Anya Hindmarch shot to fame in 2007 when she released a statement tote bag with the words “I’m NOT A Plastic Bag” sprawled all over the front of them. Not only was the designer making noise about plastic more than a decade before the rest of the world jumped on the bandwagon, but she has just closed all of her London stores to draw attention to the global plastic issue. Instead of handbags, they are now filled to the brim with used plastic bottles to showcase the enormity of the problem of single-use plastic going into landfill.
Over 90,000 plastic bottles were used to fill three stores across the capital, with the designer stating on Instagram that 90,000 plastic bottles go to landfill every 8 and a half minutes, yikes!
The plastic-filled stores also mark the launch of a new range of handbags by the brand. Each piece in the I Am A Plastic Bag collection is made from a new cotton canvas-feel fabric created from 32 half-litre recycled plastic bottles, which is then coated with recycled windscreens that are designed never to be thrown away. Basically, the chicest plastic bottle you’ll ever own.
This bold fashion statement goes a long way to call London’s (and the world’s) eco and not-so-eco-conscious to think about where their clothes – and where everything else – comes from, right on time for London Fashion Week. Here, here Anya!
Text Lizzy Vartanian
