At Paris Fashion Week 2024, sustainability took center stage. Victoria Beckham was criticized for using leather in her collection, and Stella McCartney presented luxury items on the catwalk with vegan leather embellishments and recycled aluminum sequins, sending a clear message that luxury and sustainability can coexist.
ELLE UK recently noted that "Sustainable fashion brands are on the rise. From responsibly sourced organic cotton to taking all measures to avoid sweat shop production, fashion and beauty brands are becoming more environmentally responsible".
Unsurprisingly, the term "responsible luxury" is all over the place right now, with high-end luxury brands taking big steps to ensure their design footprint does as little damage to nature as possible.
Responsible luxury is where exclusivity meets ethical and sustainable practices. Consider plant-based materials, such as vegan "leather." Sustainable packaging and use of recyclable materials. Vegan and free from cruelty to animals, aromatic ingredients and fair production practices. Smart is now cool, and luxury brands are taking their role as style-setters seriously.
Big brands that make a big impact
The significant growth of sustainable fashion has led to a shift towards more responsible practices in materials, packaging and product composition. French luxury brand Chloé pioneered responsible luxury, designing fashion and accessories from vegan fabrics and producing its signature line of vegan perfumes long before the term was coined.
The new fragrance Chloé Lumineuse is no exception. Lumineuse is a vegan perfume created from natural flavors, denatured alcohol and water - nothing else.
Both outside and inside, the signature Chloé ribbon that adorns each bottle is consciously made from 100% recycled polyester, and the Eau de Parfum Lumineuse bottle contains 25% recycled glass.
Think global, act local
An example of the use of good practices is the Australian fashion queen Bianca Spender. Her designs are created to strict quality standards with sustainability in mind, using stock (discontinued and leftover fabrics) for more than half of each collection, and natural fibers are used in all of the brand's designs. All garments are produced in Ethical Clothing Australia accredited factories which ensure transparency and fair labor practices for workers.
Spender also regularly supports initiatives such as The Social Outfit's Ethical Style Challenge to wear "one piece five ways for five days" to raise awareness and raise funds to support women from refugee and migrant backgrounds with training and employment opportunities in the fashion industry.
Influencers and celebrities like Bella Hadid, Zendaya and Billie Eilish are also often spotted shopping for vintage fashion and dressing up on the red carpet.
At the 2024 Costume Designers Guild Awards, Eilish wore the same shirt-and-pants outfit she first wore to the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party. She has publicly stated that she believes that "wearing of just new clothes all the time is unnecessary and unsustainable," and recently collaborated with Gucci on their first vegan leather bag.
With the world's population now approaching 8 billion, understanding the impact of our choices has never been more important.
The next time you're ready to make a purchase, take the time to educate yourself about the sustainability of your favorite brands, and put your hard-earned fashion money where it will have a positive impact beyond the wardrobe./BGNES