Charles: The King of sustainable style
Danielle takes a look at King’s wardrobe staples in this month's The Royal Wardrobe
Hello Royal Clubbers, it’s Danielle here with this month’s edition of the Royal Wardrobe, and I thought it would be fitting to take a closer look at the literal King of sustainable style himself – Charles III – given his 77th birthday celebrations on Friday.
While you might not think of His Majesty as an obvious fashion icon, Charles has long been flying the flag for the British textile industry. Rather much like his frugal sister, the Princess Royal, he has long advocated the importance of the wartime mantra “make do and mend,” opting to repair pieces he’s had in his wardrobe for decades.
In an interview with British Vogue in 2020, King Charles admitted: “I’m one of those people who hate throwing anything away. Hence, I’d rather have them maintained, even patched, if necessary, than to abandon them.”
The King has a well-worn Barbour-style coat that has been heavily patched to wear for his hedge-laying hobby – a jacket which caused a stir when he wore it on an episode of BBC’s Countryfile in 2013. Then there’s a pair of shoes made from leather salvaged from an 18th-century wreck, which he has previously said “will see me out”.
While the King is renowned for some of the quirkier items of clothing in his wardrobe, he has a penchant for impeccable tailoring and modernising pieces from two decades ago. It’s a passion he has also brought into his charitable work, through education programmes within his King’s Foundation.
In 2009, the King’s Foundation also began a partnership with e-commerce company, Yoox Net-A-Porter, which provides training for fashion graduates in sustainable design and craftsmanship. On Christmas Day last year, the King’s niece, Princess Beatrice, chose to wear a brown coat from the Modern Artisan collection in support of the initiative.
Charles has implemented organic farming at his Highgrove and Sandringham estates, and is patron of the Campaign for Wool, which he convened in 2010 to raise awareness about the fibre’s natural, renewable and biodegradable benefits.
While the King has a plethora of iconic style moments, I’ve narrowed it down to some of his key wardrobe staples. Let me know in the comments which ones you love.