Inside luxury fashion’s sustainability evolution: Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Dior are offering eco-friendly designs, with celebrities from Billie Eilish to Emma Stone voicing their support
- Stars at the Met Gala 2022, such as singer Camila Cabello, donned upcycled looks, while Billie Eilish chose recycled nubuck for her Nike Air Force 1 Billie shoes
- Valentino, Givenchy and Fendi are on track to promoting eco-friendly designs, while Farfetch has noticed a rise in consumer demand for ‘conscious’ products – especially among millennials
Cabello is just one of a growing number of fashionistas around the globe fronting an Earth-forward movement that glamorises upcycled and recycled couture. It’s a trend also increasingly backed by luxury brands, looking to woo conscious shoppers with more eco-friendly, circular-fashion designs.
“The Gilded Age was a time of industrialisation, economic growth and cultural values of materialism,” said Cabello in an Instagram post. “In a time where people were wearing the most expensive gold and jewellery and fabrics, I wanted to capture the irony of that in 2022 as we’re facing the climate crisis. I wanted to do something that was sustainable and upcycled and covered with flowers because I feel like we’re remembering now that the most valuable things are the finite resources in a natural world.”
Another young headliner at the Met Gala was seven-time Grammy award winner Billie Eilish, who chose a cream and mint Gucci gown made of reused fabrics. The deep square neck corset was embellished with a giant mauve flower, oozing old-world glamour while advancing a modern day conviction about upcycling.
Eilish has often walked the talk on environmentalism. For her Nike Air Force 1 Billie shoes, the young artist chose a synthetic nubuck, which uses 80 per cent recycled materials. Eilish is also the youngest person ever to receive PETA’s Person of the Year honour for her many pro-vegan initiatives.