Fresh from success at The Fashion Awards, the Chloe designer is among four women determined to put the environment central to their work.
When it comes to reducing fashion’s impact on the environment, we know we need change – and quickly. There’s arguably no one in the industry who epitomises that more than Gabriela Hearst, who has won the inaugural Leaders Of Change Award for the environment at the Fashion Awards.
“It’s a real honour for me to receive an award for something that is [my] mission,” the designer tells Vogue over the phone, a day before the Fashion Awards. “I feel like I’m one of many catalysts across many industries that are trying to figure out [how to do things] differently with a lower impact, and doing it fast.” Hearst has proven the vast amount of progress that can be made in a short space of time. Her autumn/winter 2021 collection contained four times the amount of sustainably-sourced materials compared to Chloé’s autumn/ winter 2022 collection. For spring/summer 2022, the amount of low-impact materials increased again, from 40 per cent of the collection to 58 per cent; with the brand transitioning from cotton to linen, for example.
Despite the significant progress that Hearst has already made, she’s constantly determined to do more – with the designer focusing in particular on the use of energy across the supply chain (a major shift that needs to happen in order for fashion to reach its emission reduction targets). “You have to keep on instructing yourself and learning,” she continues.