Earth Days

So you think eco-friendly fashion is synonymous with burlap, hemp, and joylessness? Some very savvy designers would beg to differ.

- Loren Savini

You hail a green cab to Brooklyn. By sheer power of waste vegetable oil, you arrive at a warehouse—scratch that. You arrive at a reclaimed textile mill. The roof is tiled in solar panels. You’re greeted by the scent of biodynamic basil and aeroponic tomatoes. A waiter offers you a house-made kombucha in a martini glass. To your right: Leonardo DiCaprio cracking jokes with Elon Musk. Marion Cotillard floats by in a  floral Reformation wrap gown that practically has a French accent all its own. Across the roof: Gisele in a ruffly Viktor & Rolf upcycled couture number, absorbed in conversation with Jane Goodall, who is gesticulating  excitedly, vegan tempura in hand. Meanwhile, Emma Watson stands in the corner awkwardly tugging at her ethically sourced shift dress.

Welcome to the totally made-up yet not totally implausible sustainable fashion party. (The only thing unlikely here is Emma Watson being awkward.) See, it turns out that fashion with a conscience is not comprised of sad burlap-sack dresses and miniskirts made from the naturally fallen eyelashes of rescued circus animals.

On a scale of chic, it’s more like the opposite. It’s H&M creating lines made with recycled materials, like shoreline waste. It’s Levi’s checking in on how much water a pair of 501s uses (1,000 gallons in a lifetime of being grown, worn, and washed). It’s non-awkward Emma Watson strolling the red carpet in a Calvin Klein pantsuit made almost entirely from recycled plastic bottles.

Sustainable fashion today is considered and elevated—and elegant. If the fashion world is a reflection of where we are socially—flowers for the antiwar ’60s, shoulder pads for the opulent ’80s—it follows that 2017 brings with it recycled fibers.