Mood board: In November 2017, sustainability crusader Stella McCartney and Ellen MacArthur Foundation launched the Circular Fibres Initiative, which included a report encouraging the luxury industry to adopt a reusable circular economy. The circle formed a motif in the designer’s S/S 2020 collection – the first with LVMH – encompassed in delicate cape detail shirts with petal shape edging, balloon sleeve dresses and sporty cut-outs on striped knitwear. Here the masculine and feminine was juxtaposed, with relaxed suiting (a nod to McCartney’s Savile Row training), presented against robe tie coats, lace slips and asymmetric dresses in wildflower photographic prints. Greenwashing is an industry issue, with brands using gimmicks or single collections to push their apparently environmentally-aware message, instead of confronting the many manufacturing stages in their supply chain. Not so for Stella. This was the brand’s most sustainable collection yet featuring recycled polyester, organic cotton, sustainable viscose, Econyl, hemp, bio acetate and sustainable raffia.
Finishing touches: McCartney is a long time pioneer of creating accessories from eco fabrics, from her long time use of vegan leather to the prototype the brand made of its Falabella bag using Bolt Threads’ Mylo™, a material made from mushroom mycelium. For spring, its half circular logo bag was wrapped by hand around a metal frame, using Eco Alter Nappa.
Team work: The night before McCartney’s show on the marble steps of her brand’s Opera Garnier location, the designer held a round table focused on sustainability, with speakers including author Dana Thomas, Claire Bergkamp, the brand’s sustainability director and David Breslauer, the founder of Bolt Threads. With deepening conversation and innovation, not just the brand, but the industry as a whole can take steps towards a more sustainable future.
