As Earths doomsday clock counts down, and the world recovers from Covid-19, the stage is set, and all eyes are on the fashion industry. Sustainability may have been blasphemous years ago, but with the rise in internet accountability, it seems to be the only gospel worth singing.
This is not your average DIY! For some present-day designers and labels, the newest quest has been to re-engage the dialogue of sustainability and produce the same quality and craftsmanship of garments with little to no global footprint. Not only have they achieved this previously seemingly impossible reality, but these individuals have set the precedence for what the future of fashion may look like.
Current Reality
Usually, when the conversation of sustainability reaches the realm of luxury labels, the typical response is a seemingly empty statement in the form of a press release or social media post - something along the lines of “we are taking steps being taken to improve waste management” or “our team is working towards utilizing more sustainable materials”, but rarely do we see these statements actioned out.
Luxurious Crafts
However discouraging this may be, there is a luxury label out of Paris that has decided to take up the charge and center one of its philosophies around repurposing excess material waste. Marine Serre established the Paris based label in 2017, following her wining the LVMH Young Designers award. The labels ethos is focused on colliding classic French couture shapes, sportwear fabric and aesthetics, and a strong sense of eco-futurism, as mentioned on the Marine websites mission statement. Few designers have continuously included upcycling as part of every collection quite like Marine. Beautifully crafted denim pieces made from recycled jeans of various washes, masterfully patched together in a small workshop in Portugal, are then scorched with the trademark Marine Serre monogram print. In the more recent FW20 collection the designer features another use of upcycling, this time utilizing a silk scarves, intricately draped and pieced together to create luxurious dresses. As a matter of fact, to this day, at least half of all the garments in each collection have and will continue to be constructed reusing materials from previous collections as well as upcycling discarded materials.
Local Legends
The illustrious world of high fashion is not the only place where new designers and innovators are choosing the high road when it comes down to sustainability. Closer to home, in Montreal, Quebec, a small label is making big waves in the fashion world with its complete dedication to all things eco. With a background in hat making, Issac Larosse made the switch to fashion with the help of his partner Florence Provencher Proulx, the designer, launching their brand, Eden Power Corp, in 2019. The label takes a unique approach in which every step of the design, manufacturing and distribution process has been considered to minimize its global footprint. In their more recent collection titled “MYCELIUM”, the couple focused on the use of certain fungus and mushrooms in the production of some its pieces and lifestyle items including a bucket hat made of amadou mushroom felt among others. To reconcile for waste and energy consumption in the production process, Issac and Florence have also added a feature to their website in which for every item purchased, they are committed to planting 20 new trees thus continuing the cycle and helping the future of the planet.
We may feel like impending doom is an inevitability these days, what with the flow of information on the internet and social media, but when it comes to fashion, there may still be hope. As these designers pave the way to salvation, others will follow into the greener pastures.
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