In an exclusive interview and photo shoot, Cara Delevingne models her sustainable Puma collection, reveals new fashion and acting projects.
On Delevingne: JANET MANDELL vintage Chanel tweed jacket with gold hardware and secondhand Area crystal studded denim bralette. PUMA Exhale low impact training bra and joggers and Re:Suede sneakers. REFIND vintage Chanel hoops and necklace, worn as a belt.
“I wasn’t going to do fashion again unless it really meant something to me, something to bring about some sort of change,” the model says of her Puma partnership.
“I’m not an eco-warrior. I fly on planes,” says Delevingne of her work in climate action. “But no one is perfect. That’s why this platform is going to be so interesting, because I want to show people how there are really hot, cute, fun people doing these things and it can be really enjoyable. There should be pressure on companies to start doing things — otherwise, they are going to be on the wrong side of history.”
JANET MANDELL vintage Chanel leather jacket PUMA Exhale low impact one- shouldered training leotard NICOLE MCLAUGHLIN upcycled water bottle belt DECADES secondhand Sergio Rossi paillette booties BRIONY RAYMOND vintage yellow gold heart charm bracelet, worn on belt.
On Delevingne: NICOLE MCLAUGHLIN jacket made with upcycled Puma goalie glove samples PUMA Exhale low impact training bra and bike shorts THE REAL REAL secondhand Aquazzura patent leather knee boots and secondhand Prada sunglasses.
This summer, the model will launch an educational platform through EcoResolution and its umbrella organization Initiative Earth. Aligned with the United Nation’s Decade on Ecosystem Restoration, it will allow communities around the world to connect with and learn from one another, accessing the skills and funds needed to implement and scale ecosystem restoration projects on a local level.
As the global face of Puma and its Forever Better initiatives, Delevingne is also taking part in a new pilot program that will test the circularity of the latest version of its biodegradable Re:Suede sneaker. Alongside some 500 German par- ticipants, she will wear the sneakers for six months and then return the shoes to the brand for an industrial biodegradation process.
“It has to come from both the bottom up and the top down, it can’t just come from one,” Delevingne says when asked about the responsibility of larger brands to lead climate efforts. “So many people say to me, ‘What’s the point of doing anything if policies aren’t going to change?’ But policies won’t ever change if people won’t change, so it’s kind of everyone pointing the finger saying, ‘Who’s going to start working toward a better future?’ ”
“It’s not the responsibility to just seemingly do it,” Delevingne says of her activism and cause-based businesses. “It’s not because I care what people think, it’s more because I care how I can inspire people.”
For her FN cover shoot, the model and actress wore pieces from her low impact Puma Exhale collection and the brand’s recycled Re:Suede sneakers along with upcycled, vintage and secondhand items to show how a sustainable fashion shoot can come together.
JANET MANDELL vintage Chanel tweed jacket with gold hardware and secondhand Area crystal studded denim bralette. PUMA Exhale low impact training bra and joggers and Re:Suede sneakers. REFIND vintage Chanel hoops and necklace, worn as a belt.
NICOLE MCLAUGHLIN jacket made with upcycled Puma goalie glove samples PUMA Exhale low impact training bra and bike shorts THE REAL REAL secondhand Aquazzura patent leather knee boots and secondhand Prada sunglasses.
Delevingne in a jacket by Brooklyn designer Nicole McLaughlin, who uses found items — many of them old sports equipment, such as the goalie gloves samples shown here — to create her upcycled pieces.
Delevingne in a pair of secondhand Sergio Rossi pink oversized paillette high-heeled booties from Los Angeles vintage shop Decades.
“There are some things I just jump right on, if it’s a thing that I believe in from my whole heart, because there is never time to waste,” Delevingne says of her brand partnerships, which include Puma.
Delevingne’s partnerships include Puma, Seven for All Mankind, Dior beauty, jewelry and watches. For years, the model was a regular face at Chanel, walking the brand’s runway shows for Karl Lagerfeld, including his last collection in 2019 following the designer’s death. This August, she will debut a capsule of sustainable and gender-fluid designs with the Karl Lagerfeld brand. It’s likely to be the most accurate reflection of her own aesthetic: a study of pure insouciance. “I don’t think about it that much,” she says about her personal style. And of fashion inspirations: “I look more to Karl Lagerfeld than I do to women. And maybe also David Bowie.”
JANET MANDELL vintage Chanel leather jacket PUMA Exhale low impact one- shouldered training leotard NICOLE MCLAUGHLIN upcycled water bottle belt DECADES secondhand Sergio Rossi paillette booties BRIONY RAYMOND vintage yellow gold heart charm bracelet, worn on belt.
Delevingne’s cover shoot included upcycled, vintage and secondhand items to show various methods of sustainable fashion. Here, a pair of secondhand Aquazzura patent leather boots and secondhand Prada sunglasses, both sourced from THE REAL REAL.
