Look good, feel good, do good
THE RISE OF THE ‘GIVE BACK’ BRANDS
Can a necklace, T-shirt or handbag rcehaalnlyg e the wlaourrlda? Antonia Jordan explores fashion’s ambitions to make a difference
perched on italy’s Tyrrhenian coast, the Roman suburb of Ostia is just an hour’s drive from the city centre, yet feels worlds apart from the cinematic splendour of the capital as we know it. A disadvantaged neighbourhood, here you’re more likely to encounter dilapidated concrete apartment blocks and overgrown parking lots than majestic monuments and posh boutiques.
Certainly, it’s the last place you’d expect to encounter a luxury brand. And yet it’s in Ostia that Bulgari – the iconic Italian finejewellery house that’s bedecked everyone from Elizabeth Taylor and Monica Vitti to Lady Gaga and Madonna – has launched its latest venture. It’s not a commercial endeavour, however, but a state-of-the-art educational centre for underprivileged children and teens, a collaboration with the brand’s long-term charitable partner, Save the Children. ‘Bulgari has a soul, has emotion,’ explained CEO Jean-christophe Babin at the opening of the Punto Luce delle Arti centre last November, adding that Bulgari should stand for much more than simply making jewellery and money. ‘There is no mystery about our presence here. Most Romans are very proud of companies like Bulgari because they are part of the glory of the city, and this centre is open to everyone.
There are only good intentions, and only positive outcomes.’
Bulgari isn’t the only brand with good intentions. There’s an altruistic mood sweeping fashion at the moment. You can see it in the charitable initiatives from behemoth brands and the founding of philanthropic boutique names, like Ninety Percent, which donates – you guessed it – 90% of its profits to charity, and Carcel, which directly employs female prisoners in areas of the world where poverty-related crime is at its highest. A host of fashion brands responded to the Australian wildfire crisis; Balenciaga created a koala-print charity hoodie and T-shirt, Réalisation Par and Le Specs were just two of the brands that donated 100% of their profits for a specified time to different relief charities.
For many brands, positive action is now a compulsory part of their strategy and philosophy. ‘I think any company, if it has values, has to give back something,’ says Babin. ‘It’s the duty of rich corporations to give back, not only through taxes but also through these kinds of initiatives.’ Nicolas Girotto, CEO of Bally, agrees. ‘We have the responsibility to create purpose beyond profit, and leverage our reach to address global issues affecting the welfare of humanity and the environment. This is the way brands must operate today.’ The house recently launched a ‘No Mountain High Enough’ tote in support of the Peak Outlook initiative, which helps support the world’s most extreme mountain environments and their communities. ‘It’s important to use our reach to make a difference,’ he explains. ‘It’s something our employees, customers and even families are holding us accountable for.’
Methods vary, from commercial endeavours to donations, as do the concerns. There are the cultural – Fendi contributed over €2m to the restoration of the Trevi Fountain in Rome, while Ralph Lauren pledged millions to the
refurbishment of the Beaux-arts school in Paris. Also environmental: the Stella Mccartney Cares Foundation has donated to non-profit group Canopy, which protects endangered forests. Meanwhile humanitarian concerns mean a percentage of proceeds from each pair of Rosetta Getty x Ecco shoes is donated to sanitation organisation Givelove; and for every Demellier bag sold, the brand funds life-saving treatments to a child in need.
Bulgari and Save the Children’s Ostia centre marks a decade of collaboration between the two. (In celebration of the anniversary, a special edition onyx, ruby and sterling silver necklace is also available, with a portion of the proceeds from each sold going to the charity. To date, Bulgari has raised almost $100m for Save the Children from its jewellery collections). Complete with a computer room, music lab and theatre, the Ostia Punto Luce outpost gives local children and teenagers free access to courses, academic support and social activities, all of them focused on arts and crafts. (Save the Children has opened 24 similar centres across Italy.)
But while the methods might vary, the message is the same: we’re doing something good, we are giving back, care to join us?
The answer is a resounding yes. ‘There has definitely been a more prevalent positive and conscious attitude in the industry recently – which can only be a good thing,’ says Net-a-porter’s global buying director Elizabeth von der Goltz. Last week, the e-tailer broadened its Net Sustain platform – which spotlights ethical and environmentally conscious brands – to include 45 new names and encompass beauty for the first time. ‘If brands and retailers are working harder to give customers the option to buy and think more sustainably, ethically or charitably it will only impact positively.’
Harnessing this mood, new app Kindred has partnered with more than 40,000 charities and has ambitions of becoming the world’s largest aggregated donor to good causes through everyday purchases. ‘Kindred is a platform that connects its users with thousands of exclusive discounts from some of the world’s top brands, as well as supporting local independent businesses,’ explains founder Aaron Simpson. ‘Not only do community members gain access to discounts, but with each purchase Kindred donates a percentage of the sales to the user’s dedicated charity of choice. It’s become imperative that fashion move with the times. Consumers are a lot savvier in terms of who they spend their money with and are looking for brands and companies that have responsible initiatives in place to support their beliefs’.
So why now? In part it chimes with the kinder attitude of fashion right now. The industry is more inclusive than ever before and we’re thinking more about where our clothes came from and who made them. It’s not perfect by any means; but there is progress. If S/S ’20 is defined by one word, it is joy. No-holds barred optimism and unbridled creativity is the kick-back to a world gone mad. And that might be the crux of the appeal: these initiatives give you the chance to feel like you’re doing somethin. Money tgalks.
Furthermore, proof that you don’t have to choose between doing good and looking good, many of these charitable items also have ‘It’ status. Consider Balenciaga’s World Food Programme merch, which it debuted at the A/W ’18 menswear show. It harnesses the Demna Gvasalia haute-street aesthetic as well as appealing to our desire to shop consciously, a perfect zeitgeist-capturing storm. Indeed, the appeal for customers isn’t just about channelling our money into a positive place, but also visibly aligning ourselves with a cause we believe in. Being an activist is probably the coolest thing you can be right now. Wearing a charity T-shirt says something about who you are, your values and morals, in the same way wearing a political T-shirt or carrying a New Yorker tote bag does. In the age of woke, this is powerful cultural currency.
But is all this simply virtue signaling? Is it really about brand building; putting on a good face but making little real difference? Is it just a tax write-off? It’s easy to be cynical, but as Babin points out, there are tangible differences brands can make, and collaboration between private firms and the public is mandatory. ‘Society is too complex to expect all answers from the state,’ he says, citing global warming as an example where it’s unrealistic to expect governments to converge on a single programme.
‘If top retailers donated 1% of their profits to a charity, the impact would be astronomical,’ says Kindred founder Simpson. ‘Bulgari is a drop in the ocean, but imagine millions of Bulgaris collaborating on this kind of initiative, obviously we can have an impact,’ says Babin. ‘I very much believe in a collective sense of humankind and responsibility we have as companies.’ And add to that the responsibility r he aspve on assicb oil nits yum weers
– there’s power in numbers.