Stella McCartney has long been an advocate for sustainable, ethical fashion; the luxury label has been busy over the last several months trying to drive the industry away from a take-make-waste model, announcing plans to use Parley for the Oceans’ recycled plastic yarn and Aquafil’s ECONYL® fiber, made from 100 percent regenerated nylon waste, in its line of shoes, accessories and outerwear. In its latest bid to call attention to the cause, the vegetarian brand has shot its entire Autumn/Winter 2017 campaign on a landfill site on the Eastern Coast of Scotland.
A collaboration with artist Urs Fischer and photographer Harley Weir, the campaign delivers a powerful message about the amount of waste produced globally every day and questions what we are leaving behind for future generations. One image depicts ‘clean waste’ on its way to a recycling center, contrasted with the harsh reality of landfill in another — rusty cars and tons of plastic waste strewn about. Clad in pieces from the new collection, models Birgit Kos, Iana Godnia and Huan Zhou inject the bleak backdrop with a sense of youthful positivity and bring hope to the campaign’s message.
“The idea we had with this campaign is to portray who we want to be and how we carry ourselves; out attitude and collective path,” said designer Stella McCartney. “Our man-made constructed environments are disconnected and unaware of other life and the planet, which is why there is waste.”
"The idea with this campaign is to portray who we want to be and how we carry ourselves, our attitude and our collective path.” x Stella By continuing to highlight issues that are important to us, models @BirgitKos, @IanaGodnia and @HuanModel explore a landfill in Scotland in our new season Winter campaign. We must think about what we are leaving behind.](https://www.instagram.com/p/BWs92cJlELw/)
Une publication partagée par Stella McCartney (@stellamccartney) le18 Juil. 2017 à 14h13 PDT
The collection itself backs up the campaign’s message by using sustainable materials such as organic cotton, recycled nylon, cruelty-free Skin-Free-Skin and sustainably sourced viscose. Fifty-three percent of the brand’s womenswear collections are already made from innovative and recycled materials.
“Stella’s fashion to me is about dignity, love and a beautiful attitude to all challenges. All while feeling good and looking great and we wanted to reflect that in the concept of this campaign,” Fischer. said
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, plastic production is expected to triple by 2050. If action is not taken now to address current consumption patterns and the way we design, produce and dispose of products, there could be more plastic than fish in the sea. Thought-provoking campaigns such as this one, increased media coverage, including the launch of Marie Claire’s first-ever sustainability issue and commitments such as H&M’s carbon positive pledge are important catalysts in propelling an industry-wide shift towards a more circular, sustainable model, but more work needs to be done.
“Our planet has a waste and overconsumption problem, wreaking havoc to our environment. Single-use and disposable items, particularly from plastic, are ending up in landfills, with nearly 300 million tons of plastic produced every year,” McCartney said in a statement. “It is vital that we act now.”
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Published Jul 19, 2017 1pm EDT / 10am PDT / 6pm BST / 7pm CEST