Colin Firth’s Wife, Livia, Brings Eco-Couture to the Red Carpet
Kyle Rover/Startraks
While Colin Firth struts up every red carpet event in the run-up to the Oscars, where he is nominated for Best Actor in the acclaimed film The King’s Speech, his wife Livia Firth is embarking on a Green Carpet Challenge. Taking advantage of the fact that she’ll often be photographed by her husband’s side, Firth decided to bring eco-couture to the red carpet by wearing designers who care about environmental and social justice causes. Firth said she wanted to capitalize on the spotlight by using “this as an opportunity to promote sustainable style and ethical fashion, because these are the things I care about,” she tells the British Observer Magazine this past Sunday. It’s a cause close to Livia’s heart since she owns an eco-retail store in West London. Some of her dresses have even been made from recyclable materials. Last year, Firth wore a black dress to the Oscars designed by Orsola de Castro, which was made of materials retrieved from the dumpsters of fashion houses. For this year’s Golden Globe awards, her dress was dyed by homegrown indigo plants from designer Jeff Garner’s community garden in Tennessee. “I really hope we can convince some big names to sign up and start wearing ethical designers. It can be a little lonely out there. For the moment, they’ll have to put up with me,” said Firth. – Helen I. Hwang
