Princess Anne criticised fast fashion while sporting 10-year-old sunglasses in Sri Lanka this week.
In an interview that concluded her three-day visit, the Princess Royal voiced her opposition to fast fashion and said it could be time to go back to more conventional manufacturing techniques.
Earlier this week, the princess made a trip to Colombo at the MAS Active facility, which has been producing lingerie for Marks & Spencer for 30 years.
Remarking on the “ubiquitous T-shirt which was churned out in millions”, Princess Anne said: “What do you do with them next?
Princess Anne criticises fast fashion while sporting 10-year-old sunglasses in Sri Lanka
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"Nobody really thought that one through and they are going to have to think about that sort of thing in the future. You think about how much is going into landfill.”
The princess is President of the UK Fashion and Textile Association.
Princess Anne pondered whether a return to traditional processes of manufacturing clothes might be the solution.
She added: “You go through the phase when fashion was very structured and people followed fashion, but you had tailors and dressmakers who absolutely fundamentally made that, but you could also alter it because they had the skills to do so.
The Princess Royal during an interview with the Press Association
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“Now you’ve got instant fashion which you then throw away, you don’t alter it because it wouldn’t be worthwhile.
“So whether we’ve got to relearn those skills, go back and say ‘actually, we need materials that can do more than one evolution of fashion.’”
While in Sri Lanka, the princess, who is also the head of the British Olympic Association, was never without her Team GB Adidas sunglasses.
They were given to her by the British cycling team during the 2012 London Olympics, which she has worn for the last 12 years.
The Princess Royal wears London 2012 sunglasses at resettlement village at Halo Trust site in Muhamalai
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Anne wearing sunglasses during a visit to Commonwealth War Graves Commission Jawatte Cemetery in Colombo,
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Like her older brother, the King, Princess Anne believes that clothes should last a long time.
It's believed that she added the sunglasses to her wardrobe as a practical addition.
A source told The Telegraph: “If she likes them and they serve a purpose, that’s all that matters.”
After completing the most public engagements in 2023 out of the Royal Family, Princess Anne described herself as the “eyes and ears” of the monarchy in Sri Lanka, and as someone who travels around the country to support those “doing an incredibly good job”.
