Seven fashion moments from the G7, from a message on a jacket to a £217 designer dress wardrobe

When world leaders came to Cornwall for the G7 summit, style might not have been the top item on the agenda – but plenty of talking points came out of the days of diplomatic meetings. Here are the seven top points to know...

Message on a jacket

You’d think all eyes would have been on President Joseph Biden and Prime Minister Boris Johnson when the world leaders met in person for the first time last Thursday. Instead, everyone’s attention was riveted to the back of Dr Jill Biden’s blazer. The First Lady wore a black Zadig & Voltaire jacket with the word ‘LOVE’ outlined in crystals across the shoulders.

If it was impossible to avoid comparing this clothes-based communication to another, more infamous message sent by another, more infamous coat (the Zara coat that former First Lady Melania Trump wore to visit migrant children at a Texas detention centre which read, ‘I really don’t care do u?’ across the back) – well, that was kind of the point.

“Oh, the love?” she told reporters. “I think that we’re bringing love from America. This is a global conference, and we are trying to bring unity across the globe. And I think it’s needed right now, that people feel a sense of unity from all the countries and feel a sense of hope after this year of the pandemic.”

A world stage for fashion rentals

When HURR Collective Founder Victoria Prew was snapped carrying an armload of garments into Downing Street last week, the fashion press took note: Could this be the first time a first lady wore rented fashion for a multi-day diplomatic event?

As expected, Carrie Johnson proceeded through G7 events in a series of rented looks, from the hot-pink Roksanda Zandra dress she wore to meet the Bidens (£1,400 retail, £107 to rent on HURR), to The Vampire’s Wife’s floral-print Festival Dress at the Eden Project (£1,150 or £72 on HURR) to the blue floral dress from Damselfly London she wore to the Saturday night beach barbecue (£295 retail, £8/day to rent from MyWardrobe HQ).

In giving fashion rentals such a prominent stage, Johnson is advocating for a more sustainable way of dressing. She’s also making considerable savings – she’s estimated to have spent £217 amassing a G7 wardrobe that would have cost £3,755 or more to buy at retail. And she’s boosting the profiles of platforms including Hurr, MyWardrobe HQ and peer fashion rental companies, all of which are now enjoying an uptick in traffic and rentals.

“Diplomatic dressing requires a huge turnover of items, given that most high-profile women are scrutinised into never wearing the same thing twice,” says HURR’s Prew. “As a result, rental is a brilliant option for them to support designers, stay on trend, try new styles and make their contribution to saving the planet."

Diplomatic flip-flops

Forget a sunscreen-stained linen cover-up and fluoro-pink swimming costume – when the British and American First Ladies took to the beach on Thursday, their one concession to the sand was to swap their stiletto heels for flip-flops. The white sandals were a practical choice for a walk on the beach, and far easier to kick off than the above. They also united both women in the form of outfit awkwardness specific to having to discard your preferred footwear, as Dr Biden and Mrs Johnson are both heels women.

For the men: formal tailoring = beach attire

Boris Johnson may have made a lumbering dash into the bracing Cornish waves in somewhat gaudy floral swimming trunks, but on the whole the G7 summit in Carbis Bay has been a reminder of the power of pin-sharp suiting. Most of us have weathered the pandemic in dress-down informality, but the G7’s line-up of suited world leaders is a sign that, as we ease out of lockdown, it’s time to shake off your smart single-breasted.

Prince Charles knows his way around an impeccable suit, and it was notable that the royal chose to fully dress up his mid-blue chalk-stripe suit with the full kit and caboodle of accessories. The prince wore a pale blue tie with grey silk pocket square, a floral lapel pin, cufflinks and his ever-present signet ring, a splendid show of sartorialism when suiting, and the industries that supporting it such as shirtmaking, tiemaking and formal shoes, have suffered as seismic blow during the pandemic.

US president Joe Biden has similarly looked impeccable throughout his visit; nothing particularly exciting, but that’s the point. After the curiously baggy suits of his predecessor, his nipped-in, statuesque tailoring looks statesmanlike in comparison. The other style frontrunner from the conference is Canadian president Justin Trudeau, who stood out in soft grey suiting with - controversially - brown shoes. Perhaps we’re not done mixing smart and casual just yet. Stephen Doig

Everyone’s doing Duchess dressing

While Carrie Johnson has found her fashion niche in rentals, the clothes she’s choosing to rent suggest that she’s taking style cues from none other than the Duchess of Cambridge. For all of her public appearances at the G7, Johnson hewed to the same long (knee-length or longer), modest (higher necklines, sleeves) styles of dress favoured by Kate. She also chose designs from some of Kate’s favourite brands, including Roksanda and The Vampire’s Wife.

Even outfits that weren’t Duchess dupes nodded to Kate’s style, as with the cobalt-blue Amanda Wakeley suit Johnson wore to visit the Minack Theatre. It immediately evoked memories of a Zara blazer in the same hue that Kate wore on her recent tour of Scotland with Prince William.

Power pink is the colour to know

Pink? Delicate? Not the way the women of the G7 wore it. Dr Biden, Mrs Johnson, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Queen all wore variations on the rosy hue for engagements during the summit. Sometimes together, most notably seen when Kate and Dr Biden both chose pink looks for their visit to a local school.

While Kate wore a dahlia pink Alexander McQueen dress, Dr Biden chose a fuchsia L’Agence blazer. The appeal of the colour is clear: it’s bright, energetic and happy, making it a perfect choice for a visit involving children. Not, of course, that the right colour is all it takes to put an audience at ease – for some reason, the schoolchildren were intimidated into silence. Now that’s power.

We’re all living in Stella McCartney’s world

When Stella McCartney introduced her fashion brand 20 years ago, the fact that she eschewed leather even for shoes and handbags seemed fringey. Well, what once was on the fringe is now Establishment, with the designer representing the fashion industry at G7 events at the invitation of no less eminent a figure than HRH The Prince of Wales.

McCartney, invited as part of Prince Charles’ Sustainable Markets initiative, chatted with France’s President Emmanuel Macron, Canada’s Justin Trudeau and the Bidens at a CEO event at the Eden Project. She did so wearing a white cape dress with printed florals from her spring ‘21 A to Z Manifesto collection made from Forest Friendly Viscose, plus vegan leather accessories.

“I am honoured to represent the fashion industry, one of the most polluting in the world. My goal is to drive change, encourage investments and create lasting difference through incentives supporting the next generation,” she said in a statement. “I hope the G7 Summit will translate our message into policies bringing us closer to creating a cruelty-free society that is kinder to all creatures, Mother Earth and each other.”

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