Heidi Klum ‘proud’ daughter Leni wearing her clothes again

Heidi Klum I don’t mind sharing my wardrobe with my daughter.

At the fourth annual Earthshot Awards On Wednesday, November 6, the 51-year-old supermodel said she felt “proud” when 20 year old Leni gives pieces from her iconic wardrobe new life.

“I get so excited when I see my daughters wearing my clothes again,” Heidi tells PEOPLE at an event in Cape Town, South Africa. “My eldest daughter is also a model, goes to events and when she wears my clothes I’m not only proud, but we can recycle them.”

In 2022, Leni borrowed her mom’s silky black strapless ’90s prom dress.

“Prom in mom’s dress ,” the Carousel teen captioned her Instagram post before the event. Heidi originally wore the dress in 1998 for the Comic Relief live comedy event and commented a heart-eyes emoji on her daughter’s post.

“I pass down clothes to my kids,” Heidi shared at the Earthshot green carpet.

“…I think it’s really important to keep wearing your stuff. I think in the past we’ve worn something once and then never worn it again, and that’s so wrong,” she added. “I encourage everyone to wear the amazing pieces you have in your closet. This is the best store, your own closet.”

The Earthshot Prize Awards are hosted by Prince William and recognize five winners each year for their contributions to the environment. Heidi wore a vintage one-shoulder Halston dress in burnt orange to the red carpet.

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“I go to a lot of events, but this was probably one of the most important events I’ve been to,” Heidi said of the evening. “I have to be honest, I haven’t heard of him before. It’s amazing what (Prince William) did. I haven’t met him yet. I didn’t know I was on his radar, so when his team called and asked if I could come, I immediately said yes.

America’s Got Talent The judge says that after she went “deep” into environmental issues, she “learned so much.”

“Who knew there was a sustainable fishery?” she says. “Tomorrow I am honored to travel with (Prince William) to this place to learn about sustainable fishing. I knew our waters were overfished, polluted, all these terrible things. But I didn’t know about sustainable fishing. I love that I’m learning more things and hopefully becoming a better person in the future.”

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“The children are what makes the future so important to her,” explains Heidi. “I have four children and I hope to be a grandmother one day, but what about my grandchildren? We need to think about our tomorrow,” she says.

She adds: “When I was a kid, you already knew it was starting and people said there was no climate change. I mean, open your eyes around you – it’s happening everywhere. I’ve been to so many places where they’re complaining about these things, the floods and everything that’s going on. Everyone needs to open their eyes, and being here has made my eyes even more open.”