As per tradition, the last day of Paris fashion week this fall featured Louis Vuitton’s womenswear spring/summer 2021 collection. Set at the iconic Louvre museum, models walked the runway underneath the glittering chandeliers and through the mirrored halls. In true Louis fashion, it was the epitome of Parisian elegance.
Despite the glamorous affair, not everyone in attendance appreciated the opulence. During the show, Marie Cohuet, a protestor from the climate activist organization Extinction Rebellion joined models on the catwalk holding a sign that read “Overconsumption = Extinction.” Two security guards soon carried her off, but her message quickly splashed across the internet.
The event was met with mixed reviews, and quite frankly, I don’t know how to feel either. On the one hand, I wholeheartedly agree with the message, as the fashion industry is the second most polluting industry, just behind the oil business. We must enact change and reduce the amount of waste that has resulted from fast fashion. It’s a huge problem, and it’s one that’s been exponentially increasing public awareness over the past twenty years.
On the other hand, as a fashion major who hopes to enter the industry, I know how hard each person works to put on a show and the tremendous effort it takes to pull off a successful and well-received one. I know that if I were in charge and a protester walked on the runway, I would probably go into cardiac arrest. In the aftermath, many people on the internet say that it’s disrespectful to the show, while others question if this is really the appropriate place to protest these issues.
Despite my mixed feelings, when I read these reviews, I was reminded of an event that happened this past summer in Cornwall, England, where the Prince of Wales hosted the G7 Summit. There, world leaders and big names in business met to find solutions to the exponentially horrific climate change issue. In attendance was one of my personal favorites, Stella McCartney, whose fashion house centers around sustainability.
In an article from Vogue covering the Summit, McCartney urged lawmakers to make changes, imploring them to “double down on laws or regulations in the fashion industry that would force designers and brands to not only think more sustainably but also to act on it.” In my opinion, Stella McCartney is incredibly vital to the fight for climate change. As the daughter of Paul McCartney, she has the respect of those in power, and as the head of her own fashion house, she has gained the respect of those in the industry. She is the perfect bridge between the two.
In the manner in which we enact change, McCartney, in my opinion, is doing it in the most effective way possible. However, we can’t all be influential designers and public figures, so I understand why these protestors took to the runway. It all boils down to this: it’s not black and white, and no one is an omnipotent god with all the answers. So many factors influence the mechanics behind the curtain, and no one person can truly see it all. We can only hope that these events in a time of social unrest inspire change.
Words by: Caroline Tetlow.
Graphic by: Faith McCurdy.