facebook_pixel

Fashion-Conscious to Fashionably Conscious!

Following the upcoming, the new and most-definitely the trendy, the modus operandi of the fashion-conscious has taken on a new dimension of conscientious fervor. If simply put in a Gen-Zesque way, it can be described as ‘woke’. 

Ridding themselves of the insouciant characteristics of their predecessors, the fashion-conscious today adorn a cape of sustainability that is here to stay. Surpassing its short-term adjective, sustainability is now much more than a trend. It has morphed into a mind-set, a strategy and a critical practice embraced by the big names of the luxury fashion industry. 

Sustainable Fashion
By SeeDesign / Shutterstock.com

With themes of sustainability & circularity doing the rounds and making headlines, one must really understand what they mean.

Sustainable and Circular Fashion

Sustainable Fashion
By Visual Generation / Shutterstock.com

An important distinction must be made between sustainable and circular fashion. 

‘Sustainable Fashion’ concerns itself with matters of the environment and guides brands to be transparent and have the lowest possible (negative) impact they can. 

‘Circular Fashion’ focuses on bringing in a process that is regenerative and restorative from inception, i.e., having a positive impact. It refers to the practice of careful design that leads to items being produced, sourced, and circulated in society responsibly and effectively. It is all about keeping the existing items, materials and goods in circulation rather than creating new ones. In its entirety, it leads to no waste. 

To understand it better, we invite you to look into your closets and visualize an article of clothing and its life cycle. Let’s pick your most serviceable pair of denim jeans. Picture them and focus on everything that went into creating them, from the drawing board of a designer to sourcing the cotton yarn to the dyeing process to the production to it hanging in your closet to its resting place in a landfill. 

Sustainable Fashion
By crystalfoto / Shutterstock.com

Now imagine taking the same pair of jeans, deconstructing them to reach pure yarn again and modeling it into something brand new. That is circularity. A way to completely use resources already processed and tackle issues of alarming importance like climate change, scarcity of resources and depletion of biodiversity. 

Big Names in Fashion Turn to Sustainability 

As is the case with influence, it trickles down and has the power of making an impact that can lift or devastate the world. When it comes to sustainability, we see a dramatic movement changing the way people see the world of fashion & design. 

With innovation and creativity held in the highest regard, the industry is utilizing its best minds to embrace sustainability and circularity as much as possible. 

Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney immediately comes to mind when we think of an environmentally-conscious brand. Starting from using no leather or fur, the brand today is a pioneer in using new materials, pushing boundaries with avant-garde tech and genuinely creating a future that is beautiful and sustainable. 

Sustainable Fashion
Editorial credit: sama_ja / Shutterstock.com / ID: 1522638659

Prada

Prada, a name that we are only too familiar with, launched a project that has redefined a vital component of its brand DNA – nylon. Prada Re-Nylon – a result of a partnership with the Italian yarn producer Aquafil has changed the brand’s approach to all nylon products. The use of Econyl, a regenerated nylon yarn that can be recycled indefinitely without impacting its quality, is groundbreaking. It helps retain fine quality, clean up landfills & oceans, and make new out of the old. 

The project aims to convert all Prada virgin nylon to Re-Nylon by the end of this year! 

Alexander McQueen

Another icon, Alexander McQueen, has taken the sustainability route and is doing so with great style. From offering fabrics from its archives to fashion students to using them to create new designs, the British label demonstrates a creative way to be more responsible. Several looks from the brand’s Spring/Summer 2020 show were crafted from recycled materials and archival fabrics. 

From Vetements using its storefront to bring awareness to overconsumption to other famous names of the industry embracing deadstock are upcycling to minimize the catastrophic implications of fabric overproduction. They are attempting to prevent several million pounds of textile waste from finding its way to a landfill. 

Sustainable Fashion
By Ernest Rose / Shutterstock.com

The Fashion Pact – a coalition of companies was launched in 2019 at the G7 Summit by the French President and the CEO of the French luxury group Kering. It aims to take up concrete action in three environmental goals: 

  • to put a stopper to global warming
  • to restore biodiversity 
  • to protect the oceans. 

Among the notable signatories that range from sport, luxury, lifestyle and ready-to-wear, adidas has taken significant steps to eradicate the problem of plastic. 

adidas

Sustainable Fahion
Editorial credit: kit lau / Shutterstock.com / ID: 1027986541

With innovation as the front-runner in making this endeavor successful, the sportswear giant is determined to shift to using 100% recycled polyester for all its products by 2024. Recycled materials like ‘Primeblue’ and ‘Primegreen’ are being used to create high-performance products that are better for the environment. 

When legacy brands embrace sustainability, the rest will surely follow.

Every Contribution Matters 

How can you join this movement and be a part of the future? 

Take efforts to inform yourself about the transparency of a company and brand. Invest your time and resources in practices that help increase the lifespan of products like proper care, refurbishment and second-hand fashion. Support those who are driving this change and be mindful of your consumption habits. 

Pre-loved fashion, be it investing or selling, is a great way to contribute to a circular economy. This is where we come in. The Luxury Closet contributes to eradicating the traditional linear fashion cycle, which produces, uses, and throws. Through our platform, luxury products that speak of exquisite craftsmanship and high-quality stay in circulation. 

Choosing to indulge in pre-loved fashion not only helps you be responsible, but it is also a good substitute for fast fashion and leads to affordable luxury. We invite you to indulge your style needs, purge your closets, invest in better quality, and always be fashionably conscious! 

Here’s to you starting your journey of being a fashion hero! 

Saanchi Singh

Fashion Content Writer

Saanchi is an old soul and thinks herself to be a heroine straight out of a British drama. Equipped with dry humor, she is passionate about the finer things of life and is always busy adding to her shoe collection. Food, music, scuba diving, reading and telling stories is what she is all about.

No Comments Yet

Comments are closed