Who says we can’t repeat an outfit many times? Following Angela Merkel.

Angela Merkel as a trend-setter? Well, yes my dear, the German Chancellor is becoming a fashion icon as the media reports, in shock, that she has worn the very same outfit at four different occasions. Angela Merkel Kimono became news. And here is a crucial question; can we repeat an outfit many times?

This all-important question popped when Angela Merkel appeared at the Salzburg Festival last week, in a colourful silk kimono she’s been wearing for more than twenty years. Now talk about long-life clothing or repeat an outfit!

Let’s following Angela Merkel style

Angela Merkel Kimono has been bought in America in the mid-nineties. She has worn it in public appearances in 2002, 2008, 2014 and 2019, pairing it with black pants and with a long skirt as well, proving the statement piece is as versatile as it is eye-catching.

The notorious turquoise, pink, yellow and black kimono is a great example of why you can and should repeat an outfit. Even if a person is a regular on the red carpet or any public appearance, repeat an outfit is an environmentally conscious use of clothing. German prime minister gave us a good lesson about how fashion and environmental issues can be coped.

CDU politician Angela Merkel with husband Joachim Sauer at the opening of the Bayreuth Festival (Photo by Franziska Krug / Getty Images)

Who else repeat an outfit

But the popular German leader is not the only women in the public eye “daring” to wear the same outfit more than once. Catherine Duchess of Cambridge is known for repeating the same clothes several times. And last year, the actress Cate Blanchett attended the opening gala as jury president of the Cannes Festival wearing an Armani dress she had already worn at another occasion four years before.

Sustainability is the new black

Funnily enough, each of these eco-conscious women has caused a stir in the media for repeating their clothes while nobody even blinks an eye when men wear the same suit.

In these fast-fashion days, it is inspiring and refreshing to see the most powerful woman in the world, at the forefront of the conscious consumer movement. If a woman like Merkel, who is constantly under media scrutiny, has no problem with wearing the same clothes, who says you can’t repeat an outfit many times?

Sustainability is the new black.