As the fashion industry moves towards more sustainable models, such as renting or pre-loved clothing, the underwear world has found itself in a tricky situation. No one wants to wear someone’s secondhand knickers, and we all need to wear at least one clean pair a day. So as much as we care about the environment, there's no way out of regularly buying new lingerie.
That’s why Stripe & Stare is on a mission to produce some of the world's most sustainable pants. Made from 95-100% biodegradable material, they’ve quickly won the favour of fashion’s most conscious tastemakers. In fact, London It-girl and OG fashion blogger Camille Charrière is so enamoured with the brand she’s spent the last year co-designing a collection.
“Stripe & Stare knickers have been my go-to for years now (fun fact: I have really cute photos of me trying on my lace wedding dress throughout the design process with a different pair at each stage),” Charrière says.
“When the team reached out to suggest working together on an edit, I knew I wanted to do more than just curate my favourites. Knickers are something that we all use; they are functional but also must be comfy and cute (or sexy, depending on your mood). It’s one of the few items in our closet that we have no choice but to replace throughout our life (none of us want to buy second-hand undies, our bodies change, and then there is the expected wear and tear,” she adds.
Although Charrière says that the choice to buy sustainable underwear that is 95% biodegradable feels like a small step in the grand scheme of things, doing so has a real impact in terms of our individual carbon footprint. “The numbers speak for themselves: the average woman owns 34 pairs of knickers, and doctors say you should really change them every 12-25 months… so we all will go through approx. 1,000 knickers through our life,” she continues.
The resulting 10-silhouette capsule will comprise thongs, hipsters, bras and a bandeau slip dress in delicate florals, olive green, lemonade yellow and chestnut brown. All are hand-picked and curated by Charrière and available in Stripe & Stares’ inclusive size range (UK 6-22).
“I wanted to focus on natural hues — sunshine yellow, olive green and earthy brown — I wanted the collection to feel fresh but tonal as the idea was to create a balance between a palette that works as lingerie but that you could also style for every day,” explains Charrière. “Easy basics that you gravitate towards to add that little je ne sais quoi to your favourite pair of jeans or underneath a naked dress, or invisible under your OOTD.”
With a hazy, dream-like Sophia Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides-inspired campaign shot by Sharna Osborne, the pieces look good enough to wear as outerwear. Of course, as one of the most famous proponents of the naked dress party trend, having even worn one for her wedding, I'm sure Charrière would approve if you did.
