GREEN WITH ENVY

While fashion designers have always set trends, some set the agenda. From innovative fabrics and ethical production to slowing the fashion cycle, these changemakers are reminding the world that eco is eternally chic

THE TRAILBLAZER STELLA MCCARTNEY

Long before sustainability was mainstream and cruelty-free materials became du jour, there was Stella McCartney. When she launched her eponymous brand 21 years ago, it was the first in the luxury fashion sphere to reject leather and fur, sparking a trend eventually followed by countless contemporaries. Today, its ranges are made from 80 per cent eco-conscious materials, including organic cottons and beechwood shoe soles, and the designer is a sustainability whisperer to friends in high places, including LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault, who bought the Stella McCartney brand in 2019. “My mindset in business comes from the way I was brought up," says McCartney of being raised on an organic farm by the world's most famous vegetarian parents: Sir Paul and Linda McCartney. "It motivates me every day to look for new ways to be more sustainable and mindful." Visit stellamccartney.com.

THE NEXT GENERATION HARRIS REED

If moments in time can be owned, this one belongs to UK-US fashion provocateur Harris Reed. From Iman's Met Gala cage gown to Harry Styles' non-binary glam-rock looks for his world tour (designed by Reed while still a student at London's Central Saint Martins), the young-gun designer burst onto the scene in 2021 as the visual voice of a generation - one that is vocal about climate. While the 25-year-old's schtick is fluid fashion, he is also passionate about weaving his dreamscapes with low-impact and recycled yarns. Take, for instance, Emma Watson's green carpet ensemble at the 2021 Earthshot Prize Awards, which was refashioned from a charity store wedding gown as part of his "Found" collection.