Featuring the works of popular global designers such as Fendi, Armani, and Moschino, Milan fashion week has become an opportunity for creatives to showcase their legacy on the runway.
Kickstarted by London Fashion Week Men’s in January (read more here), the 15th event in this series of runway collaborations aims to showcase significantly more eco-friendly, duller-toned and durable daily fashion.
Following the Greenpeace protests on fashion week in 2013/4, the production of raw materials in the industry are more subject to scrutiny from designers, retailers and consumers. Fur production has often been the main root of international Greenpeace and environmental ethics protests. Current mainstream fashion brands, and some fast fashion companies have been encouraged to use more eco-friendly methods of mass production, by maintaining cleaner factories, efficient waste disposal and recycling more materials. Unlike smaller labels, multinational couture is subject to much more scrutiny from its clients, critics and consumers.
“Places like Primark, H&M and New Look, they just churn out so much. Shit. They churn out so much bad stuff. The only fast fashion place I probably shop at is TK Maxx because its all the brands in one store.”
In 2013, Italy’s National Fashion Chamber addressed the issue, giving a statement that the industry hopes to “Create an open dialogue with Greenpeace, aimed at an enduring, shared commitment for the sustainability of the planet.” Having been made accountable on numerous past occasions for the way clothing is manufactured, the fashion hub has aimed to reduce its carbon footprint.
“Obviously fast fashion is super bad for the environment, but it is easily accessible to people and families who don’t have that much money. And at the same time, you still have charity shops, and places which you can go to and buy clothes for so cheap. I think recycling fast fashion at this stage is really important to our generation. Donations would be better – It really depends on your brand.”
The environmental organisation also provided a dossier addressing the major issues of climate change in 2018’s Destination Zero Report & Annexes, both of which are free to access.
“You hear about how they dye the clothes and get rid of the excess in nearby rivers, killing all the fish. And the locals don’t have anything to eat. It affects everyone and then you get like, high fashion brands just burning clothes if they don’t sell. I know it’s like the second biggest polluter in the world, like after fracking or something. It’s so bad.”
Raw materials and fabrics currently being used by multinational-corporations have a much higher sustainability rate compared to past runway releases. Older production techniques usually failed to meet Greenpeace’s environmental requisites. As a result, mass produced raw materials and modern fashion are much more economical, less wasteful and hold much less of a harsh impact on the earth.
Mass production has globalised the economy but created an industry which is one of the largest contributors to environmental problems we face today. The carbon footprint of the fashion industry has allegedly been a factor in over 10% of global carbon emissions. Although the industry seems to be growing closer to a more organic, sustainable approach to production, emissions continue to rise as clothes are mis-manufactured. Burning exclusive lines and rare pieces has become a huge issue for major fashion brands.
“Burberry didn’t want to reduce their clothes production, because it means Burberry is less desirable than it used to be. I remember, they took all the clothes that would’ve been on sale, probably hundreds of thousands and I don’t know much money, but they just burnt all of the clothes. They didn’t want them going into the hands of the wrong people. If they repurposed them, that would be a cool idea actually.”
Burberry were found guilty of mishandling around $36.5 million worth of clothing instead of safely recycling, destroying or selling the goods. Companies such as Nike and Louis Vuitton have also been found guilty of destroying merchandise in the past, simply to maintain exclusivity and preserve the rarity of the brands image.
“Definitely the high fashion ones. Louis Vuitton is one I watched at the beginning of this year. Theres not much on sustainability but I know its the kind of brand that’s all going to sell. Its not going to be on sale or anything. There’s other really high fashion brands like Prada as well, but smaller brands like Rayburn which I always keep an eye on. Their stuff is all 100% sustainable, and they do a lot of collaborative work with Timbaland and Oakley. They’ve got a pop-up in London, so I know that they do have a store in Shoreditch, where you would expect. Its not really wanky, and they usually repurpose everything.”
“Fast fashion is just rubbish because everything gets chucked out.”
For more mainstream brands, and less runway fashion, avid consumers often seek out bargains for the same looks at a much more affordable price. Locations such as Shoreditch and Brick lane are well known for their repurposed, vintage markets. Kilo sales give consumers a chance to find limited edition, rarer pieces but usually only one of a kind, or lesser known local brands.
“Charity shops – that’s the only way.”
“I’d never go anywhere else. It’s more like a hunt. If I really did want something that’s fast fashion and basic I could just go online and buy something really quick. I like trying TK Maxx but that’s about it.”
“Also, depop.com, ebay.com, and asosmarketplace.com, have really nice stuff. It’s so much easier to buy, and that is where I pretty much get all of my high fashion stuff. I don’t really go full price in-store, because I don’t like getting looked at like that.”
“I think its getting more accessible, because it used to be be very judgemental if you didn’t ‘look the part’ when going into stores, like if you wanted to buy Nike, you’d have to go into the shop. Even when I go into street markets these days, dressed like a skater, I do have the money to buy something and if I really want it, ill get it. When you first go in, they look at you as if you’re going to steal something. You have to kind of work up the levels to the more expensive stuff. I sometimes just buy something to have a Selfridges bag before I walk into Balenciaga so they don’t judge me. And they’ll be fine, I won’t look like a thief and I’ll have brushed my hair that day as well or something. But then I’d leave and not buy anything.”
Brexit has also played a vast role in the growing concern that the United Kingdom leaving the European Union will have a detrimental impact on fashion in Britain. The uncertainty surrounding the United Kingdom’s export and import industry, especially in the creative sector, has raised numerous questions on the future of runway fashion in Europe.
“Does anyone really manufacture their clothes in Britain anymore?”
“Manufacturing will probably be based more in Europe rather than the United Kingdom, but Brexit is going to make things so much more expensive for manufacturing.”
European industry is likely to face adversity when it comes to manufacturing British labels. Designers are also ad a disadvantage as the restrictions placed on the industry will limit the creative flow from Britain into major European fashion hubs. Honestly, not many people are sure of how Brexit might impact the future of fashion.
“You can’t get away with child labour, not in other countries and I’m sure you can’t in Europe.”
“I’ve had a lot of internships being cut, especially in my year, because of Brexit. I really don’t know about Brexit and the fashion industry.”
“I can appreciate the women’s lines but menswear is ready to wear. Women’s runway fashion lines are more couture, even though a lot of the stuff is unisex. When they send out their samples, and you see celebrities wearing it, there’ll be Bella Hadid in a mens blazer.”
Recycling, raw materials and the earth hold a huge influence on this years runway lines but don’t seem to have had as much of influence over the fast fashion industry. From certain viewpoints, fast fashion has boosted the popularity of high fashion, giving the average consumer more access to different styles, and also by mirroring a lot of what we see on the runway. However, these brands are much less likely to be condemned for their methods of production. Brands on the runway have been scrutinised for their use of improper materials, and have slowly eased out of their old practices after their condemnation by environmental organisations such as Greenpeace. A growing number of consumers are contributing to the eco-friendly practices of fashion week, and larger brands.
MFW 20 YouTube Playlist