Woolmark's new ambassador Taylor Zakhar Perez is a rising Hollywood star known for his leading man roles. You might recognise him from a certain rom com that we don’t mention in this interview (in respect of the actors' strike), or his role in a royal drama based on a cult book (again, not going there). Maybe you know his Paris fashion week looks - snaps of him emerging shirtless from his car outside the Prada’s menswear show went viral in June…
But whether you’re one of his nearly 5 million Instagram followers, or discovering his work for the first time here, there's no denying Taylor's charm. He's smart, down-to-earth, generous with his time and endlessly curious, and we love that he was up for a conversation about how to use influence for good.
On the podcast we discuss the risks and rewards of daring to talk about sustainability when you're known for something else; why more famous names don’t get involved in climate activism or rewear their clothes; and how this former competitive swimmer became a supply chain nerd. For Taylor, if he’s going to work with a brand, he wants to see what goes on behind the scenes. More of that please!
Actor TAYLOR ZHAKAR-PEREZ was born in Chicago, and began his career in opera houses performing musical theatre at an early age which led him to film and television. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles and is a nationally ranked swimmer.
“I’VE ALWAYS BEEN VERY PRIVATE, SO I DON’T KNOW IF I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE ATTENTION, BUT I’M DEFINITELY LOOKING FORWARD TO USING MY PLATFORM FOR GOOD.” - Taylor Zakhar Perez
Here’s the Glamour mag profile Clare mentions.
Some of those honoured at the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, 2023
The GREEN CARPET FASHION AWARDS were founded by Livia Firth and her ECO-AGE organisation, and used to take place during Milan fashion week. This year, the event was held in LA, with Cate Blanchett, Quannah Chasinghorse, Viola Davis and Tom Ford as co-chairs.
The 2023 awards celebrated “six cultural archetype honours that are crucial to collective transformation in any community” and included a special award in recognition of 14 young female leaders who have distinguished themselves for their work on social and environmental justice. These YOUNG LEADERS included American model and Indigenous activist Quannah Chasinghorse; Vanessa Nakate, a Ugandan environmental activist and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; and Intersectional Environmentalist founder Leah Thomas. Read more here.
“THE FASHION AND ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRIES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE CLIMATE CRISIS. BUT TOGETHER, WE HAVE THE POWER TO TURN THIS AROUND. IT IS NOT FASHIONABLE IF IT CREATES EXCLUSION, POVERTY, EXPLOITATIVE LABOR, DISPLACEMENT, POLLUTION OR IT INCREASES CARBON EMISSIONS.” - Vanessa Nakate
GCFA co-chair CATE BLANCHETT wore a new Valentino suit to this year’s event, but over the years she has been an undeniable influence on the rise of REWEAR, prompting Vogue to report: “It’s chic to repeat!” See here. Taylor mentions he’s been rewearing ARMANI, which just so happens to be a favourite of Cate’s.
Taylor on the cover of GQ recently (photographed before the strike).
SOCIAL REACH varies enormously, but some global megastars, particularly in the music biz and elite sports have hundreds of millions of followers. Clare mentions Beyonce, who at the time of recording (July 2023) had 314 million; and Taylor Swift (268 million when we recorded, and by time we write this, 273 million). Kim Kardashian has enormous social media reach, with 362 million.
Despite reports like this one by SBS News - Clicktivism: Why Social Media is Not Good For Charity: “A click here, a like there. Maybe hitting follow to a cause that's been mentioned by a celebrity. The warm, fuzzy feeling that your Facebook friends can see you stand for something, that you're drawing attention to big issues. But no - it doesn’t really work like that,” - there’s plenty of evidence to show that celebrity endorsements can boost donations and awareness around causes. So why don’t more of them do it?
Taylor calls JANE GOODALL the G.O.A.T. Her 1.2 million IG following is not too shabby. Add to it here.
Taylor volunteering for tree planting with the Replant Love initiative x the Malibu Foundation. Image via this post.
The WOOLSEY WILDFIRE burned in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in California in 2018. It started November 8th, and burned 96,949 acres (39,234 hectares) of land. The fire destroyed 1,643 structures, killed three people, and prompted the evacuation of more than 295,000 people. It was one of several fires in California that ignited on the same day, along with the nearby Hill Fire and the destructive Camp Fire in Northern California. Via Wikipedia.
SHIFFON CO. is an ethical jewellery brand founded by Shilpa Yarlagadda. “An Indian-American, Yarlagdda grew up in Silicon Valley where she was surrounded by founders (mostly men) working on innovative technologies. While in high school, she interned at NASA and Microsoft Research, both of which informed her decision to study Computer Science. “Throughout my studies and work experiences, I never saw that many women, which is something that bothered me,” Yarlagadda told V.F. “You can’t be what you can’t see, which is why I wanted to create a new visible and transparent model of funding for female entrepreneurs.” READ THE REST ON VANITY FAIR.
Taylor arriving at Prada Spring ‘24 men’s show in Milan
WOOLMARK In July 2023, Taylor joined the Woolmark company on a “farm-to-fashion educational experience” where he talked with farmers about their regenerative practices, and shared the following in Instagram:
“As synthetic (mostly petroleum ⛽️ based) fibers are used more and more studies show they aren’t able to biodegrade like natural fibers (wool breaks down in water!! Isn’t that cool?), so with each wash of these polyester, acrylic, nylon, and spandex garments microplastics are released into the waterways. As the fibres are so small, many pass through filtration processes and make their way into our rivers and seas, and then we gobble them up ♻️.
"While activists push for legislation around this, the manufacturers are saying the washer/dryer companies should add a filter to solve the problem *ahem* 🚬 It won’t, it takes us to think again about what we are buying and show them we are in control, we demand better because we deserve better. And now, we KNOW better."
YASS is a town in the Southern Tablelands of New South Wales, Australia.
Taylor attends the DIOR Men’s Spring 2023 show .
A WORD ON THE ACTORS’ & WRITERS’ STRIKE … For the first time since 1960, two of the entertainment industry’s biggest unions – the Writers Guild of America, with more than 11K members, and SAG-AFTRA, the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists with about 160,000, are striking at the same time, effectively halting scripted film and TV production completely. It’s about pay and unfair contracts, of course, but there are also concerns over how the use of generative AI will be regulated in entertainment’s future to ensure creates are not exploited. At the end of September, after nearly 5 months, the writers’ union reached an agreement and declared their strike over. At the time of writing, the actors’ strike is ongoing. More here.
P.S. “THE MOMENT YOU STOP BEING GRATEFUL IS THE MOMENT YOU START GETTING HATEFUL…” is one of Taylor’s fave sayings, and we concur.
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