Who is leading the charge in the fight for sustainable fashion? How are younger and older designers different, and how does this impact the industry in America and Italy? In my project, I will research how age has played a role in American and Italian fashion, specifically focusing on Giorgio Armani and Charles V Bergh (CEO of Levi’s in America).
Italian fashion has a greater focus on tradition than American fashion. Head designers tend to keep their positions for longer and to emphasize their brand's traditions and culture. American head designers tend to focus more on innovating and changing their product. For this reason, many American designers are younger than their Italian counterparts.
Younger people are, on average, more passionate about issues relating to climate change. Sustainable fashion is no exception. The way that fashion brands today are tackling sustainable fashion is related to their culture and the age of their designers.
American brand Levi's recently "pledged to reduce the hazardous chemicals used to dye and treat its clothing, and are aiming for the elimination of hazardous chemicals by 2020" (goodonyou.eco). Their website also has much information about what their clients can do to reduce waste and fight unsustainable fashion: including information about how to repurpose Levis products once they become unusable.
On the Armani website, head designer Giorgio Armani is quoted as saying, "The philosophy underpinning my brand has always been sustainability: through my work, I offer clothes that last and can be worn for many years […]. It is vital to adopt a sustainable position nowadays. The question of ethics even comes before strategy". For Armani, sustainability is an offshoot of their traditional practice of making durable and high-quality clothes.
These two brands offer very different approaches to waste in the fashion industry. How do their cultures shape these approaches?
Comments