The Paris Fashion Week protestor
The last day of Paris Fashion Week was Tuesday, Oct. 5. The week was full of impressive styles from Balenciaga, Miu Miu, Dior听and more. But in a surprising move at the closing Louis Vuitton show, a protester invaded the runway holding a large cloth sign reading 鈥淥verconsumption = Extinction鈥 before being tackled and taken away by security.
The protester cited the activist groups听,听on the bottom of the banner. Meanwhile, other protesters set up shop outside of the Louvre with more signs and posters.
Other activist groups have been known to crash the runway in years prior, for exposure. Extinction Rebellion actually pulled a similar stunt back in spring 2021 at Dior鈥檚 show. The sign that time read, 鈥淲e are all fashion victims.鈥 Extinction Rebellion has been very vocal about their thoughts about the fashion industry: 鈥淔ashion Week is a week of shame; catwalks have no place in the climate emergency,鈥 said one anonymous protester in spring 2021. This year, the group posted on Instagram: 鈥淭he planet is burning, but fashion looks elsewhere.鈥
Extinction Rebellion protested in September 2019 with an even more subversive campaign where they completed 鈥溾.鈥
There is no doubt that there is an overconsumption issue in the fashion industry -- brands make countless numbers of clothes that are worn once and then thrown away. The amount of clothing in landfills and warehouses is shocking.
However, there seems to be at least some level of self-awareness happening. In 2019, Dior partnered with 鈥.鈥 The parent company of Dior and Louis Vuitton, LVMH, appears to actually care substantially about the environment. In 2020, they published a 144-page听听where they say they were able to reduce the emissions from their energy consumption by 36.5% in 2020. They have pledged to raise this number to 50% by 2026.
These initiatives don鈥檛 seem to present evidence of greenwashing. Indeed, it is clear that the company is trying to make a real change in their operations due to the climate crisis. The real question then becomes,听is it enough?
Meanwhile, in a show at Palais Garnier Opera house on Monday, French brand Etam had models 鈥溾.鈥
The good thing about high fashion
The best thing about high fashion is that it does not follow fast trends; these brands are committed to making limited edition and high quality pieces that last a lifetime. But most of that revenue isn鈥檛 going back into the environment;听it鈥檚 going into the pockets of the wealthy.
All fashion needs to make a change to do good. LVMH has made great strides and set a good example for other brands to follow, but there is still room for many more improvements in the industry.
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