Photo: travelercorner.com
“It’s our task to invent a new future for fashion,” said Antoinette Guhl. “I hope this day marks the beginning of a collective movement within the fashion industry.” The deputy to the Paris Mayor, Anne Hidalgo, in charge of social economy and solidarity was speaking at the city’s Institut Français de la Mode (IFM) on Monday, where it was officially announced that the fashion capital plans to become the most sustainable by 2024.
The five year plan, part of the 'Paris Good Fashion' initiative, will aim to push the fashion industry towards using more sustainable practices. Bringing together a range of players, from the Paris administration, the IFM and the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, to creative platform Eyes on Talent, the Ellen McArthur Foundation and fashion incubator Les Ateliers de Paris, and with support from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and Galaries Lafayette, it aims to encourage the industry to become more eco-conscious.
"When I started out in fashion 20 years ago, no one talked about sustainability," said Isabelle Lefort, former fashion journalist and the first editor-in-chief of Jalouse, who together with Guhl and Frédéric Hocquard, the deputy to the Paris Mayor in charge of cultural diversity and nightlife, announced the new initiative. "But the world has changed: we are in a situation of ecological disaster. This is a huge concern for the younger generations, who are appealing to fashion brands to change their processes. We need to create a dialogue between those two worlds."
Focusing on three themes: improving sourcing and traceability, working on making processes more sustainable (including Paris Fashion Week) and creating a circular economy, the group of fashion professionals, brands, entrepreneurs, designers and experts will develop a roadmap of steps that can be taken to make Paris the sustainable capital of fashion by 2024, when the city will play host to the Olympic Games. “Our role is to encourage creation while fighting against climate change, to continue production in France while protecting natural resources and to develop our industry while looking out for our artisans,” said Guhl.
