Fashion week season has quickly returned with both hybrid and in-person events, with models, brands, designers and the media travelling in from all over the world.

Whilst it’s great to see a post-covid return to normality for fashion, there should also be consideration around the economic and environmental impacts of such large global get-togethers.

Although the format of fashion week was one of the biggest talking points of the season, leading consultant in high-end sustainable fashion and packaging supply chain, Robert Lockyer of Delta Global discusses whether fashion shows can ever be sustainable.

Robert said, “There is no definitive answer to this, however, brands should be considering how they can make as little an impact as possible on the environment during such extravagant events.

“Fashion week is a huge event in the calendar for the fashion industry, but pressures are growing and there’s a continuous call for us to respond in a much more urgent manner to the ongoing climate emergency.”

As a leading provider of innovative and sustainable luxury packaging solutions, Delta Global work with some of the industry's biggest names, such as HEAT, to change the way in which both businesses and consumers interact with premium products – and suggests that fashion week should take note.

Delta Global and HEAT worked together to create innovative, luxurious and eco-friendly packaging solutions using FSC accredited materials, and Robert is keen for luxury brands to continue with such a focus.

He said, “Sustainability is a key influence in the purchasing decisions of consumers, and as time goes on, will become even more of an influential factor.

“Therefore, sustainability should be taken into consideration by brands just as much as experience, innovation and luxury.”

This year’s fashion week season was different to previous years in various ways, with one of them being a primary focus on sustainable efforts.

Perhaps the least well-known, but by far the most sustainable, Copenhagen is the first to take centre stage and sets the tone for the entire season of fashion week, and this year was no different.

With each participating brand bound by Copenhagen’s Fashion Week’s very own Sustainability Action Plan, Robert encourages both brands and cities to follow suit.

He said, “Copenhagen is leading the way in more ways than one, and by banning single-use plastic in the form of hangers and garment bags, the sustainable city sets a precedent that I urge others to follow.

“Not only that but the city is committed to offsetting its own carbon emissions – something other brands must consider in order for fashion week to remain both relevant and a key, but also beneficial industry event.”

Fashion week is something that many luxury brands aspire to be a part of, but fast fashion brands have also taken it upon themselves to host their very own fashion shows.

Robert said, “The fashion shows and catwalks of leading fast fashion brands aren’t having quite the same impact as high-end brands and the infamous fashion week season.

“Burberry, on the other hand, is set to present its Autumn/Winter 2022 collection on a live runway, outside of the fashion week schedule, and is predicted to be nothing short of successful. Here at Delta Global, we applaud the brand’s independence.”

This does, however, also pose the question of why brands such as Burberry have chosen to opt-out of fashion week, and instead, host their very own live shows and what this means for the future of fashion week.

Sustainability should be the number one brand focus and therefore the implications of global fashion shows should be considered and how they can move forwards to suit the current climate.

With four pillars at Delta Global’s very core – luxury, sustainability, ecommerce, and innovation – Robert urges participating fashion brands to adopt and utilise the same approach in order to keep the season of fashion week alive and kicking.
https://deltaglobal.co/

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