Under statement

Knickers to spice up green politics Why wave placards in Parliament Square when you can make a statement through your knickers? Unseen underwear, argues designer Sarah Lucy Smith, can be “a more honest representation of oneself than other clothes” - and her Green Knickers are designed to voice the beliefs of the eco-chicks that wear them. Hidden messages to reveal to your nearest and dearest include “eat organic” and “cycle more”. Interactive pants warn of global warming - as the pigment heats up, the turquoise sea in the pattern ‘overcomes’ the green planets. Others reconnect their wearers with the changing seasons; designed as leaves that turn from green to autumnal red with each successive wash, they finally leave just the leaf skeleton. Makes a change from the dismal journey of ordinary undies from brilliant white to off-grey. The labels - organic cotton, or 100% reclaimed silk - should make ladies feel luxuriously ‘right-on’ too. “Dresses that will never make it out of the charity shop,” says Smith, “get a second chance” when she recycles them into her knickers. - Hannah Bullock

10 November 2005

Hannah Bullock