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FASHION

Green Swedish fashion takes Berlin

Recognised as a country of nature lovers and cutting-edge design, it is not surprising that Sweden has fostered a strong new generation of fashion designers who combine fashion and sustainability, writes Anna Maria Bernitz of the Swedish Institute. Four Swedish eco designers are taking part in the Berlin Fashion Week to take a stand against the overuse of nature’s resources.

Green Swedish fashion takes Berlin

Matilda Wendelboe, Righteous Fashion, Dem Collective and Pia Anjou – who will all show their creations at the Green Avantgarde fashion show at Berlin Fashion Week – have an environmentally friendly approach to their work without sacrificing fashion and style. The latter three are also part of the Swedish Institute exhibition Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion, showcasing the fact that sustainable fashion can also be chic.

Combining fashion and sustainability could be seen as a paradox. Fashion is about the now and the present, something that captures a moment in time. Sustainability on the other hand is about duration in time and preservation. But fashion and sustainability can coexist.

The global demand for textile fibres has increased and is today estimated to 63 million tonnes annually. The question is, would we consume that much if we knew that cotton farmingis currently the single largest user of chemicals, that the agents used to spray the cotton fields were developed during World War II as nerve gas and that pesticides kill approximately 40,000 people a year and poison three million? The fashion industry faces major challenges. Yet it is possible to change our attitude to fashion and consumption.

“Designers will have a new and more prominent role in the future. Studies show that in the design phase we determine 90 percent of the product’s environmental profile. It’s about the choice of material and the production method, but also transportation, packaging and, not least, advertising and marketing,” says Mathilda Tham, Visiting Professor at Beckman’s College of Design in Stockholm and researcher in ecological design at Goldsmiths, University of London.

One of the forerunners in the field is Johanna Hofring, designer and entrepreneur, who started her store “House of Organic” (Ekovaruhuset) in Stockholm in 2004 and recently expanded with another store in New York. Together with designers like Anja Hynynen and Camilla Norrback and brands like Reflective Circle and Julian Red, Hofring proves that sustainable development is not simply an empty phrase and fashion is not just about appearance.

Eco Chic – Towards Sustainable Swedish Fashion is on show at the THEKEY.TO fair for green fashion in Berlin 20-23 January, 2010. The next venue for the exhibition will be the Scandinavia House in New York, where it opens in May 2010.

Anna Maria Bernitz, Project Manager at the Swedish Institute

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FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

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