Re-wear your clothes, designer Westwood advises Kate Middleton

Designer Vivienne Westwood talks to Reuters during an interview before the presentation of her Vivienne Westwood Red Label Autumn/Winter 2013 collection during London Fashion Week, February 17, 2013.

LONDON (Reuters) - The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton should re-wear her outfits to help the environment, British fashion designer Vivienne Westwood said on Sunday.

The designer advised Middleton, the wife of Britain's Prince William and the country's future Queen, that she should recycle her outfits if she puts a lot of effort into her appearance.

"I don't have any advice to her, except I think it would be great if she wore the same clothes over and again, because that's very good for the environment and it would send out a very nice message," Westwood said before her Red Label fashion show at London Fashion Week.

"If you're going to all that trouble to get an outfit that suits you, then you should keep on wearing it," she said.

Middleton, who married Prince William in 2011, enjoys a following by fashion fans who keep tabs on her style choices.

But the Duchess has also turned heads for stepping out in the same outfit more than once, stirring debate in the British media over whether the thrifty behavior was praiseworthy or a fashion faux-pas.

(Reporting by Alice Baghdjian; Editing by Jason Webb)