Social responsibility and ethical issues played a big part in this year's major Fashion Weeks around the world.
In the midst of debates about the acceleration of the fashion industry, the decrease in the price of apparel and faster trend cycles, many brands have chosen to launch communication campaigns to reinforce their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Although the issue has never been forgotten, it seems that in recent months the interest in ethics and sustainable fashion is experiencing a slight growth.
With the rise of easily accessible media, we have in the past years seen brands gain an immense amount of visibility, but with it comes responsibility. Consumers are no longer shopping only based on what items are available to them, but they also care about the brand itself and what values it stands for - anything from sustainability, to politics and charity.
The use of celebrity endorsements has been around for a long time, but we now see a rise in brands supporting causes unrelated to the fashion industry itself. A global approach has been adopted for the growing and well-informed global audience.
We've put together a summary of some stand-out brands we think really made a statement this season.
In this article you’ll learn…
Diversity is the name of the game
Diversity was the reoccurring theme in many of this season's shows. Whether it was age, ethnicity, gender or size, inclusion and diversity is something we are happy to see more of - and we're hoping is here to stay! This season was also the first time in NYFW history that every single show included at least one model of colour.
One example of age diversity was seen during the Simone Rocha show at London Fashion Week. It included 4 stunning and inspirational women that were more senior than your average fashion model. The combined age of these veteran models? 245 years - a perfect example that fashion has no age.
NYFW goes pink for healthcare
The CFDA launched a campaign in time for New York Fashion Week to raise awareness for the non-profit organisation Planned Parenthood. It gained a lot of support from both designers and influential people in the industry. "Fashion Stands With Planned Parenthood" was the slogan you could see on little pink buttons that were proudly worn by the likes of Anna Wintour and other fashion icons during NYFW. Numerous designers both wore them themselves as well as incorporated them into their shows. The hashtag #IstandwithPP is to be found across social media, having over 40 thousand hits on Instagram.
Even before NYFW kicked off, over 40 designers had already pledged to support the campaign. DVF, 3.1 Phillip Lim and Tory Burch, to name a few, were part of the fashion brands who took a public stand for the cause.
Have a scroll!
"Tied together" for defending humanity
Business of Fashion has invited the fashion industry to join the #TiedTogether movement, a campaign with the aim to make a clear statement of solidarity, unity and inclusiveness, and to raise donations for the ACLU and UNHCR.
Designers, such as Valentino, models, celebrities and influencers galore have joined in showing their support of human unity and inclusiveness by wearing or incorporating a white bandana during Fashion Month.
#TiedTogether: @MaisonValentino's Pierpaolo Piccioli created a special bandana. 100% of the sale will be donated. https://t.co/ljYjLMLNJP pic.twitter.com/intqgSRt1U
— Business of Fashion (@BoF) March 4, 2017
This campaign is different from the others on this list in the way that the BoF has organised for donors and benefactors to give $5 to the cause for each #tiedtogether post on Instagram. The goal is 10,000 posts which will equal $50,000.
They put it well when they said: "The more you post, the more money we raise together."
If you're wondering how to include the white bandana in a fashionable way, BoF has created this little video that's sure to get you inspired.
Gender equality and a better world
It was an instant hit when the simple white tee's with the bold statement hit the Dior runway.
The luxury brand joined forces with Rihanna, who was recently awarded the Humanitarian of the Year award by Harvard Foundation and has decided to donate part of the proceeds from each t-shirt sold to her charity, the Clara Lionel foundation which is supporting effective education, health and emergency response programs internationally.
Wearing it will not only be a stylish display of one's belief in gender equality, it will also mean a donation to a good cause. Win-win!
Love conquers all
Diesel blew us away with their colourful campaign called MakeLoveNotWalls. With it, they send a clear message on where they stand as well as a reminder for us all to keep our minds open and welcome diversity - in any shape or form.
Nicola Formichetti, the Artistic Director at Diesel said:
“At Diesel, we have a strong position against hate and more than ever we want the world to know that, to use our voice for good, love and togetherness is crucial in creating a society we all want to live in, and the future we all deserve.”
The rainbow-coloured inflatable tank featured in the video below appeared in London, Milan, Shanghai, New York, Berlin and Tokyo with the hopes of communicating this message across the world.
What better way to wrap this up than with the campaign video? It's a real celebration of love and diversity that will almost surely give you the feels. Love, love love!
Be sure to tell us which campaign is your favourite at the moment, whether on this list or not.
By Launchmetrics Content Team
The Launchmetrics content team is always on the lookout for new trends in the fashion and technology sector. We are geeks with style and lovers of good stories!
