a sustainability perspective. It was a very interesting undertaking." It ultimately aligned with Saab's commitment to inspiring young women and men all over the world, as well as working with women across a number of industries — combining their passions and fashion.
And the project actually began in September 2016, so that Emma would have everything in time for the tour's start earlier this year. "We went back and forth about design and all the sketching was done in-house, so there were no external factors in that regard," Legendre revealed. "We were close to it at every step, with women who had worked in our atelier for over twenty years specifically working on Emma's gown. It was also important to her that we have no child labor involved at any point." Emma's last fitting and additional alterations happened a week before the premiere. "Emma wanted to go for something ethereal in the spirit of Beauty and the Beast, that would allow her to reincarnate that look and mood of a Disney princess," Legendre divulged. "But she wanted it to be a modern version."
When it came to sustainability, we were happy to find that Elie Saab has actually always had sustainability in mind. "We don't like wasting any fabric here," Legendre affirmed. "As we work year-round on Couture, we have a lot to choose from. But it was the first time we had such specific sustainability requirements. From the zippers to the boning in the dress. We were able to use what was existing and recycle things though, which was great. It gave us a chance to research in our archives."
And Saab has as much of a commitment to the youth as Emma does. "Mr. Saab started his business when he was 18," Legendre exclaimed. "One of his big passions is educating young men and women in the Middle East. He created a program through London School of Fashion to give students and young people more education about fashion. And through the Girl of Now initiative, he hopes to connect people all around the world and spread great values on top of all of the images that youth are consuming through social media and the internet."
He works with some of the biggest celebrities in the world, but Emma's platform has created an admirer out of him. "Emma has a really strong conscience and is using her voice to raise concerns and spread awareness," Legendre expressed.
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