Why Cate Blanchett Wore The Same Dress Twice On The Red Carpet

Fashion and Lifestyle

Why Cate Blanchett Wore The Same Dress Twice On The Red Carpet

Wearing an outfit more than once has long been viewed as a cardinal sin in the world of Hollywood red carpets, but Cate Blanchett is on a mission to dismantle this attitude problem.

While attending the opening gala night of the Cannes Film Festival, the Australian actress donned a black lace Armani Prive gown that looked somewhat familiar. Blanchett wore the same dress in 2014 to accept her Best Actress award for Blue Jasmine at the Golden Globes.

It's all part of a movement called the Green Carpet Challenge, founded in 2010 by Oxfam ambassador and United Nations Leader of Change Livia Firth. Firth's consultancy company, Eco-Age, works with major brands like Gucci and Stella McCartney to help them employ more sustainable business practices.

"From couture to T-shirts, landfills are full of garments that have been unnecessarily discarded," Blanchett said of her decision to 'outfit repeat'.

Particularly in today's climate, it seems wilful and ridiculous that such garments are not cherished and re-worn for a lifetime." Red carpet gowns are not usually recycled because they're typically on loan from designers, requiring stylists to track them down again and have them refitted if a star wants to repeat the look, according to Vogue.

Blanchett's stylist Elizabeth Stewart - who also works with Julia Roberts and Jessica Chastain - said she believed the stigma around outfit repeating would soon lift. "It's a rule that will fade away like 'no white after Labor Day'," Stewart said.

"We don't visit the Louvre expecting a new masterpiece each time. True beauty and art endure. I cannot support the waste of perpetuating a 'one-time only' rule for a beautiful gown, and thought this was a great forum to demonstrate that."

Celebrity friends Paris Jackson and Miley Cyrus and designer Stella McCartney echoed Stewart's sentiments while attending Met Gala in New York City. Jackson and Cyrus, who are both vegan, were dressed by McCartney, whose label is entirely leather- and fur-free, uses organic cotton, recycled nylon and recycled polyester and employs only ethical suppliers and producers. "There doesn't have to be torture in fabulous fashion," Cyrus, whose plunging black silk gown almost exposed her backside, said on the red carpet.

Firth attended the Met Gala with her husband, actor Colin Firth, wearing a caped, white, eco-friendly gown by Giambattista Valli. Colin, meanwhile, re-wore one of his Tom Ford tuxedos.