Innovation. Vision. Hope. In 2023, we’re in an environmental crisis. Now, more than ever, we’re looking for ways to be more responsible. And the tide of conscious consumption is changing. Eco-friendly fashion has long been associated with a certain image. Today, the old adages of chunky sandals, itchy linens and stiff fabrics have shifted to make way for desirable, luxury items. And from the advent of the capsule wardrobe to your favourite brands integrating responsible practices, the fashion world is learning ways to become more planet friendly.

At the forefront of this more mindful revolution in the fashion industry, are some incredible female designers. Designers who, through their unrelenting passion and creativity, are pioneering a shift in the industry, to transform fashion into a kinder, more responsible industry.

This year, the theme of Earth Day is ‘Invest In Our Planet’. It marks a call to governments, businesses, and individuals to invest in a better future for the planet. As we celebrate Earth Day 2023, we’re taking a moment to look at the female designers who are doing just that. The designers who are paving (or paved) the way toward a fashion revolution. From Vivienne Westwood and Stella McCartney to Marine Serre and Ditte Reffstrup of Ganni, this is everything you need to know.

“Tomorrow is too late. SOS,” said Vivienne Westwood in a searing speech delivered at BOF Voices (an annual gathering hosted by the Business of Fashion that brings together voices from the fashion industry) back in 2021. A punk, a pioneer, a provocateur. Over her five-decade long career, the late Vivienne Westwood took no prisoners. A perennial disruptor, with fashion as her firearm, Vivienne Westwood confronted corruption, inequality, and climate catastrophe. In 2023, the industry is still mourning the loss of the epic designer, who passed away in December 2022, but one thing is for certain, we owe Vivienne Westwood an insurmountable debt.

 If it wasn’t for Westwood, the fight toward responsible fashion wouldn’t exist in the way it does today. As early as 2013, Westwood was sounding an alarm on the crisis, long before many brands began to integrate responsibility into their practices. And if it would have been anyone, it would have been Westwood.

The punk sensibility, (which was always at the core of Westwood’s vision) was never concerned with limitations. Your garment has a hole in it? Stick a safety pin through it and move on. Your jeans have a rip in them? Rip them more and make it work. Damage was always an asset to punk, never a barrier. There has always been an inherent regeneration in rebellion.

The Vivienne Westwood runway was a portal into a fight for change. For her SS13 show, Westwood unfurled a ‘climate revolution’ banner; a year later, she sent climate change zombies down her catwalk. Covered in ghoulish white makeup and donning t-shirts that bore the word ‘climate’ in bold, black lettering, these models represented the future that could befall us if we don’t act. Later, she sent protest placards down the runway at her SS16 show. The priestess of punk and a pioneer of protest.

Responsible fashion was integral to Westwood’s practices. Today, over 90 per cent of materials in the brands ready-to-wear collections are made from alternative materials, and the brand works with eco-friendly and recycled materials in an effort to create more responsible clothing. For her AW22 collection, Westwood introduced a new concept, dubbed ‘Reimagining Waste’, which saw the designer using deadstock materials from previous seasons.

But another feature of the late designers work that has encouraged consumers to engage in responsible fashion? The enduring power of the Westwood archive. To date, #vintageviviennewestwood has 3.3 million views on TikTok and every A-lister imaginable, from Bella Hadid to Barbie Ferreira, has been spotted in vintage Westwood. Her archive is one of the most coveted – and powerful – in the industry. The popularity of these pieces encourages everyone to look to the past, look at what’s already in their wardrobes, and what they can buy second hand, rather than encouraging a culture of buying new. When a vintage piece is one of the most popular in the fashion industry, it encourages us all to consider our consumption. Vivienne Westwood was a perpetual questioner: she questioned gender norms, she questioned the practice of design, and she taught us how to do it too.

At the announcement of her death, husband Andreas Kronthaler posted one of Westwood’s many calls to action. “Stop climate change. This is a war for the very existence of the human race. And that of the planet. The most important weapon we have is public opinion. Become a freedom fighter!”. As she herself said: “The only reason I’m in fashion is to destroy the word conformity”. Even in death, her activism prevails.

A pioneer of responsible fashion, at every step, Stella McCartney is asking herself: ‘how can I do this better’? And she’s delivering us the answers, with a material craft that is nothing short of visionary.

Creator of an iconic vegan It bag, McCartney created a range of bags out of Mylo™, a vegan leather alternative crafted from mycelium, the root system of mushrooms. McCartney also works with regenerative cotton, that comes from her partnership with the Tukey-based farm, SOKTAS, a family-owned cotton producer based in Turkey, that Stella McCartney first joined forces with in 2019. The fabric restores biodiversity and soil health and helps to draw down carbon from the atmosphere. Another innovation? McCartney has recently been working with ECONYL and Evrun’s NuCycle, textiles regenerated from garment waste and can be recycled at the end of their lives. She’s been using the fabrics to create jackets that turns the production process fully circular. They’re born from recycled materials and can be recycled at the end of their lifespan.

 For her AW22 collection, McCartney turned to grapes, debuting a new range of monogramed bags that were made using waste from Italian wineries. One of McCartney’s most recent endeavours? The BioSequin®. Crafted in their London atelier from plastic-free, non-toxic, biodegradable, and plant-derived materials. Cara Delevingne wore the world first BioSequin® jumpsuit on the cover of Vogue, where she was photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Stella McCartney’s designs have proved that responsible fashion and high fashion are one and the same.

And for 2023, McCartney went full circle. As the Y2K aesthetic exploded back into the mainstream, McCartney looked back to her own archive for her SS23 collection, which was one of her most responsible to date, using 87 per cent conscious materials. The designer referred to her SS00 collection for Chloe, showing re-issues of the iconic gold chain tops, while McCartney debuted responsible rhinestones that were modelled by Bella Hadid. Speaking to Vogue she said: “I wanted to look back at my history and redefine where I started and where I am now”.

Throughout her career, McCartney has proved that there’s a better way forward, and her relentless pursuit of ingenious materials reflects this. Where the fashion industry falls short, McCartney is ready with a solution that speaks to her limitless creativity. Speaking to Vogue, she said: “I think the reason I have been doing this for my entire career now is really that I care. I don’t want to kill animals; I don’t want to kill the planet. I’m deeply invested in trying to be a good citizen of Mother Earth and a businesswoman and a fashion designer.”

Throughout her career, McCartney has proved that there’s a better way forward, and her relentless pursuit of ingenious materials reflects this. Where the fashion industry falls short, McCartney is ready with a solution that speaks to her limitless creativity. Speaking to VogueX, she said: “I think the reason I have been doing this for my entire career now is really that I care. I don’t want to kill animals; I don’t want to kill the planet. I’m deeply invested in trying to be a good citizen of Mother Earth and a businesswoman and a fashion designer.”

Ditte Reffstrup is another designer paving the way toward a more responsible fashion industry. Creative director of cult label Ganni, a B Corp Certified label, Reffstrup is the blueprint of Scandi cool girl style, and one of the women at the forefront of a revolution in the fashion industry. Ganni’s approach to responsibility has turned the fashion world on its head. And, showed us all how it’s done.

Reffstrup first got involved with the company back in 2009 and decided to buy the label a few years later alongside her husband, Nicolaj Reffstrup. Since then, she’s transformed the brand into one of the biggest in the world, and a pioneer in the move toward responsible fashion. The brand is loved for its irreverent pieces, from OTT prints, cult collars, playful accessories and of course, statement dresses.

The brand employs a self-described ‘holistic’ approach to responsibility. But they are firm in their stance that they don’t identify as a ‘sustainable’ brand, rather, they’re focused on becoming the most responsible version of themselves.

In 2020, the brand launched their Responsibility Gameplan, which consists of different goals across what they have termed People, Planet, Products and Prosperity. They have also launched an external Responsibility Board which is made of six industry experts, who aid in navigating the landscape of responsible fashion. Another endeavour? Ganni Repeat. The programme offers circular ways to consume through reselling, rental, recycling and repairing Ganni items, both old and new.

As the fashion industry moves toward more responsible practice, we’ve witnessed the birth of some immense talent. The fight for our future has inspired designers all over the world, whether that’s to change their existing processes, or to embark on careers that’ll help to change the landscape. One of these designers, is Marine Serre.

Relentless and ingenious. Feminist and futurist. Responsible and circular. Serre is a designer like no other. The LVMH prize winning designer exploded onto the industry in 2017. Her designs (specifically, her cult moon print) blew up online back in 2020 after Beyoncé wore the designs in her Black Is King video. Her designs have proved to fashion gold dust, achieving that hugely coveted cult status in record time. But her responsible practices are what sets the brand apart and has propelled it to immense popularity among consumers.

At the heart of the Marine Serre design process is upcycled and recycled materials. The brand makes around 50 per cent of its collections through upcycling, while the other half uses biodegradable and recycled fabrics. This process has illuminated the endless power of transformation, a pursuit that is close to Serre’s heart. Speaking to Vogue, she said: “I think it should just be normal that we have to recycle – that’s the way I want to engage people.”

“Nothing is created. Everything is transformed. To love is to repair. It must be simple. We are repaired, we are reused… We are restitched, we are re-embroidered…” so goes the poem, written by Serre, which was recited at the beginning of her FW23 show. Serre often uses provocative collection names, her SS23 collection was titled State of the Soul, and FW23 was titled Rising Shelter, which symbolises her optimistic attitude to change in the face of the climate crisis. Her FW23 show featured three huge towers made up of 1.3 tonnes of vintage clothing. Her message to reinvent, repurpose and recycle is unavoidable.

 From opening her shows to the public to a carefree spirit and an enduring commitment to a better industry, Serre’s joy in her craft is what has propelled her brand forward. Compassion and consideration are both hallmarks of her work. After all, she said it best: ‘To love is to repair’. Today, as we live in a moment of crisis and all look inward to consider what we can do to protect our planet, perhaps that is a sentiment we should all embody.

Rebellion and regeneration. Kindness and kinship. Womanhood and wonder. The female designers paving a way to a more responsible future have taught and are teaching us so much. Where we encounter problems, we will find solutions. Where we come across despair, we will find hope. Just like these women taught us to do.