The fashion industry is full of amazing designs that inspire many others. Designs created to evoke thought or express a message are sent to the catwalk for others to critique or applaud. While the clothes are fantastic, some of them add to the ongoing problem of climate change. The fashion industry is one of the top five producers of carbon emissions each year. The United States annually disposes of about 11.3 million tons of textile waste. With that in mind, the 2022 New York Fashion Week (NYFW) designers have decided to try and make up for that significant number. During this year’s show, many designers created beautiful designs using recycled and dead-stock fabrics.
Gabriela Hearst used September 2022 New York Fashion Week as her stage to focus on those who are being overlooked. Her designs were carefully dyed using botanical dyes and animal-friendly faux fur. She used ecological and traceable materials. The traceability of it was facilitated with the EON partner, who offered a QR code that connected the audience with information on the visibility and life cycle of the textiles or materials used. She created a carbon-neutral show with designs printed and drawn on recycled paper from a Brooklyn recycling facility, scrap material, existing pieces of cashmere, and leftover Turkish rugs. Half of Hearst’s parade was made from dead stock. Her spring and summer 2020 show was the first carbon neutral show in NYFW history. The outfits and careful casting were inspired by the Greek poet Sappho, who she learned about after her daughter dressed as her for Halloween. The designer questioned whether she would have known about the poet if Sappho had been born a man. Thus this gender liberation collection was born, pitching environmental activists to former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards. Hearst calls her castles “Goddesses and warriors,” with some notable models, Xiye Bastida and Lauren Wasser. Gabriela Hearst teamed up with artist Ana Martínez Orizondo whose painting reflected the relationship between people and trees. She has also dressed some famous women political figures with Jill Biden on Inauguration Night and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
NYFW 2022 had many other notable debuts from eco-friendly and unique brands. A popular, eco-friendly and famous one is Selkie! Her dreamy fluffy dresses are considered a sustainable brand at NYFW 2022. Selkie was founded by British-American designer Kimberly Gordon, who was inspired by her childhood fairy tales. What makes this brand more sustainable than most is its small inventory. They do presales and do not mass produce their items. This makes it a less wasteful product; however, they could improve by not using polyester. Another original and ecological brand is Hillary Taymour’s Collina Strada. They make ready-to-wear clothing out of rose bushes and stems. The ones you get for Valentine’s Day, the fabric is called Rose Sylk. This fabric has the feel of silk or bamboo fabric and is biodegradable. This fiber is extracted from the stems and residues of rose bushes, and is spun by hand. They also use dead fabrics and reused cotton. They also use their platform to raise awareness about climate change and try to pave the way for green brands. Another brand that also uses reused fabrics and materials is Dauphinette. They use reused and vintage leather or fur to create more feminine pieces.
It is essential to maintain the Earth, so that we can continue to have many more centuries of fashion to appreciate. While the main focus of New York Fashion Week is clothing, we can applaud designers who can create art without destroying the environment at the same time. These designers were able to send beautiful and modern outfits with the health of the Earth in mind.
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Source: news.google.com