From Island Tribe to Stella McCartney here are 4 ways designers and brands called on NY Fashion Week 2024 to be green.
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From larger-than-life structural jewelry to eyebrow-raising live campaigns, one thing was clear at NY Fashion Week 2024. “Go big or go home,” was the underlying theme that struck a chord with designers this season. Thankfully, a lot of that boldness came in the form of designers, activists, and even politicians speaking up shouting about the ways the fashion industry needs to be better.
Actors stood outside flagship boutiques championing animals rights. Congress took a strong stance against fast fashion consumption. And throughout the city, designers sent models stomping down in recycled, upcycled, and waste-free designs. While the campaigns and methods for sharing their viewpoints ranged from bold to boldest, many of the ideas were simple solutions activists have been speaking about for decades. Reduce consumption and waste. Treat animals better. Embrace slow fashion.
From ethical production to reducing consumption, here are several highlights from the NY Fashion Week 2024.
Wear Your Values
Re/make hosted a “Walk Your Values” fashion show dedicated to vintage, preloved, and thrifted fashion
Vintage fashion ruled the catwalk at Re/make’s “Walk Your Values” show. The event, sponsored by Remake, a coalition of climate activists, has been a disruptor in the fashion industry for years advocating for issues including workers’ rights, transparency, and responsibility for pollution. This year, Re/make celebrated fashion week with a volunteer-run fashion show showcasing only pre-loved, vintage, or upcycled clothing.
As an industry that produces millions of tons of waste every year, thrifting, consigning, and simply wearing what we already have in our closets is one way to combat waste and the negative consumption model imposed on us by fast fashion brands. Since 2020, clothing consumption has increased while the length of time we wear a garment has decreased. The “Walk Your Values” show aims to show how creativity and fashion aren’t only synonymous with new, but that there is beauty in expressing yourself in ways that reduce waste.
Remaking Fashion For Good
Angeline Hayling, Lindsay Christinee, Od Odero, Nolé Marin, Luis Eduardo Guarin at Island Tribe x Stivali New York NY Fashion Week: Changemakers Event
Can the fashion industry bridge together creativity and environmental and social values? At the Stivali NY showroom, several change makers and designers came together for an evening of discussions about the future of the fashion industry. The event, sponsored by Island Tribe and Stivali, two designers intent on using natural materials and avoiding plastic waste, lead guests in a discussion about the importance of conscious lifestyle choices and shopping your values.
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One of the topics discussed was how social media has led to the influence of wearing an outfit once and the waste it entails. Nolé Marin, a mainstay in the industry with decades of experience under his belt spoke about the need to move back to slow fashion. “Wear clothes not just for one night. Buy classic pieces you can wear again and again,” Nolé Marine stated.
Congress Says “Goodbye” To Fast Fashion
Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) announced the first-ever Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus to curb fast fashion pollution through climate-smart policies.
It’s no coincidence that on the same day, brands like Shein threw rooftop bashes to kick off NY Fashion Week 2024, several legislators and slow fashion advocates like Patagonia and Thred Up had their own bash on Capitol Hill. Except, while one was celebrating fast fashion, the other condemned fast fashion for cheap products, poverty wages, chemicals, and waste.”
“For too long, the so-called ‘fast fashion’ industry has been given free range to pollute our planet, exploit workers, and shortchange consumers.” Chellie Pingree said. She was joined by other members of Congress to form the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus- a caucus aimed at fighting climate change.
“Textile waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams in the United States and is responsible for more carbon emissions than all international flights and maritime shipping combined. The launch of our Slow Fashion Caucus marks a new era in the fight against climate change and sends a clear message that Congress will not stand by as the harmful fast fashion industry flies under the radar to destroy our planet,” Chellie stated.
“I’d Rather Go Naked” Campaign
British label, Stella McCartney teamed up with PETA outside of the brand’s Soho flagship to re-envisioned PETA’s “I’d Rather Go Naked” campaign.
Since the birth of her fashion brand in 2001, Stella McCartney has never used leather or fur and has pushed for the industry to be better regulated when it comes to its treatment of animals. So, it’s no surprise that one of fashion’s most famous vegans partnered with PETA during NY Fashion Week 2024. “I’m proud to partner with her and PETA to help move the industry toward a kinder future,” the designer said in a statement.
Rounding out the end of fashion week, around a dozen models, actors, and activists stood naked outside the brand’s Soho flagship store, save for well-placed signs with messages intended to influence consumers to stop purchasing leather. It marked the launch of Stella McCartney’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection and is a continuation of the designer’s legacy to be plant-based, kind, and better for the planet.