For many people, the concepts of Haute Couture and recycling were like water and oil, immiscible, but thanks to Paris Fashion Week Fall-Winter 2021/2022 we have seen that it is possible.
The impact of fast fashion and the mass production of ‘disposable garments’ causes a large amount of garments to accumulate every year. According to Azucena Perez, head of the Management and Marketing academy at the Universidad Panamericana, “fast fashion has accelerated the consumption and disposal of clothing, so it also intensifies the use of natural resources (such as water or cotton)”.
An increasing number of slow fashion designers are joining the sustainable side of fashion, including the world of Haute Couture.
We define recycling as ‘the collection and transformation of materials into new products that would otherwise be discarded as waste’.
Schiaparelli: MATADOR COUTURE
In this collection, we find that Daniel Roseberry, Schiaparelli’s creative director, uses recycled materials for his Haute Couture collection.
Schiaparelli had already used sustainable materials in its collections previously; Elsa was a pioneer in introducing materials such as lastex, jeresca orsacloc in her collections.
Ronald van der Kemp: THE MIND VACCINE
For this collection, Ronald van der Kemp, in his eponymous house of couture and demi-couture did not buy materials, he used what he already had in his workshop.
Jacket made from recycled jeans together with Amsterdam Jean’s School staff.
Ronald van der Kemp introduced the concept of recycling in his garments some time ago; with the title of this collection ‘the mind vaccine‘, where his mission is to highlight that ethical fashion can also be haute couture. With more than 25 years of experience in the fashion world, the designer supports responsible consumption and avoids waste within the system at all costs.
HAUTE COUTURE AND RECYCLING IN MEN’S WEAR: BASSCOUTUR
On the other hand, in Men’s Wear, Riad Trabelsi, designer of BassCoutur, in his collection for autumn-winter 2021/2022 we can appreciate recycling in its purest form, for example, scarves that become T-shirts.
Fall-Winter 2021/2022
Trabelsi has been promoting recycling in its collections for years, giving life to existing fabrics. His collections are designed according to the material he has available.
Many Haute Couture designers opt for timeless garments that can be used more frequently over time, given the quality they possess.
From The Green Side of Pink, we encourage you to invest in durable garments, repair and recycle them to extend their use, as Orsola de Castro said in her book Loved Clothes Last, ‘there is nothing more sustainable than not consuming‘.
