Robyn Lawley Covers Marie Claire Australia Sustainability Issue | Issues Green Challenge

Model Robyn Lawley is styled by Jana Pokorny in sun-drenched images by Simon Upton for Marie Claire Australia’s sustainability issue.

Looking out across the Whitsunday’s iconic turquoise water after a day of shooting on an isolated beach off Hamilton Island, Robyn Lawley is confused. “The ocean is so beautiful and fragile. I don’t understand why everyone’s not fighting for it,” she says, shaking her head. “Our seas produce half of the world’s oxygen, yet we’re dumping a garbage truck of rubbish into [them] every minute.”

As a young girl, Lawley was protesting fossil fuels in Queensland, writing “stop coal mining” on her bare stomach in lipstick before spreading the message on social media. Lawley lives with partner Everest Schmidt in New York today, where they’re raising her daughter Ripley — now four years old — to be an environmentalist.

Speaking of Victoria’s Secret and taking on former chief marketing officer Ed Razek for his troubling comments abut transgender and plus-size models, prompting Lawley to launch the “we are all angels hashtag”, she says the fight was intimidating given the status of Victoria’s Secret. Still, Robyn is glad that Razek is gone and the brand is in a period of active self-reflection under new leadership.

Asked in her interview with Alley Pascoe if there’s anything Victoria’s Secret can do to redeem themselves, the activist’s response resonates Rihanna-style:

“In my dream world, they (Victoria’s Secret) would send recyclable, compostable lingerie down the runway, [worn by] models with variance in size, ethnicities and age,” says Lawley, curling the corner of her mega-watt smile at the thought.

Funny — Robyn — I’ve had the same thought and especially on lingerie fabrications. VS could power their way back into the hearts and minds of young women by taking the lead on the environment — one special collection at a time — until they roll it big-time. If H&M can set such a corporate agenda, so can Victoria’s Secret. ~ Anne