Erdem’s Green Carpet Challenge

British-Turkish designer and integral part of the London fashion scene Erdem Moralioglu has teamed with Livia Firth, creative director of Eco-Age, for the designer’s first solo Green Carpet Collection. Launching at London Fashion Week in September, the 12-piece collection will have to comply with strict rules that mean the items are made from “reused, surplus or sustainably certified materials.” The collection will be made with the support of Mercedes-Benz, which is why both Firth and Moralioglu were in Berlin this week for the end of Berlin Fashion Week in order to announce their exciting collaboration.

“I always said that if the fashion industry was regulated like the automotive industry was years ago, it would be a much better industry today,” Firth remarked. “We’re doing a big event in London during Fashion Week, and it’s difficult to find a partner because of our ethical and environmental values. Mercedes has always been a huge supporter of fashion.” Wolfgang Schattling, director of motorsport, marketing, communication and branded entertainment at Mercedes-Benz, added that, “Our fashion involvement is a mainstay. It’s a way of getting into the lives of our customers, especially women, and we’ve been very successful with it for 20 years. We met Livia and were fascinated by her attitude towards sustainability, and then with the GLC Plug-In Hybrid, it just went click.”

For Moralioglu, this is the second time he’s been involved with the Green Carpet Challenge, having designed two pieces for a multi-designer collection earlier. “So many of the manufacturers and suppliers I already use are fundamentally ‘sustainable’, but this is an exercise in realising that there are so many options to use materials that are ecological,” he said to WWD, adding that he wanted “to move as far away as possible from what would be considered eco.” The designer also divulged that he’s using a lot of printed silk crepe and sustainable Duchesse, mixed with recycled fabrics from five or six seasons ago “that might have been in storage or would otherwise be destroyed.”

The pieces are set to be sold exclusively on Net-a-porter and in Barneys New York from November.