Sustainability in September’s high fashion shows are a trending topic. This year’s Paris Fashion Week was held from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1, and climate crisis resolutions were walking down the runway. 

Paris Fashion Week coincided with the United Nations Secretary-General’s first Climate Action Summit in New York. Without a doubt, people were waiting to see evidence of brands supporting newly developed sustainability operations among the elaborate Spring/Summer 2020 collections presented in France’s capital. 

The topic of climate change has been bubbling even more after the viral speech made by teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg. Over the past several years, she has successfully gathered a massive audience for a global school strike for the awareness of climate change. The audience included fashion’s future customers, who are now seeking to purchase only from environmentally friendly companies. 

There has been growing support for more sustainable fashion companies such as Patagonia. Hanna Jacobson ‘20, Spanish Studies major and minor in Foreign Affairs, said, “I think there is a huge support for Patagonia, not only because their clothes are ideal for college students with their comfort and style, but I also think that students today value things that Patagonia values. Their interest in supporting the environment is clear, and students are really interested in that as well.”

The topic was brewing earlier this year at the 45th annual G7 summit in the French resort town of Biarritz. At this year’s G7 summit, “The Fashion Pact” presented a new climate commitment. The pact includes around 32 companies representing about 150 brands and making up nearly 30% of the industry, all of which have vowed to take initiatives in reducing fashion’s impact on climate, biodiversity and the oceans, according to a Sept. 2019 article in online publication The Business and Fashion.

Gucci owner and Kering Chief Executive François-Henri Pinault, orchestrated a team of famous signatories ranging from Chanel, Hermès, Versace-owner Capri Holdings, Calvin Kelin-owner PVH, Adidas, Nike, Inditex, H&M and Nordstrom, according to the online publication The Business of Fashion. Signing this commitment has further prompted an international conversation regarding sustainable future in the fashion industry, says Pinault according to The Business of Fashion. 

Many companies appear determined to reduce the industry’s emissions by 30 percent over the next decade as part of a collaboration with UN charter for climate action with fashion, according The Business of Fashion. Part of the collaboration involves a commitment from companies to investigate supply chain operations and diminish the toxic waste created from products that shed microplastics, which eventually flow into the ocean and deteriorate ecological systems. 

Sustainable brands are focusing on purchasing less at a time when consumers demand more. Of course, some are reluctant to participate in this pact. This includes big-time luxury name LVMH, a merger of Moët Hennessy with Louis Vuitton, which is noticeably absent from the pact and claims it is simply a “textile pact” and not about sustainable approaches, according to The Business of Fashion.

As for the Paris catwalk show, the Italian artistic director of Dior, Maria Grazia Ghiui, was committed to creating catwalks that gave Dior an “inclusive garden” atmosphere according to The Business of Fashion. Chiuri drew inspiration from her love for gardening and the work of the botanical activists. Trees were placed all around the catwalk not only as decorative props but to also portray an activist message the “world is a garden and we are its gardeners,” said Chiuri, according to The Business of Fashion. 

As for the flowers used in the Dior garden collection, lillies and wildflowers were either printed or embroidered on jackets that also occasionally included tafts and falling raffia. More flowers embellished the clothing as natural sun rays beamed on the models. According to The Business of Fashion and Vogue Daily, Stephen Jones, a leading British milliner, revealed a twist on Dior’s gardening hat through the design of ragged-broad brimmed straw hats. Overall, according to the online publication Elle, there was a “boho chic” flair throughout this catwalk that captured the true beauty of nature. 

Chiuri’s catwalk exuded a ‘60s era peace aura through the flowing dresses made of multi-colored silk. According to Vogue, the catwalk also featured a background of botanical plants, according to the online publication Elle, the vibrant message of nature in Dior’s collection displayed the evolving sustainability movement in today’s fashion industry.