C.reactive, eco, desirable: the new brands of sustainable fashion are (almost always) daughters of female ingenuity. Among the green designers who have just made their debut and those who have been working in the direction of sustainability for years (but which we only start talking about today) here is 6 women stylists and their sustainable brands to keep an eye on in 2022.
The feminine names of sustainable fashion
Sustainability does not need pink quotas. From activist Greta Thunberg to politics Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to the homonymous founder of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, women stand out among the leading promoters of social and environmental ethics. Fashion also has its representatives. Livia Firth from Eco-Age, Orsola De Castro at the head of Fashion Revolution with Marina Spadafora in the Italian division, but also Federica Marchionni, Chief Executive of Globa Fashion Agenda, work from behind the scenes to accelerate the transition to more responsible fashion. In the front row, the stylists. And alongside celebrities such as Stella McCartney and Gabriela Hearst, there are more and more new “responsible” designers.
The new sustainable brands of 2022
Alexandra Sipa
Alexandra Sipa from Romania is fresh out of college. But the collection with which she graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martin in London has already made its way into the hearts of those in the sector. It is difficult to understand at first glance that his intricately designed creations are made of recycled electrical wires. Here the cables are transformed into lace, floral or abstract, beautifully hand-woven with the ancient bobbin technique. «It seems to paint» explains Sipa, who has made of his clothes a manifesto of beauty that brings back to the problem of the disposal of electronic waste (50 million tons per year according to the United Nations).
Upcycled electric wire dress from Alexandra Sipa’s Spring Summer 2022 collection.
Sofia Ilmonen
Sofia Ilmonen has also just debuted. The Finnish designer, winner of the sustainability award at the Hyeres Festival 2021, thinks that ethical fashion must follow a holistic logic. «Not only materials with low environmental impact. For the latest collection, I focused on the contradictions of the term sustainable fashion: fashion is synonymous with continuous change, while sustainability implies durability. Hence the idea of creating modular and transformable clothes »says the designer, creator of impalpable garments, made with small panels of fabric held together by buttons that allow you to reassemble them as you wish.
Detachable: the dress by Sofia Ilmonen, Finnish designer who won the Mercedes-Benz Sustainability prize ’21.
Mozh Mozh
Overseas, the Peruvian Mozhdeh Matin, founder of Mozh Mozh, focuses on fine wool and cotton certified Fair-Trade, Gots (from organic farming) or Oeko-Tex (free of toxic substances). And above all it proudly claims theancient textile tradition of the country: «More precious than gold, for the Incas it represented social and family identity» he says.
Hill Road
Then there are brands that have been sustainable for years, which come to light now that green enters the fashion lexicon. The American Hillary Road of Hillary Taymour, born in 2009, is talked about because it combines ecology with ultra-inclusive communication; the Swedish House of Dagmar, founded in 2005, was launched by the latest collaborations with Zalando. L’Hungarian Nanuska, has been around since 2006. Everyone interprets sustainability also in terms of portability. With special items that don’t follow trends. Made to build a wardrobe on the imprint of personal style. From women to women.
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