Kate Middleton Wore A Dress Made Of Repurposed Denim

Over the weekend, photos of a backyard movie night in the gardens of Kensington Palace were released, showing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, along with their three children and historian Sir David Attenborough, enjoying Attenborough’s new environmental documentary David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet. For the occasion, the royal family came dressed in varying shades of blue, as did the guest of honor. To add to the night’s theme, Kate Middleton wore a collared chambray shirt dress made of repurposed denim. 

Middleton’s dress, called the Marley dress, is the product of New York sustainable designer Gabriela Hearst. The Uruguay-born designer founded her namesake label in 2015 and quickly made a name for herself for using previously existing materials and unused factory stock for her collections. Earlier this month, she won the CFDA Award for American Womenswear Designer of the Year, beating out past winners Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen, Marc Jacobs, Tom Ford, and Brandon Maxwell. Since Hearst first showcased the Marley dress in her pre-fall ‘20 lookbook, it’s gone on to sell out almost everywhere, with a few sizes still available at Neiman Marcus. 

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have long been supporters of protecting the environment, so Middleton’s choice of sustainable garb is hardly a surprise. In January, the couple announced the launch of The Earthshot Prize, a multimillion-dollar prize that will be awarded to five winners per year for the next decade in the hopes of solving problems ranging from climate change to air pollution, according to Time. In a display of sustainability, Middleton often repeats outfits and has admitted to owning some wardrobe items for over 15 years. Most recently, she wore not one, but two recycled fashion items: a red-and-white Beulah London dress, that she previously wore during a Zoom call in May, and a floral face mask from Amaia, which she first showcased in August. 

Alongside the photos posted by Kensington Royal, the caption read, “With a shared passion for protecting the natural world, [The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Sir David Attenborough] continue to support one another in their missions to tackle some of the biggest environmental challenges our planet faces.” For Middleton, that mission continues in her closet.