“The moment we are going through is turbulent, but it offers us the unique opportunity to fix what is wrong, to remove the superfluous, to find a more human dimension (...) This is perhaps the most important lesson of this crisis.” (Armani, 2020: on line)

Long before Covid-19, it was clear that the fashion industry had to change significantly to become sustainable: we know that we have only a decade left to prevent irreversible climate damage (UN, 2019: on line). Our soil, our waters and even our food chain have become contaminated with fashion waste and yet consumer culture proliferates (Brooks et al, 2017: on line; Burgess, 2019). Human rights abuses abound within the fashion industry, including modern day slavery, child labour, poor wages and unsafe working conditions - such as those that led to the death of 1,134 garment workers and the injury of thousands more, in the Rana Plaza collapse of 2013 (Niebank, 2018: on line; Niinimäki et al, 2020: on line). The fashion system is broken, in urgent need of rebuilding. The pandemic has provided space to step back and to reflect, to ask questions about the meaning, value and impact of fashion in a post-Covid world. 

The Earth’s resources are finite, and yet the myth of green growth pervades: we can continue to have it all, including sustainability! The term ‘sustainable’ means the ability to keep doing something at a certain level, which is at odds with a highly extractive and polluting fashion industry. ‘Sustainability’ has become just a buzzword: appropriated and systematically devalued by numerous fashion brands as they attempt to greenwash their activities. Indeed, some brands spend more money on telling us how sustainable they are than on actually becoming sustainable (Fletcher and Tham, 2020: on line). But what does sustainability in fashion really mean? And what is it that we want to sustain?

The fashion industry has continued to fiddle while the planet burns and has failed to address the fundamental issues of over-production and over-consumption, placing faith in the myth that technology alone provides a silver bullet solution to the challenges faced, so that it can continue to pursue growth (Brooks et al, 2017: on line; Indvik, 2020: on line). New materials, technologies and business models have emerged that begin to contribute to a more sustainable industry. Circular systems for fashion are part of the solution to keeping materials in use for longer and thus reducing waste, but they have so far - for the most part - been led by a desire to carry on with business as usual. Although the circular economy attempts to mirror nature’s own systems, at least 60% of the textiles used in fashion are derived from fossil fuel-based synthetic fibres (Biomimicry Institute, 2020: on line). Even when recycled, the toxic cocktail of ingredients that these contain is not designed to be kept close to the skin and is shed in microfibres during the washing cycle. Claims that these fibres are infinitely recyclable are misleading: most synthetic polymers will last for only 10 cycles and there is urgent need to move towards 100% biodegradable fibres, to design for decomposition (Biomimicry Institute, 2020: on line). A reduction of 75-95% of material resource use is needed, but this is self-evidently impossible in an industry that was forecast to grow 81% by 2030, at least prior to Covid-19 (Fletcher and Tham, 2020: on line; Global Fashion Agenda, 2019: on line). To achieve really significant change, we must flip the question: instead of “how can we make fashion more sustainable”, we must ask “how can fashion be responsible”?

In this context, it was particularly refreshing to hear Margherita Missoni, in a virtual interview with Sara Sozzani Maino in July 2020, within the cycle “Enhancing the Future” (Istituto Marangoni, 2020: on line), talk about how her grandfather, Ottavio Missoni, would cut large orders from his retailers in half. His rationale was simple: if they were to produce the whole order, then they would have to enlarge the business and that would be “a headache”, and they already earned as much as the whole family needed. This almost throwaway statement shows that Missoni had a very responsible and progressive approach to fashion business, in comparison with today’s practices, and one that we need urgently to cultivate. It indicates a strong sense of personal priorities, of work-life balance and of knowing when enough is enough. How many brands would be prepared to do this today? Why is growth considered the benchmark of success in our industry? When is enough, enough?

As Alessandro Michele, creative director of Gucci, wrote on Instagram “So much outrageous greed made us lose the harmony and the care, the connection and the belonging”. (Michele, 2020: on line)

And yet, the show goes on.

Technology and advanced analytics can support more sustainable, demand-driven models that pull products into the market, based on customer demand, rather than pushing them into a flooded marketplace (McKinsey, 2019: on line). The use of automated production or small, agile factories enable a fast response to data-driven orders, but is this enough to ensure sustainability? While so many new business models, new production strategies, new materials and new technologies continue to enter the fashion industry, none of these are sufficient without deceleration and degrowth. Degrowth requires an uncomfortable change of mindset amongst all stakeholders, but there is increasing recognition that we need to produce less, to produce slower and to produce better clothing that will last, that is untied from seasonal trend and more reflective of personal style (Edelkoort, 2020: on line; Armani, 2020: on line). This is a big ask for an industry that has worshipped at the altar of growth for so long; legislation, regulation and green taxation will be needed to ensure compliance and to make brands responsible for their impact. The term ‘sustainable’ may therefore better be replaced by ‘responsible’ – responsible fashion that includes accountability. As Eileen Fisher said “Going forward we need to find a way for all new businesses to have to be responsible for their environmental and social impacts” (Fisher, 2020: on line)

Radical transparency has become crucial to knowing the origins of what we grow, make, buy and wear more than ever before, to ensure best practice throughout the supply chain (Edelkoort, 2020: on line; Burgess, 2019). Technologies have emerged with the powerful potential to support transparency and sustainability, such as blockchain and AI. These technologies may be key to a more responsible fashion industry, particularly where supply chains are global, but by themselves are unable to bring about the fundamental disruption that is needed and are in danger of being used as tech-washing (CompTIA, 2020: on line). Science is needed to complement other transparency measures, for example Oritain works with Kering brands to provide independent, 3rd party, forensic verification of fibre content – even able to distinguish the farm of origin. Their random testing identifies illicit substitutions, adulteration and blending to provide an additional level of veracity to the information entered in blockchain. However, while transparency must be central to any future fashion industry, it cannot be considered an end goal: even the Fashion Revolution Transparency Index (Fashion Revolution Cic, 2020: on line) placed H&M in first place, suggesting that more than transparency is needed to ensure sustainability.

Covid-19 highlighted the benefits of shorter supply chains, showing that local production and nearshoring will be important to fashion’s future. As well as reducing carbon footprint, local sourcing and production support transparency and contribute to more diverse expressions of fashion. At a more extreme end of this movement is Fibershed, a model where local designers work closely with farmers, spinners, natural dyers, weavers/knitters and garment makers to produce clothing within a relatively small area (Burgess, 2019). This collaborative, holistic and relational approach to fibre, textile and garment production is both very ancient and very modern – and can be more widely translatable to contemporary fashion (Edelkoort, 2020: on line). Through using regenerative agricultural methods, it replenishes soil health, actually helping to revive the soil while developing clothing in a way that supports farmers and natural systems. An early adopter of this approach is Eileen Fisher, who is also an advocate for reduced consumption and production; Fisher’s clear Horizon 2030 plan aims not just to do less harm to the planet, but to leave places better than they find them and put measures in place that support the wellbeing of workers in the supply chain and their communities (Fisher, 2020b: on line). Local environmental, social and economic impact is more easily monitored and measured so, by moving towards decentralised and regional production, fashion can support sustainability more effectively (Biomimicry Institute, 2020: on line). In addition, the story telling about how fashion is made and who makes it – from soil to skin – is a potent communication of the values of a brand to consumers who are place increasing importance on these.

Smaller brands may have the autonomy to make decisions about their operations that larger brands don’t (Kibbe, 2015: on line; McRobbie et al, 2016: on line; Moulton et al, 2019: on line). A study for CREATe looked at micro-enterprises in the creative industries in Berlin, London and Milan: these small, diverse businesses were able to define themselves on their own terms and to operate sustainably. Many of the brands interviewed in the study expressed unhappiness with how the fashion industry works and were looking for new ways of doing things at a slower pace that challenged the status quo. Some incorporated aspects of social entrepreneurship in their business models to bring about positive social change (McRobbie et al, 2016: on line). There is a growing force of these small, independent, pro-actively positive brands around the world that are doing fashion very differently, offering diversity, authenticity, and that aim to work within planetary boundaries (Kibbe, 2015: on line).  A McKinsey report (2019: on line) discusses this promising phenomenon enthusiastically, but frames it as a starting point for growth – completely missing the imperative need for brands – as well as consumers – to know when enough is enough, in the way that Ottavio Missoni did.

There are signs of hope, as some leading brands – including Armani, Gucci and Vetements - reduce the number of collections produced annually, reduce their size, and begin a move towards seasonless offer. Indeed, Giorgio Armani spoke eloquently about the need for change in an open letter to WWD in April, 2020, where he described the acceleration of production cycles, increased volumes and frenetic fashion seasons as ‘criminal’ (Armani, 2020: on line). His letter is indicative of a growing consensus amongst designers that time is up for the fashion system as we know it, but it will be a new generation of young designers that offer alternative solutions for a better future.

Fashion education has an essential role to play in contributing to a more responsible fashion system, by making sure that students are well-informed about the social, environmental and economic issues relating to the industry, about new approaches and technologies that emerge, and are able to respond to these critically and creatively through their practice to devise solutions. There is a tension between imparting the professional competencies and knowledge needed to be industry-ready and the more critical, innovative, problem-solving skills needed to amend that industry’s trajectory. Students in fashion schools all over the world increasingly are taking an activist position through their work, using fashion as a platform to campaign for environmental, social, cultural, political and industry change. These are the industry professionals of the future and they will be the change they want to see.

A new generation of Istituto Marangoni London fashion design and fashion business students is emerging that are highly attuned to the issues outlined above, who are not wanting to be complicit in what they recognise as a problematic industry, but rather to foster positive change through new, personal and responsible approaches to fashion. Increasingly, these students are focused on setting up their own small fashion brands and social enterprises, where they can ensure that their values are reflected in every aspect of their business model, from fibre through to end product, communication strategies, sales and after-sale. They ask questions about why we keep some clothes forever and discard others - what are the factors that contribute to this attachment? How can they design clothes that people will want to keep wearing forever? How can fashion improve our sense of wellbeing and alleviate anxiety? What additional, beneficial factors can they add to the value chain?

An MA Fashion Design graduate, Karina Ayu Ghimas, focused on how to design for aesthetic, practical and emotional durability, developing a fashion collection as part of her postgraduate dissertation project that has become the foundation of her own small brand: KarinaAyu. These garments are made from natural, organic materials and are endlessly adaptable on the body to create multiple looks. Karina’s tenacious research and 3D experimentation enabled zero-waste techniques to be used effectively to create highly desirable, professional garments that were adaptable by their wearers.

Another graduate, Tamar Kikoria, used identity crisis as a lens through which to explore the perceived oppositions of slow fashion and hi-technology, using organic materials such as linen, hemp and silk combined with laser cutting and 3D printing processes in her dissertation collection. Some garments included detachable elements, such as sleeves, collars and yokes, to make them versatile, making it easy to launder separate elements and ultimately more sustainable.

Increasingly, students are preoccupied with improving the lives of wearers through fashion, using colour theory, art therapy and bold pattern to lift and enhance mood, to create a sense of wellbeing and balance in the wearer, or a focus on texture, surface and silhouette to improve calm. Many have a keen interest in natural dyes and traditional craft, which they seek to both modernise and preserve for future generations. These graduates’ approaches to fashion show their ability to challenge the incumbency thinking that perpetuates current systems with small, quietly disruptive approaches to fashion design and production that re-orientate us towards a more responsible future for fashion that understands when enough is enough.

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