Burberry is an iconic clothing brand created by Thomas Burberry in 1835. He created timeless pieces that have been showcased on celebrities from Audrey Hepburn in 1961 classic ‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s’ to Kate Moss’ Met Gala 2022 look. Throughout the years Burberry has released many variations of it’s classic 1914 nude trench coat that was originally designed for soldiers in World War 1 to make it appeal to consumers. It’s success has allowed the brand to change with time yet remain true to it’s British roots. Burberry has remained my favourite brand ever since i was a child; walking around the cold streets of London, seeing classy women wrapped up in their nude trench coats to the huge flagship store dominating Regent’s Street. Growing up in Britain, Burberry was a huge part of our culture; the classic ‘Haymarket check’ scarf reminds us of the frosty winter mornings and grey skies. Growing up and having a clearer, more educated view on the relationship between fashion and the environment, Burberry has remained my favourite brand by aligning with my values on sustainability. They have proven to have rapidly reduced their emissions and waste over the past 5 years and aim to be 100% climate positive by 2040. With the combination of iconic 90’s supermodels and todays most influential fashion figures such as Bella Hadid and Kendall Jenner still styling Burberry’s pieces, Burberry has kept it’s name as one of the most iconic and timeless designer brands in history.
The New-York based fashion designer Alexander Wang started his own label in 2005. His predominately black palette and urban streetwear style designs create a unisex figure to his pieces of fashion allowing his beliefs of “anyone can look glamorous”, this is portrayed in his runways and photo shoots by creating a simplistic, clean, and Wang uses a mixture of male and female models to portray a more inclusive image of his designs.
In Wang’s early career after the launch of his label, he debuted a women’s ready-to-wear collection on the New York catwalk in 2007. In 2008, he then went on to win the CDFA/Vogue fashion fund, where he was awarded $20,000 to expand his business, later that year he launched his first handbag collection. In 2009, Wang moved away from his predominantly black designs and used a range of bright colours such as orange, purple, aqua, and hot pink, however following this he moved back to his usual black fabrics for his designs. On February 17th, 2011, Wang’s first flagship store opened in SoHo, Lower Manhattan.
Balenciaga ~ In 2012, Alexander Wang was named creative director at Balenciaga, as creative director, Wang had the responsibility of managing the men’s and women’s ready-to-wear collection and accessories lines. Wang left Balenciaga in 2015, after designing a collection for Swedish retailer H&M in 2014.
1. In the context of global economic integration, economic development has always been the premise of the development of social science and technology and industrial in the whole society. However, the rapid development has caused a series of potential problems. In order to avoid these potential problems affecting the economic development, people must take corresponding economic measures to promote the development of society. Therefore, the emergence of circular economy can be said to ensure the overall trend of economic development to a certain extent. Circularity transforms our throw-away economy into one that eliminates waste, circulate resources, and adopt nature-positive, low carbon, resource-efficient systems and actions (Wrap, no date). This allows us to use resources over the long term and reduce damage to the environment.
2. People, profit, and planet are all interlocked in this pursuit for sustainability, especially in fashion. Sustainable fashion is important to creating a better future and a better fashion industry. A sustainable fashion brand will pay and treat workers fairly, it will offer transparency about their practices and supply chains (Immago, 2020). It won’t produce in excess or push overconsumption to drive sales. Sustainable fashion designers will be designing with circularity and regeneration in mind.
3. Gender equality in the fashion industry is not yet as it should be. On the consumer side, the fashion industry targets women more than it does men, but when you get to the top levels — think creative directors and C-suite executives — men far outnumber women (fashionista, 2018). Gender inequalities impact all aspects of the fashion industry; from violations in garment workers’ rights, to the lack of career progression opportunities in the industry, to the shockingly low percentage of women in leadership positions (currently 25% of leadership roles in top fashion companies are held by women, while they make up 70% of the total workforce). It is estimated that the garment industry employs more than 60 million workers worldwide. Most of them are women, who are often scrutinized for labor exploitation and sexual harassment (trtworld, 2021).
Marshall. (2020). What is sustainable fashion and why should we care. Immago. Available from https://immago.com/sustainable-fashion/[Accessed 8th October 8, 2022].
In fact, my taste and preference have been changing all the time. It is hard to name my “favorite” brand, but Ralph Lauren is the brand that I am most impressed with recently.
One month ago, I happened to see the fashion show of Ralph Lauren FW22. At that moment, I felt an impact of grace and strength, a kind of “androgynous” beauty. I still remember the emotion of that moment until today.
Ralph Lauren is a fashion brand from the United States with many branches. I appreciate its breath of the American dream as well as its timelessness.
As Ralph Lauren himself said, “I don’t design clothes, I design dreams.”, whenever I see pieces from Ralph Lauren, I often think of the “Great Gatsby”, the green light and the toast. Ralph Lauren is full of passion and yearning for the American dream. But returning to the fashion items themselves, they reveal a very special and low-key sense of upper class society. This contrast also reveals the unique charm of Ralph Lauren. As the core element of Ralph Lauren, “American dream” makes it different from other brands.
At the same time, Ralph Lauren is always fashionable and timeless. Not only because of its consistent design style, but also because the American dream never ends. Most people always dream of such success, luxury and achievement, and Ralph Lauren is the symbol of such glory. As Coco Chanel said, “La mode se d é mode, le style jamais.”, Ralph Lauren is such a classic existence with strong style and emotion.
ESSENTIEL Antwerp is a Belgian fashion brand, founded by Esfan Eghtessadi and Inge Onsea, creating the brand with the goal that the brand would be filled with love, fun and colourful surprises. Translating their brand with rich fabrics, graphic prints, bright colours, glitter and sequins.
This became a great success, being famously iconic for their vibrant colours, bold patterns and contrasting styles all over the world, mainly in Europe. The brand stands out in every one of their stores, illuminating the streets with colour. There is no other brand like it. The brand allows people to get out of their comfort zone, to stand out and to never be afraid to mix and match. Bringing confidence, beauty and uniqueness with a luxurious touch.
From basics to sportswear to fancy dress. You can wear it anytime, anywhere. To the beach, to the gym, to the red carpet or to work.
“Towards a more sustainable Essentiel Antwerp” – The founders of the company have acknowledged and both published a personal statement on their views of the fashion world and sustainability, and what they are working on as a founder as well as a company together.
“Since 2019, we have been listening to experts and examining our own sustainable entrepreneurship process. As an international player with a sense of social responsibility, we have been guided in particular by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs.” Which helped them determine their strategic priorities, which are: To aim to contribute to a more responsible supply chain, to use products with less impact, and to reduce their ecological footprint. They have since introduced significant sustainable concepts such as, ‘The rental revolution’ and ‘Re-ssentiel’, which gives you the chance to rent their pieces or buy/sell their pieces second hand directly on their site.
The brand is very up to date, making sure they are constantly adapting to the modern environment and the fast paced changing media. The CEO makes sure she surrounds herself with the younger generation, working closely with them in her office and constantly learning new things from them. Her character and personality reflecting through each piece and throughout the whole brand, and the balance of luxury, cool and casual is like no other with Essentiel Antwerp.
ESSENTIEL ANTWERP (2020) About us. Available at: https://www.essentiel-antwerp.com/be_en/about-us/history/.
Rowing Blazers is an American fashion brand and a design lab for the classics, founded by Jack Carlson, a three-time United States national rowing team member.
They are most notably known for their blazers, rugby shirts, and other apparel, as well as their “preppy” style, collaborations, and limited-edition capsules. Most notably, the brand integrates an eclectic mix of influences, such as sport, nostalgia, the ’80s and ’90s cultural trends, Oxbridge style, and streetwear. All of which stem from Carlson’s interests.
As a fashion brand, they are committed to generating products that can last a lifetime. At Rowing Blazers, they work to upcycle waste materials: their end-of-the-day rugby shirts, their face masks, and their patchwork tweed are all made from upcycled scraps of fabric that would typically be considered waste.
Even as a small, young, New York-based brand, they are also a diverse, global community. They are known for their collaborations with like-minded brands, big and small, but they also serve as a platform for causes and movements in which they believe, regularly donating to a wide range of charitable organisations, including their principal charitable partner, Row New York.
Rowing Blazers is my favourite fashion brand as they show dedication to authenticity and quality, as well as inclusivity, sustainability, and fun.
A favourite fashion brand of mine is Chanel. A lover of the arts, the founder Gabrielle Chanel was ahead of her time and is often seen as one of the most successful and influential fashion designers of the 20th century. She built her reputation from a hat boutique under the name “Chanel Modes” where the hats were worn by well-known actresses from that time. From then on, she has had a powerful impact on women’s clothing from the opening of her first Chanel boutique in 1912. She started a sportwear line made of jersey, which was a material typically used to make men’s underwear, and this changed women’s relationships with their bodies and it revolutionised fashion. She is an inspiration for all women and has had an influential impact on woman’s fashion today as she believed that menswear was more comfortable than women’s fashion at the time and as a result, she drove women’s fashion away from the big dresses and corsets and incorporated masculine fashion features to her garments.
My favourite design from the brand is the iconic two-piece suit. Introduced in 1925 by Chanel at a small show in her salon, the suit became known for the mixing of traditional ideas of masculinity and femininity. The reason why I love the two-piece suit is because it makes me as a woman more comfortable with wearing more masculine pieces of clothing such as blazers. Often, women may feel that blazers look too boxy or don’t fit right on them due to the shape. However, by giving them a more feminine look, I find that the Chanel suits suit different women of all sizes. Another reason why it is one of my all-time favourite garments is because of how sophisticated and coordinated the set looks when worn. The way that the colours match and the overall silhouette cannot be easily replicated and I think that this is one of the reasons to why it is so popular.
Alexander McQueen is a British luxury fashion house founded by designer Alexander McQueen in 1992. The original creative director Alexander McQueen was one of the most celebrated fashion designers of his generation, known for his highly original designs that married artistry with exceptional technical ability.
McQueen’s work was admired for its highly original blend of subversion and tradition, evident from the outset in his ‘Bumster’ trousers, sharp frock coats, corroded fabrics, slashed leather and shredded, flesh-revealing lace. Meanwhile, McQueen’s Savile Row training would inform his career: “Everything I do is based on tailoring”, he said. This background in precision tailoring, combined with the more improvised dressmaking and draping techniques he learned in the atelier (the highly skilled workshops of couture houses) at Givenchy – paved the way for his innovative experiments with cutting and construction.
The exploration of polarities – man versus machine, or nature versus technology – was a recurring theme in his work. His collections often featured fashions that took their forms and raw materials from the natural world, such as the Mussel Shell Bodice from VOSS (Spring/Summer 2001), or the Bird’s Nest headdress developed by Mcqueen’s longstanding collaborators Philip Treacy and Shaun Leane for The Widows of Culloden collection (Autumn/Winter 2006)(V&A, No Date).
As part of the Kering Group, Alexander McQueen reduces its environmental impacts and advocates for social welfare through unprecedented innovation and industry collaboration (Panaprium, 2022). In addition to moving forward in sourcing sustainable materials, energy efficiency in operations, and supplier engagement, Alexander McQueen has pioneered the use of an innovative forensic technology with traceability expert Oritain in a pilot project to verify the provenance of leather and to trace the leather through the supply chain. The project is an important step in supporting a supply chain aligned with Kering Standards, with traceability and integrity and represents the brand’s utilization of innovation and technology to advance its sustainability goals.
The company is also relaunching the brand MCQ as a new business model with an innovative and collaborative platform, integrating fashion and technology, utilizing a unique blockchain which registers each item, allowing consumers to interact and engage with the MYMCQ platform via a tag located in each garment. The new MCQ is aiming to integrate circular economy by promoting the extended life and reuse of garments among a community of consumers to be connected through this MYMCQ peer to peer platform (Kering, 2020).
Every time a person wearing a strappy linen dress walks by or someone carries a mini bag, viewers are sure to know the designer behind those pieces – that is the legacy founder Simone Porte-Jacquemus is starting to create for his brand.
Founded in 2009, Jacquemus grew in popularity in the summer of 2018 when the founder introduced extremely tiny bags called “Le Chiquito” and “Le Bambino.” Although initially deemed ‘impractical’, a gradual hype was built as viewers saw famous faces like Kendall Jenner, Rihanna and Lizzo wearing the mini bags at red carpet events; pushing Jacquemus’ steady-growing popularity to become one of the most recognised brands worldwide. With a high demand from consumers and positive recognition towards mini bags, brands such as Christian Dior, Balenciaga, and Bottega have also diversified in the past three years to add mini and micro bags to their catalogue – to which some argue Jacquemus was the sole inspiration.
Glimpse from the Autumn/Winter 21 collection “L’année 1997”. (Vogue, 2022)
What sets the brand apart from its counterparts is its sustainability mixed with its affordable prices. Compared to other competing luxury French labels, Jacquemus bags are priced at a much lower price point – making them more appealing to younger as well as working consumers. Not to mention the highly aesthetic and equally interactive Instagram posts photographed and curated by the founder himself, which makes the brand more accessible even in its form of communication. These values set Jacquemus a bar above the rest, especially among younger crowds. Furthermore, Jacquemus’ founder has made a conscious decision to showcase his collections twice a year (for summer and winter) in a co-ed show (compared to the usual four showings) – the brand’s transparency hits the bull eye of various consumers in the fashion industry.
Glimpse from the Spring/Summer 22 collection “L’amour”. (Vogue, 2022)
With a vision far ahead of his time, Simone Porte-Jacquemus is now on his way to becoming one of the most successful French designers of the past decade – with annual sales projected to reach 200 million Euros by the end of 2022, as mentioned in BoF’s ‘BoF 500’ article. Jacquemus has also landed a multi-year partnership with Nike, whose first collaboration collection sold out in less than 24 hours on the website.
Jacquemus has now opened its first stand-alone flagship store in the heart of Paris, in the famous Avenue Montaigne. The boutique is a nod to Jacquemus’ latest collection, “La Papier”, with a beige monochromatic theme and includes two popcorn vending machines that act as unique selling points of attraction for the consumers.
The new store is located on Avenue Montaigne. (Instagram, 2022)
Since its birth in 2001 by a designer of the same name, ‘Stella McCartney’ has been a pioneer in sustainable luxury fashion. As a brand that holds its values of ethicality and accessibility at the core of all its products and ventures, it finds the balance between contemporary couture and social responsibility.
The Future First
Stella McCartney proved its commitment to improving the fashion industry from the beginning, through its advocacy against real fur, feathers, and skin of any kind, this policy has grown into an exploration of upcoming practices within the fashion community, that has allowed for a more sustainable approach to design.
Beyond its design for clothes, the brand continues to apply its principles to every aspect of the business. From transparent and traceable supply chains and ecologically powered stores to the production of an Environmental Profit and Loss report each year, Stella McCartney can only be described as showing a firm awareness of its impact as a global brand.
Using its power as a global brand it provides voices and platforms to smaller organisations providing vital work within the climate crisis. In 2017 Stella McCartney collaborated with the marine protection organisation Parley which transforms plastic ocean waste into thread and yarn, this produced the Adidas by Stella McCartney Parley UltraBOOST shoe, the first of its kind. Through the brand’s ability to adapt and integrate the ever-changing technological innovations within fashion, it was able to partner with Bolt Threads, a bio-fabrication company creating faux leather from mycelium. This resulted in the production of the world’s first vegan Mylo leather garments and became the core material for the best-selling Falabella bag. Stella McCartney’s choice to work alongside innovative start-ups allows for the further development of new sustainable design practices which may be critical to the future of fashion.
Change the History
Today, the brands SS23 show posed the question ‘How can we change the history?’ and in a Vogue interview creative director and founder Stella McCartney elaborates on this query, stating “I want to look back at my history and redefine where I started and where I am now and what the next Stella looks like.” As a brand, Stella McCartney continues to embrace its history by revisiting its past styles and practices with a new sustainable approach, showing its awareness of past mistakes and willingness to change for future needs, awarding itself ‘A Favourite Fashion Brand’.
