Yahoo Finance 'I mind about colour combinations': Prince Charles on his own style in Vogue interview with Meghan's friend
Watch: Prince Charles says style is like a stopped clock
Prince Charles was left pleasantly surprised when the editor of British Vogue praised his style choices, as he gave an interview to the style bible.
Charles, 71, was interviewed by Edward Enninful, friend of his daughter-in-law Meghan Markle, and spoke about sustainable fashion and his own sartorial choices.
The Prince of Wales was asked by Enninful about where his own “sense of style” came from, which seemed to please the royal.
He replied: “I thought I was like a stopped clock – I’m right twice every 24 hours. But… I’m very glad you think it has style. I mind about detail and colour combinations.”
Charles is known for his personal thriftiness when it comes to clothes and does not typically buy many new suits.
He added: “I happen to be one of those people who’d get shoes – or any item of clothing – repaired if I can, rather than just throw it away.
“When I was a child, we used to take our shoes down to the cobbler in Scotland and would watch with fascination as he ripped the soles off and then put new soles on.”
Charles was photographed by Nick Knight, who was commissioned to take the Queen’s official 90th birthday picture.
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Charles also spoke about sustainable and fast fashion, as students from the Modern Artisan Project, a fashion training programme co-founded by the Prince’s Foundation, prepare to launch a collection with commercially viable sustainability at its heart.
He said: “It seems to me there are huge opportunities, particularly now, within the whole sustainable fashion sector, to counter this extraordinary trend of throw-away clothing or throw-away everything, frankly.”
Asked about his ‘new normal’ during the coronavirus pandemic, Charles said: “The consumer has immense power in deciding where to buy from, and the best companies will lead the way, we hope, in demonstrating that if you follow the right principles of operation, not only are you moving more and more towards net zero but also you’re removing pollution from supply chains.”
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He said 30 years ago, he had told firms which have the royal warrant they would have to conform to a set of environmental standards or lose their status.
He said there were “howls of protest” but he remained firm: “So of course, they went away, looked at their supply chains, looked at the way they did things. Lo and behold, they came back and said, ‘Well, actually, it’s saved us money to do it in a better way’.”
Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, became the first guest editor of a September issue of Vogue last year. It was the fastest selling issue in the history of British Vogue and was the biggest selling issue of the decade.
It was also awarded the Diversity Initiative of the Year award, at the Professional Publishers Association Awards.
Meghan and Enninful developed a friendship during the nine months they spent working on it.
Watch: Meghan Markle releases behind-the-scenes video of time on Vogue
