Viewpoint

Am I The Only One Feeling Disillusioned About This Fashion Month? 

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Phil Oh

There was no shortage of talking points this fashion month: Kim Kardashian’s collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana, 68 sets of identical twins at Gucci, a mudslide at Balenciaga, and Bella Hadid having her dress spray-painted on live on the Coperni runway come to mind. Major celebrity moments were aplenty, too, from Paris Hilton closing to the show at Versace to Cher hitting the catwalk at Balmain and Kate Moss making a surprise appearance at Bottega Veneta.

One glaring omission from the list? Sustainability. Despite the climate crisis becoming ever more urgent, environmental concerns are still not a priority for fashion, if the spring/summer 2023 shows were anything to go by. All that talk of an industry reset at the start of the pandemic has, disappointingly, failed to materialise.

That’s not to say that sustainability was completely absent from the runways, although it largely came from the usual suspects. Gabriela Hearst’s Chloé show was inspired by fusion energy, a potential alternative to fossil fuels involving the same process that takes place at the heart of the sun and stars. Over at Stella McCartney, regenerative cotton, which is grown in a biodiverse environment, was used on the catwalk for the first time. Younger designers also took an eco-conscious approach: Botter, which often shines a spotlight on the threats facing our oceans, created dresses made from kelp, while Collina Strada continued to make sustainability fun with its upcycled designs inspired by the monarch butterfly.

Chloé spring/summer 2023. 

Isidore Montag / Gorunway.com

Stella McCartney spring/summer 2023. 

Filippo Fior / Gorunway.com

Still, it was mainly business as usual, bar some token gestures. What happened to all those commitments to cut carbon emissions? How many of the materials used are actually sustainably sourced? The answer is difficult to come by – except for the rare brands that do actually provide eco factsheets alongside their show notes. If indeed there is genuine progress happening behind-the-scenes, isn’t fashion month the perfect time to be shouting about it from the rooftops?

One could argue that fashion month is about escapism on some level. But it’s also about creativity. And with the climate crisis as pressing as it is, fashion simply can’t afford to ignore the elephant in the room. Thanks to the rise of Instagram, we know there are millions of eyes on these brands during fashion month. Why not use the platform to highlight the urgency of the climate crisis, or even better, offer hope for how to tackle it? What message would it have sent if, for example, Dolce & Gabbana had sent original pieces from its archive down the runway, rather than issuing re-editions? Or if Balenciaga had included pieces from its new resale initiative on the catwalk, instead of its deliberately distressed designs?

Dolce & Gabbana spring/summer 2023.

Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com

Balenciaga spring/summer 2023. 

Courtesy of Balenciaga

Until brands actively showcase the work they’re doing when it comes to sustainability, we won’t have the acceleration of progress that we need. Fashion is inherently a competitive industry; the more companies that highlight the work they’re doing, the more likely others will follow suit. That’s not to say that collaboration isn’t needed – but we need these conversations to be had in the open for that to happen, rather than in dense and difficult-to-decipher sustainability reports.

Beyond the environmental issues, the noticeable lack of body diversity on the runways this season is another major concern. Yes, we have seen the rise of plus-size models, such as Paloma Elsesser and Alva Claire, but all too often it’s a tokenistic approach (and that’s not even taking into account that many brands still don’t actually sell their clothes in plus sizes). As sustainability consultant Aja Barber has commented in the past, we can’t achieve a sustainable fashion industry if it’s not truly inclusive. It’s another area that urgently needs to be addressed.

Much has been said about whether fashion month can ever be sustainable, given the fact that hundreds of editors, buyers and influencers (not to mention the models, make-up artists and hairstylists) are flying into New York, London, Milan and Paris every season. But the carbon footprint of fashion shows is miniscule compared to that of the entire industry at large. Fashion month desperately needs rethinking, but it can be used as a force for good (as shown by Copenhagen Fashion Week, which takes place outside the main cycle and is introducing minimum sustainability requirements for brands). Let’s hope that the disheartening lack of progress this season is the wake-up call everyone needs.