Giorgio Armani has implored celebrities to re-wear the same outfits.

The 86-year-old Italian fashion designer has given an update on the changes his eponymous brand are making to ensure they are sustainable by cutting down on production and minimising their lines.

In an interview with WWD, Armani said: "This is a theme that I am passionate about and committed to for a long time, and not only in the current, very problematic climate. It is mainly a matter of respect: for customers who should not be misled, for the planet that should not be destroyed, and for my own work, which should not be performed in a foolish way, taking away value from everything because of excess production and communication.

"The main steps are the reduction of the range in all the lines, with the merging of pre-collection and fashion shows, for example, and the linking of the men’s and women’s collections in the show. Then there is a decisive movement toward sustainability, which is already very evident in Emporio with the R-EA concept collection, and in AX, which is 40 percent sustainable. The search for sustainable materials naturally also concerns the Armani Casa collections, because it must be a circular effort, a continuous giving and receiving across the entire spectrum of the Armani world.”

During this difficult year amid the coronavirus pandemic, Armani has chosen to stop giving out “substantial gifts” and opted to help feed those in need.

He continued: "It is the same circularity that led me to reconvert our production facilities at the time of our country’s greatest need, or to offer support through donations to local charities: a precise choice, which this year replaces, for example, the sending of substantial gifts. I preferred, instead, to offer hot meals to the needy, because what we are experiencing has created major and widespread poverty, which does not leave me unmoved."

Armani wants to see famous faces recycling their outfits to reduce their carbon footprint.

He continued: "And in the circularity of thought, with a view to doing less and better, I also involve celebrities and red-carpet events: no more creations worn only once, with an enormous waste of skills and resources. I welcome the clothes that are worn many times, and a new conscience. Just as it happened a few evenings ago for the opening night of La Scala in Milan, when numerous artists performed in clothes that were previously worn, but no less impressive. By means of all these coordinated actions, I think it is possible to reestablish value in the work of us designers, making it tangible and ethical, instead of merely frivolous, without ever relinquishing beauty."