The runway was made with rubbish from local bars, parties, and 240kg of ocean waste found on UK beaches

Marble LDN, a brand experience event agency based in London, successfully recycled a quarter tonne of waste into a platform for showcasing sustainability; the first-ever recycled runway at London Fashion Week.

The project was commissioned by John Doe Communications to promote the release of Absolut Vodka’s new limited-edition vodka bottle, which is made of 41 per cent recycled glass. It also provides a platform for up-and-coming sustainable designers to showcase their collections, and connects consumers with sustainable fashion by inviting them to walk the runway themselves.

Marble was tasked with making the event 100 per cent plastic-free and found ways of using recycled materials at every stage of the build. For example, to make the runway, they used rubbish from local bars, parties, and 240kg of ocean waste found on UK beaches.

The Absolut sign was created from the smashed up glass of 46 Absolut bottles and the backdrop walls were made from repurposed shoes and covered with the rubbish collected from other catwalk backstage areas – including plastic bottles, bags, hangers, cardboard boxes, leftover pieces of fabrics and accessories.

Four catwalk shows were exhibited, pioneering designers of sustainable fashion such as Valentina Karellas, 10T Online, Bottle Top, Apollonia Studios, P.I.C. Style, Esfera, Cafin, Boita, Urban Trenches London, Labo Mono, Revival London, Elvis & Kresse.

Takeaway:

The fashion industry is responsible for 10 per cent of all carbon emissions. Thankfully, an increasing number of brands such as Absolut are recognising that change is needed. Given the success of this event, which made the headlines and received coverage on ITV, we hope it will be the first of many more to come.