Antonia Gentry's First Brand Collaboration Is Anti-Fast Fashion

Antonia Gentry, a 26-year-old actor best known for her role in Netflix’s “Ginny & Georgia,” might be a newer presence in the fashion scene, but she understands what most industry veterans have stated for years: The key to a good outfit is all in the basics. (TikTok fashion girlies, please jot that down.) It’s partly why the actor is so excited to land her first major fashion collaboration with Copenhagen-based brand Organic Basics: “Basics are something that is a staple in anyone’s wardrobe,” Gentry tells Fashionista. “It’s important to have a place where you can buy your basics, feel comfortable and feel confident in them.”

Though, her fashion philosophy wasn’t always this practical. Reflecting on her earliest fashion memories, she admits she wore some “pretty crazy things” and “thought [she] was the coolest kid on the planet.” However, by having the freedom to “mix and match to create [her] own style” she came to understand the feeling of “coming alive” in the clothes that she wore. She hopes her collaboration with Organic Basics balances that longtime love of playfulness with her new(er)found appreciation for comfort.

“When you find clothes that just fit you in a way that makes you feel like yourself, but elevated — I’ve had more opportunities to [experience that] since coming into the industry, working with stylists and being surrounded by people where this is their creative and this is what they live for — it’s just so inspiring,” she says. “Being given the opportunity to help shape the way these pieces look in the ways that I think are really, really fun and beautiful has been super helpful in truly learning what I feel the best in.”

Not only is this Organic Basics’ first celebrity collaboration, but it also signifies something new in the evolving world of celebrity endorsements, currently dominated by superficial campaign placements, ambassadorships and fast-fashion deals — routes many Hollywood breakout stars (understandably) take. Instead, Gentry is taking an hands-on approach, involving herself with a smaller, independent brand that mirrors her values.

Beyond her appreciation for elevated staples, Gentry was sold on Organic Basics‘ commitment to responsible manufacturing. All pieces are made from recyclable, plant-based, organic materials, plus the brand closely traces its greenhouse gas emissions, water use and land use via its partnership with Made2Flow. 

“The collection highlights our shared passion for sustainability, allowing us to help people build a wardrobe that they feel good wearing and is better for the planet too,” Mads Fibiger Rasmussen, founder and CEO at Organic Basics, said in a statement.

“So much of our environment is impacted by the clothes that we wear and the materials we purchase [repeatedly],” Gentry shares. “As you grow and your tastes change, you end up discarding a lot of your wardrobe over time. [I was] wanting to be a part of a company that [produces] responsibly,” especially, she says, “with fast fashion and affordability being a big and valid concern for a lot of people.”

As for the collection, in a true collaborative fashion, Gentry had a huge hand in ideating the colors and silhouettes: “The colors that we chose I think are very earthy, but also bright enough where they make a statement on their own. I love this collection too because so many of the pieces are mix and match, and easy to layer.” Styles include bike shorts, bralettes, cropped tanks, boxy tees, cardigans and mock-neck dresses, all of which make the perfect foundation for building a capsule wardrobe.

That’s not to say Gentry doesn’t favor certain pieces. She gravitates toward the ribbed cardigan and flared pants because for being breathable while still sculpting the body in a comfortable way. “It’s my new airport outfit too,” she laughs.

Today, the New York-based actor’s personal style is most inspired by her fellow city-dwellers. “The average New Yorker” has become her go-to sartorial reference. “I feel like every single day I see someone who is so daring with their fashion, that literally people-watching in New York has me immediately inspired,” she says. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I didn’t think to pair that skirt with that pop of color’ or, ‘That layering is just crazy and so cool.'”

She already has her eye on fall staples and trends she plans to embrace: “I love layering. I love pairing a turtleneck with a cardigan on top or wearing really unexpected materials and textures. This collection has great ribbed textures, as well as those nice curled edges [lettuce hems] for some of the tanks.”

She also loves “a good boot,” she says. “Knee-high boots are my favorite.”

With a collaboration on her fashion resume, alongside a slew of front-row appearances at New York and Paris Fashion Weeks, there’s now the question of what her next sartorial steps are. “I’m still dipping my toes in the water,” she says. “There’s always the idea of being in luxury fashion, but what I love so much about fashion is that you don’t have to spend a lot of money and get the next thing.” 

“Continuing my relationship with fashion and sustainability and becoming more educated in that arena is something that’s pretty important to me,” she continues. “And this collaboration has been a nice first step into that.”

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Source: Fashionista.com