Future of Sustainable Fashion

Photo: Valentina Frugiuele
In recent years, the fashion industry has earned a bad reputation for its significant impact on the environment, animals, and communities. Destructive manufacturing processes and a lack of responsibility have contributed to a dangerously large carbon footprint that brands and consumers are beginning to address. One solution to repairing the damage? Sustainable leather. If you feel a traditional leather handbag is no longer worth the harmful repercussions, keep scrolling to learn about sustainable leather types you can incorporate into your wardrobe.

The Truth About Traditional Leather
For centuries, leather has been considered a durable material, becoming a staple fabric in many closets. However, the classic fabric has its flaws, most notably its unsustainable, unethical process, which consists of deforestation, increased greenhouse gas emissions, and water and land overuse. These adverse effects have led to the rise of several sustainable leather alternatives in an effort to reduce the environmental footprint. 
Leather alternatives to fall in love with
Mushroom Leather

Made from mycelium, the vegetative part of a fungus, mushroom leather is a plant-based fabric that meets the same standards of quality and appearance as traditional leather. Various luxury brands, including Hermès, have adopted mushroom leather into their pieces. This shroom boom will have a lasting impact on the industry and the planet. 
Piñatex Leather

Another vegan leather giving traditional leather a run for its money is piñatex. This innovative material was created by Ananas Anam to address multiple issues simultaneously, including sustainability and the welfare of communities. Additionally, pińatex leather allows pineapple farmers to make an additional income for a previously unusable part of their crop, making it a cradle-to-cradle solution that yields many benefits. Made with cellulose fibers extracted from pineapple leaves, this fun fruit leather has already gained some traction, as it was featured in Vogue for its appearance at the 2017 Met Gala. 
Leaf Leather
From pineapples to leaves, it turns out there’s an abundance of leather substitutes found in nature. Leaf leather is made from ethically sourced Teak leaves, which are then woven into fabric and sealed to preserve their natural appearance. Since there are no toxic dyes or harmful treatments involved in production, leaf leather is one vegan alternative taking the fashion industry by storm, making it easy, breezy to incorporate more ecological pieces in your collection.
Waxed Canvas and Organic Cotton

Arguably one of the more diverse vegan leather options, waxed cotton features the same qualities as its traditional counterpart while maintaining its eco-friendly label. It’s waterproof, pliable, and offers ultimate warmth and insulation for braving numerous climate conditions. Huckberry used waxed canvas to create their bestselling trucker jacket, which also made an appearance in HBO’S The Last of Us.
Cactus Leather

Returning to nature once more, cactus leather was first debuted in 2019 by Mexico-based brand Desserto. This sustainable leather is made from nopal cactus leaves and is renowned for its supremely soft, comfortable feel – perfect for both the fashion and furniture industries. In addition, production is free of pesticides and herbicides and doesn’t require a single drop of water for the hygroscopic plant to grow, ensuring its sustainability. If you’re looking for a luxury canvas leather handbag to add to your collection, this Wolf & Badger tote is at the top of our list for its generous capacity and classic appearance. Not to mention, its eco-friendly design is sure to stick with us (no pun intended).
One fact remains clear: as consumers continue to demand more eco-friendly alternatives, brands must accommodate their requests to maintain an ethical, sustainable status. This sentiment remains true for leather goods. Fortunately, brands continue pursuing innovative methods and materials to secure the same quality, durability, and look of traditional leather, ensuring you don’t have to sacrifice your style when it comes to saving the planet. 
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Manuel Arnaut and Livia Firth at the screening of the Renaissance Awards movie at Expo 2020 Dubai
This January marks the beginning of my third year as sustainability editor-at-large. When Manuel Arnaut asked me to join him, I immediately said yes, full of excitement to start exploring new territories, meet new audiences, and learn new fashionscapes. I met Manuel by accident when I was in Dubai in 2019 for Chopard, the luxury jewelry and watch brand Eco-Age has worked with for many years (and proudly so, since together we achieved a 100% ethical gold supply chain in only five years) and we instantly clicked. Manuel is open and curious and adventurous – everything you want from your editor-in-chief. I was in the emirate again this past December to screen The Renaissance Awards movie at the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai and we started chatting about sustainabilty and fashion, so to open 2022, I wanted to know what, if anything, had changed in Manuel’s sustainability journey. This is how the conversation went.
The Italian pavilion
Livia Firth: What does sustainable fashion mean to you and how has your journey evolved?Manuel Arnaut: One of the things that I learned through our collaboration is that sustainable fashion is not only about the ecological side, it’s also related to the way the clothes are produced, and to the people in the supply chain. I’ve also discovered sustainable fashion is full of great solutions for things that we haven’t even thought about – for instance, the floor of the Italian Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai is made with discarded orange peel. The world of sustainability is full of beautiful opportunities. It can be glamorous and couture and high fashion, and this is what is exciting for me now.
LF: What’s your personal style, and if I open your wardrobe today, what would I find?MA: My personal style is quite basic, I usually dress in black, so you’ll find a lot of black staples. I prefer to buy less and to buy pieces that I can wear for longer. This is something that I know is now a trend, but I’ve always gone for staples, like a black blazer, pants, and shoes; items you can wear again and again and that you can also mix and match, as I travel a lot and it just makes my packing easier.
The Italian pavilion
LF: What is the biggest challenge in sustainable fashion, do you think?MA: I think the challenges are two: one side is to push trends, and to believe in the power of sustainable brands and fashion and to investing in production so people love their clothes for longer and respect supply chains. The second challenge is explaining to our leaders and consumers the importance of making more conscious decisions. There are a lot of people around the world who end up buying fast fashion because it’s what they can afford. This is also something we need to think about. How can everyone have access to sustainable fashion? Another thing I learned from you is that a lot of people also buy fast fashion because they love to turn around their looks fast, so they consume at a higher rate. This is something we, at Vogue Arabia, need to address too, as we are part of this machine.
LF: You travel a lot for work. What have you noticed in how different countries and fashion weeks perceive sustainability?MA: I think there’s a big change in the world in general in terms of ethical fashion. But at the same time, all those promises that were made during Covid – that the shows were going to be smaller and fashion weeks were going to be fewer days – unfortunately, I don’t see that happening. I see the fashion events and shows being as big as before, if not more… What was promised during Covid is not being delivered. It would be nice to see some of the promises being honored.
The Sustainability pavilion at Expo2020 Dubai
LF: We have nine years left to meet the Paris Agreement target of limiting global heating to 1.5C. What do you think the role of fashion is, or how can we use fashion to educate citizens?MA: Taking into consideration that fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, I think we have a big responsibility in getting to this target. So definitely, fashion needs to start by solving its overproduction problem, and continue to improve the supply chain and respecting the people in it. In terms of how we can use fashion to educate citizens, I think it’s also citizens that need to educate fashion, so I would ask everyone to be attentive to what they buy. Read the labels, get informed, and understand where the clothes are coming from, how they are produced, what they are produced with, and then make choices that will reflect in the success or not of the brand. Because unfortunately brands are driven mostly by numbers, so if we are able to give better numbers to the ones that are doing things properly, the industry will change.
LF: And with this mission in mind – to give better numbers to sustainable brands – we start 2022. Happy new year all!
Originally published in the January 2022 issue of Vogue Arabia
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The conversation on sustainability is about to get a lot bigger as Vogue Arabia will be hosting a virtual event joined by key members of the fashion industry. The Future of Sustainable Fashion will take place on July 28 at 4pm UAE time/3pm KSA time with insightful panel discussions and conversations featuring sustainability editor-at-large Livia Firth; entrepreneur Karen Wazen; model and philanthropist Amber Valletta; Nicole Lovett, responsibility program director at Burberry; editor-in-chief Manuel Arnaut; Burak Cakmak, CEO of Saudi Fashion Commission; and May Barber, Leed Green Associate architect and brand management consultant. The winners and runners-up of the 2020 Vogue Fashion Prize Powered by NEOM will also sit down for a discussion with Patrick Duffy, founder of Global Fashion Exchange.
Click here to register.
Given the ever-growing need for sustainability in fashion, it is up to the industry and the next generation of designers to ensure ethical and environmentally conscious practices are ingrained within their brands and adopted by their consumers. With this in mind, the event was put together to offer advice, highlight the importance of sustainability in a business, and see what’s in store for the future of sustainable fashion. The discussion is not one to miss for consumers trying to navigate sustainability and be more mindful with their shopping habits, start-up fashion brands keen on being sustainable, as well as established brands, whose impact on the environment affects the lives of all of us.

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By now, many are aware of how fast fashion is affecting the world. According to the United Nations, it takes almost 8,000 gallons of water – what one person drinks in seven years – to make one pair of jeans, and 21 billion tons of textiles end up in landfills each year. The Fashion Revolution’s 2021 Fashion Revolution Week also revealed that 200 million trees are felled each year just to make cellulosic fabrics. A change in these shocking numbers and statistics can be made by those gearing up to take on the industry. In 2020, the Vogue Fashion Prize Powered by NEOM offered a platform to a few such designers from the region by challenging their creativity to the benefit of sustainable fashion. And now, the Future of Sustainable Fashion event will further Vogue Arabia’s ongoing efforts to promote sustainability and NEOM’s aim to foster innovation and sustainability in the fashion sector.
Read on to know more about the various panels and what you can expect from them.
Manuel Arnaut in conversation with Livia Firth
In this session, Vogue Arabia editor-in-chief Manuel Arnaut and sustainability editor-at-large and 2020 Vogue Fashion Prize jury member Livia Firth will discuss the all-encompassing meaning of sustainability from preservation of crafts and abolishment of modern slavery in manufacturers, to how consumers should shop today.
Karen Wazen in conversation with Amber Valletta
Entrepreneur and digital influencer Karen Wazen will join Amber Valletta for a discussion on the model and philanthropist’s new eco-friendly collection with Karl Lagerfeld. The two will look at what methods were used to craft the conscious designs from sustainable materials.
Sustainability at the core of fashion
This is a panel discussion with Patrick Duffy, founder of Global Fashion Exchange, Mohamed Benchellal (2020 Fashion Prize winner), Karim Adduchi (2020 Fashion Prize 1st runner-up), Lurline, and Lama Jouni (2020 Fashion Prize 2nd runners-up). The group will focus on the importance of sustainability at the core of a business and what emerging brands can do to achieve this.
International fashion going sustainable
Moderated by May Barber, Leed Green Associate architect and brand management consultant, the discussion between Burak Cakmak, CEO of Saudi Fashion Commission, and Nicole Lovett, responsibility program director at Burberry will focus on the growing urgency with which international brands are approaching sustainability.
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