First females of fashion taking the guilt out of shopping
Our addiction to clothes is the latest target for eco-warriors... ... but no one wants to kill an industry worth £32bn. With London Fashion Week in full swing, meet the
NO MATTER how often it’s repeated, it’s still astonishing. The global fashion industry — specifically, textile production — contributes more to climate change than international aviation and shipping combined, producing an estimated 1.2 billion tons of CO2 a year.
That was the shocking conclusion of a UK parliamentary report into fashion’s giant carbon footprint last year.
As models sashay down the catwalks this week and champagne corks pop, you might think the fashion world has its head in the sand. In fact, it is gripped by a sense of crisis and guilt. And while London plays host to fashion’s big party, its leading lights are working hard behind the scenes to clean up the industry’s act.
They face an obvious dilemma. The industry is worth £32 billion to the UK economy and employs 890,000 people. It clearly needs to change its ways — but it also needs us to carry on spending.
How can fashion go green without putting itself out of business? And, given the changes we all need to make, is the industry even sustainable?
We asked some of its leaders to gaze into their crystal balls. From buyback schemes at John Lewis to ecofriendly subsidies at City Hall, meet the women planning a revolution...
AT VOGUE WE’RE WALKING THE WALK
VANESSA KINGORI MBE, publisher of British Vogue
LAST month, Vogue magazine put Taylor swift on the cover wearing vintage Chanel rather than a dress from a new collection. It was, says Vanessa Kingori, ‘a statement to the industry’.
‘sustainability is the ultimate sign of luxury,’ she says. ‘ Buy well and you’ll need less and send less to landfill. stylish, well-made pieces have never gone out of fashion and never will.’
Vanessa became the first female publishing director of Vogue in 2017 and, together with editor-in- chief Edward Enninful, she is determined to turn fashion’s bible green.
‘We are using our influence to make sustainability fashionable at a consumer level, with coverage of sustainable brands, innovative materials and working conditions,’ she says.
Last month, she spoke on the fashion and sustainability panel at the World Economic Forum in Davos and she admits the industry still has a long way to go. ‘We aren’t there yet by any means, but we’re making bold steps. Last year, for instance, we finally did away with plastic subscriber bags [ in which the magazine is wrapped] and now use compostable film made from potato starch instead.’
Under Edward and Vanessa’s tenure, British Vogue has featured more black, Asian and ethnic minority faces, with pop star Rihanna the first woman of colour to be on the coveted september cover in 2018.
‘We’re focusing on really walking the walk,’ says Vanessa. ‘It’s been great seeing other brands I work with saying, “If it’s worked for Vogue, we should do it”.’
A former model and new mother to nine-month-old Charlie (Enninful is his godfather), Vanessa was born in Kenya and raised on the Caribbean island of st Kitts. she moved to London aged seven. ‘I was shell-shocked. Life in st Kitts is simple — we wore flip-flops or went barefoot. London was the first time I wore a coat.
‘But my mum was always very glamorous. she was a nurse and after a long shift, nice clothes and lipstick would help her feel refreshed. she used to tell me: “The way you dress is like smiling at someone — they can’t help but smile back.” ’
WHAT TO WEAR TO SAVE THE PLANET: ‘I don’t buy many clothes. But I love accessories — shoes, belts and bags — because they can put a different spin on an outfit. Maybe slightly controversially, I’m not someone who follows fashion. I’m more into finding my own style.’
ONLINE SHOPPING MUST CHANGE, TOO
MANDY WATKINS, 51, founder of online retailer Hush, which has an annual turnover of £40 million.
CHANGE is inevitable, says Mandy — it’s happening from within. ‘ These days, whenever we interview someone for a job they ask about our sustainability credentials. no one wants to work for someone who’s doing bad business.’
Earlier this year, Hush appointed a sustainability co-ordinator to help it toe the line. The company also works with the London College of Fashion’s centre for sustainability to tackle what Mandy admits are often complex problems.
‘You think you’re doing the right thing with a catalogue made from recycled paper, for example, but then discover the ink may mean it isn’t actually recyclable.’
Mandy adds: ‘All our packaging will be made of recycled material from the middle of the year, even down to the plastic that secures the swing tag to the garment.
‘We are also giving some of our unsold denim new life as denim shorts, and we’ll be starting a takeback programme [buying back and upcycling old garments] soon.’
But the whole supply chain needs to change, Mandy says.
‘You can only be more sustainable if you have the right suppliers. so now we work with them and tell them what they need to change.
‘We don’t want working in fashion to be the equivalent of the tobacco industry — something you wouldn’t feel proud of.’
Mandy claims ‘ the internet changed everything for fashion’ — yet many would argue that it brought with it a multitude of problems, not least by creating an environment in which ultra-cheap, disposable fashion can flourish.
But Mandy is determined to
Vogue putting vintage Chanel on the cover is a real statement. Stylish, well-made pieces have never gone out of fashion — and never will
VANESSA KINGORI MBE, PUBLISHER OF BRITISH VOGUE
prove online shopping can be eco-friendly.
‘Fast fashion is the real problem,’ she says, ‘ so the best way to minimise the environmental impact is to create or buy clothes that last — good- quality pieces, fairly priced and not so trend-led that you won’t want to be seen dead in them in six months’ time.
‘Of course, there’s no substitute for being able to try something on before you buy, but there is a lot we can do to give customers a real idea of what will work for them prior to purchase.’
WHAT TO WEAR TO SAVE THE PLANET: ‘Buy clothes you will wear a lot. If you don’t wear an item, give it, or sell it, to someone who will.’
THE FUTURE IS WITH ECO-DESIGNERS
JUSTINE SIMONS, 49, London’s Deputy mayor for Culture and the Creative industries
Very few politicians are invited to show off their personal style in Vogue, but Justine Simons was one of them, appearing in the January 2020 issue talking about her role in the fashion industry and her colourful wardrobe of vintage finds.
When we meet, she is wearing a 1980s black Versace silk shirt. ‘I love the character of vintage pieces — and it’s also a sustainable way of dressing,’ she says. ‘There is a big shift towards resale, vintage and renting.’
Her own favourites include a 1970s dress that she shortened and trimmed with black velvet. ‘My mum is a self-taught dressmaker and I watched her making dresses from Vogue patterns.
‘My feeling is that sustainability in fashion has gone from a niche to a mainstream thing. If you talk to designers in college now, it’s at the core of what they’re doing. And consumers are asking where things are made, what the working conditions are, is the fabric recycled?’
Justine has worked as London’s Head of Culture under mayors Ken Livingstone, Boris Johnson and now Sadiq Khan, who promoted her to be his deputy. It’s the Mayor who funds the British Fashion Council, which puts on London Fashion Week twice a year — and that makes Justine a key player.
‘We did one recent sustainability project with Vivienne Westwood — a big push to get brands to switch to green energy, supported by very big names like Selfridges and Harvey Nichols,’ she says.
But she is most enthusiastic about young designers — Bethany Williams, for example — who are building solutions to fashion’s sustainability crisis into design itself. Last year the mayor’s office helped Williams to put on her LFW show.
WHAT TO WEAR TO SAVE THE PLANET: ‘If everyone changes their behaviour, it will add up to change. Personally, I love vintage pieces. resale is getting better all the time.’
FAST FASHION IS THE BIGGEST CRIME
FARRAH STORR, 41, editor of UK elle magazine
FARRAH is convinced ‘fast fashion’ is a blip. ‘We need to get away from the mindset of buying something new for the weekend and never wearing it again,’ she says.
Instead, we need to return to the timeless, classic fashion ethos embraced by women in the Sixties, Seventies and even eighties.
‘My mum Linda was my biggest influence. She taught me to buy ‘forever’ clothes — I remember her buying this pair of gorgeous brown Ferragamo pumps in the January sales that lasted for 20 years.’
Farrah still wears a pair of suede Dior shoes she bought in a sample sale 19 years ago. ‘I love resale sites and I buy on eBay,’ she says.
‘I also look after my clothes. I wrap everything in tissue paper and I have clothes repaired. When they are eventually too old to be worn, they end up in the dog bed.’
elle devoted an issue to sustainable fashion last year and Farrah is determined to keep promoting the message. ‘We’re flagging ethical brands like Stella McCartney and smaller ones like the Australian company Bassick,’ she says.
‘Like them, the American-based company All-birds uses sustainable fabrics. And there’s an online company, DL1961, whose jeans are made from renewable wood.’
WHAT TO WEAR TO SAVE THE PLANET: ‘Only buy something you really love, which you are confident has been made ethically.’