Gabriela Hearst, the Creative Director of Chloé, took an optimistic stance at Paris Fashion Week by encapsulating how the fashion industry can exist in harmony with the planet.
As humanity looks for ways to become less wasteful, the fashion industry has been placed directly under the microscope due to its vastly negative impact on the planet.
Fast-fashion brands now dominate the market, selling low-cost clothing sewn together out of synthetic materials. Most last just a few wears before ending up in landfill sites, leading many to believe fashion can never be Earth-friendly.
Addressing this environmental issue is at the forefront of the conversation amongst ecologists, couture designers, and fashion houses – and the new Creative Director of Chloé, Gabriela Hearst, is determined to solve it.
Drawing upon personal eco-knowledge and experience hosting the world’s first carbon neutral catwalk prior to joining the Parisian brand, Hearst designed Chloé’s 2022 Autumn/Winter collection with sustainability in mind.
Before starting the collection, Hearst spoke to conservationists about climate anxiety. She also asked for their views on how climate solutions might be incorporated into fashion concepts.
The outcome of this dialogue resulted in a line that is a far cry from the bodycon silhouettes and bright neon colours we’ve seen modeled on catwalks and donned by A-list celebrities lately.
Making references to the idea of ‘rewilding the planet,’ Chloé’s projection for our end of year trends is one that sees us ‘living the solution’ to climate change, by using the clothes we wear every day to evoke a sense of closeness with natural landscapes.
Believing that the fashion sector has become far too industrialized, Hearst wants to bring the human element of design back to center stage. She aims to do this by championing hand-crafted pieces, which have far more positive environmental and social impacts than factory made garments.
Chloé’s new collection consists of hand painted bags, hand-woven knits, patterned blankets, and quilts that display hues and imagery found in nature. The intention is to utilise fashion as a tool to remind us of our human relationship with the planet.
A jumper from the collection depicts a deserted, arid landscape at first view, but its back shows a field dotted with vivid red flowers. Another has fire-burnt trees and asteroids on the back, with bright green grass and a clear blue sky on its front.
Recognising this sharp contrast doesn’t require an eco-aware eye, and anyone would be moved by the depictions of what our world could become if we don’t make serious changes to the status quo of production and design.
One of Gabriela Hearst’s first moves as Creative Director was to eliminate materials from the brand’s supply chain that were unnecessarily destructive to the planet, such as galvanized metals and semi-synthetic viscose.
She also halted the production of cotton T-shirts at Chloé, a garment which appears as a staple in almost every fashion houses’ collections, despite their huge environmental impact of 2,500 litres of water required for a single shirt.
The pieces worn on Chloé’s catwalk in Paris used materials sourced from deadstock, otherwise known as leftover fabric from the fashion industry.
Looking to the future, the brand vision is hoping to continue this trend by setting a goal of using 90 percent low-impact materials and 30 percent fair-trade fabrics by 2025.
Gabriela Hearst is proof that those in charge of creating the vision for fashion brands and leading the direction of companies (regardless of the industry) should be well-versed and personally concerned about the wellbeing of our planet.
And after looking at Chloé’s latest collection, it’s clear that we can have beautiful designs, concepts, and products which also foster a positive relationship between people and with the planet.
I’m Jessica (She/Her). Originally from Bermuda, I moved to London to get a Master’s degree in Media & Communications and now write for Thred to spread the word about positive social change, specifically ocean health and marine conservation. You can also find me dipping my toes into other subjects like pop culture, health, wellness, style, and beauty. Follow me on Twitter, LinkedIn and drop me some ideas/feedback via email.
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