Vogue Italia’s New Take

BY GIULIA MARIA BARETTA

In the past few years fast fashion retailers have faced critics and changed their production drastically to reduce environmental pollution. Brands such as H&M and Zara now include garments made with recycled plastic and fabric. Despite retailers changing their way of manufacturing, fashion will never be environmentally sustainable. Excluding the hypothesis of creating decomposable apparel, the mentality behind this industry is the real issue. Desiring something new makes you part of the endless circle created by our consumeristic society. You don’t need a new jacket, you just want it.

Extinction Rebellion, an international movement that protests and disobeys without the use of violence, was highly criticized by the press due to their manifestation during Aesthetica on London Fashion Week, a trade show where new talents had the opportunity to show their sustainable collections. As stated by Clare Farrell, one of the leaders of the movement:

“At this time, we cannot focus on transforming how the supply chain impacts the environment, instead stop creating waste at all”. The tombstone of the fashion industry is its font of sustainability, selling newness. Designers don’t survive creating art, but rather by selling it. Luxury brands are trying to create new fibres to produce sustainable clothing but is it really going to reduce the level of pollution we are in today? Certainly not. Those practices should have been done 10 years ago when the situation was still critical, now we are facing a global emergency as described by Naomi Klein in her book “On Fire: The burning case for a green new deal”. “Sustainability has become a greenwash embellishment for marketing strategies. The real problem is the idea that we always need to have something new, the idea of endlessly buying new items to replace our old ones.”

It is understandably hard for the fashion industry to find a solution to this issue due to the nature of the business, but this critical situation shouldn’t put a stone in the creation of art, there are endless alternatives for young designers. Companies should use old garments to create new styles and incentivise exchanges and rental platforms where customers can borrow from one another, because clothing is not valued anymore as necessity but as disposable items. H&M and Zara were put on the gallows for their unsustainable supply chain, but whose fault is that? No one is really addressing the issue of the real fire feeders: luxury brands! Common people are not able to purchase $500 dollar eco-friendly Stella McCartney shoes as they please, so they need to find a more affordable solution in fast fashion stores. This cycle will never end if Luxury Houses don’t change their consumeristic approach towards trends. Surprisingly, one of the industry big players decided to practice real change. As stated by Emanuele Farneti in the “Inside Vogue Italia” podcast:

“It takes an average of 150 people involved, 20 flights and a dozen of train journeys, 40 cars on standby, 60 international deliveries, light switch on for at list 10 hours nonstop, food waste from catering services, plastic to wrap garments, electricity to recharge phones and cameras” all to make a Vogue Cover.

The magazine decided to be open about the correlation between fashion publications and pollution, printing an unconventional issue without any photographed cover. It was in fact drawn by a young artist portraying models wearing the clothing chosen for promotion. Since the introduction of photography, no Vogue has been issued without a proper photoshoot. The magazine also focused on advertising second hand and vintage clothing instead of newness, showing how the beauty industry can be reusable too. A milestone for the publication industry is usually marketing the latest trends and unmissable pieces.

This is the change the industry needs. A radical one, where transparency and innovation are the core of the industry because inspiring is not only giving creative incentives, it’s challenging people’s mentality and showing the vulnerable part of it. Change is difficult but we live here, this is our planet, this is our future we are talking about, the time for prayers has run out. The time to act is now. ■

“At this time, we cannot focus on transforming how the supply chain impacts the environment, instead stop creating waste at all.”

Clare Farrell, Co-Founder, The Extinction Rebellion

PHOTO COURTESY VOGUE ITALIA