In Conversation with Amber Valletta

SLEEK: Last October, following your collaboration with the brand earlier in the year, you were announced as Karl Lagerfeld’s sustainability ambassador. In a creative collaboration, cooperation is always an exciting process. What was it like working with Karl Lagerfeld?

Amber Valletta: Well, so we’ve been working together. We have very good communication. Together, we looked at the first sketches and talked about the sustainability aspects. And then they make the samples. I get the clothes in person, I feel them. We’re trying to find the best, most sustainable materials, focussing on just a few. And so the process has been very collaborative and creative and easy. And I think everybody wants to succeed in many different ways. 

S: What were the most exciting moments, your most thrilling ideas?

AV: There are always great ideas. One of the great early ideas that the Karl Lagerfeld team had was to redo the K/Kushion bag. For Karl, it’s an iconic item, so that was an obvious choice – a really great initial idea. And then from that, we’ve actually changed the bag. I love little bags, and in this next collection, you’ll see that. Sometimes, you take something and then you play with it, and that’s the essence of collaboration and creativity, I think.

S: You’re very committed to your values. What motivates you?

AV: It’s a big question. For me, it’s so important to connect with what’s real and what really matters – the planet and the people. I hope there will be a future for other generations. In my mind, what’s important is living in a place where I can do the most good. I try to – none of us are perfect – but I think the important part is that we keep trying to do better. And at the end of the day, we are all here to learn. 

S: Of course.

AV: I could go so deep. I don’t necessarily believe in one religion, but I believe in spirituality and love. That is the ultimate thing for me and it’s something I’ve been practising very, very intensely, trying to see everything, even bad things, as forgivable.

S: What does love mean to you?

AV: Real love is truth and forgiveness. Fear and ego are divisive. Love is essentially all we really are – we are created from it. When you see a baby or an animal, you feel that deep sense of purity. You see the purity, you see, there is no division.  There’s no fear. We learn fear, we learn anxiety, we learn to separate and that’s the opposite of love. Love never dies. Love is eternal love is light; love is truth; love is miracles; love is peace.

S: That’s true. What drives your passion for the environment?

AV: I grew up surrounded by nature in Oklahoma before the big age of technology. No cell phones, no social media. I was always told, “Go outside and play!”  When I’d tell mom that I was bored, she’d always tell me to use my imagination and go outside and play. I must have heard it a million times. And so nature became my friend because sometimes I didn’t have any friends to play with. Nature became my playroom, friend, my safety – everything. When I think about my childhood, I don’t think about being inside a house. So that’s part of it. The other reason is because the planet is not ours – we are guests here. And to me, what I’ve said about love and spirituality connects to all of those things. I believe that we must respect the planet and respect nature and respect the universe and love it. It’s the only home that we know. 

S: Getting back to your collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld, what does it mean to you to be able to do something good for the planet with this sustainable collaboration?

AV: We’re not peacekeeping here, we’re creating fashion. But what I do believe is that we’re creating desirable fashion that’s made sustainably, made the right way. And you know, the brand makes a lot of effort to really look at their supply chain, too. It’s not just about the environment, but our human resources, too. It’s about saying: If we can do it better and then let’s achieve that. If it’s something desirable, then we’re a success. And I don’t mean that financially; I mean that in the sense of changing the way people think about clothes, showing them that they mean something – that they have value, and they don’t deserve just to go in the trash.

S: Do you enjoy helping to change fashion?

AV: It’s hard, but at the same time, there’s so much interesting stuff that’s happening. There’s science and there are really cool educators talking about systems and the economy and making materials from bacteria and fungus and ways to recycle that we haven’t even thought about. There are new ways to create packaging, for instance, that haven’t previously been considered. There’s even the possibility that people will be pulled out of poverty, treated fairly. For too long now, the supply chain – the means by which goods and materials enter our markets – has been a very opaque process, hopefully it’s becoming more transparent, allowing people to see where the things they buy come from, who made them and how much they were paid. Hopefully, things will become fairer and more equitable. I wish we didn’t have to face these problems, but at least people are now working towards a solution, and it’s exciting because we’re entering a new age. I heard someone talk about this actually, they were calling it a ‘new green age’ – I can’t remember. But I do believe we’re entering a new golden age of technology and sustainability. 

S: How important for you are friends, family and relationships?

AV: I have friends from childhood and I love my family very much. I’m very close to my family and I have long-lasting relationships via my business. I’m in a long term relationship now, in fact. And romantically, I believe in loyalty, commitment and love. And I feel safe being known and knowing someone, you know? If I feel safe, and am able to show my vulnerabilities, then I can be the real me. If I’m not able to be vulnerable sometimes then it’s hard for me to be in a relationship.

S: What inspires you? For SLEEK, creativity is paramount. Is it also important to you?

AV: Yes, but there are so many other things too, to be honest. I’m inspired by students, by professors. I’m inspired when I go to conferences. I’m inspired when I hear scientists, philanthropists, activists, thought leaders talking about things maybe I hadn’t thought of, or reshaping the way I think about something I thought I knew. I’m inspired by art, by creativity – yes – by beauty and nature itself. And I’m inspired by people, even when they err, because I believe that it’s possible to forgive someone for acting out of fear. 

S: Where are you today?

AV: Today, I’m in Paris. I’m doing some shows, and I’m meeting with the Lagerfeld brand in a week to meet everyone and have our first big sustainability meeting. I’m looking for ways to keep learning, and I’m very happy to be a part of a process of change. It’s going to take all of us.

S: Yes. And right now, the world is facing a really difficult time, politically.

AV: I know, but at the same time, we have to remember that we’ve been turning a blind eye to a lot of places around the world that have been in conflict. So I think maybe we all need a reminder that everyone has a right to peace. No one deserves it more than anyone else.

S: We’ve also got to fight for our freedom.

AV:  That is true, but I think there are more diplomatic ways. And I think that, unfortunately, we are not always aware of what all these governments are up to, and that because of this, lives are being lost. But I hear you. We need to defend freedom every day, of course.

As featured on SLEEK 72 – LOVE. Available now in Print and Digital.

Discover the collection on karl.com.

See the full Karl Lagerfeld x Amber Valletta editorial here.

Credits

Photography: José Cuevas
Styling: Marie Wez
Hair & Make-Up: Gor Duryan
Model: Eliza from MIRRRS Model Management
Creative Producer: Claude Gerber
Set Design: Filip Berg
Photography Assistant: Saint
Production Assistants: Roxane Phylicia Juhasz, Indigo Lewisohn