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At a sustainable fashion event on Thursday morning, Kering and Marie Claire unveiled the launch of a joint podcast.
A spinoff of the partnership between the consumer magazine and the luxury conglomerate that began in June 2022, the “Fashion Our Future” podcast expands on in-person learnings. The Thursday event, which took place in Manhattan, follows a flagship inaugural event held in Paris last year, featuring panel discussions, workshops, design expos and more focused on fashion and sustainability.
After a seated breakfast, the media, influencers, industry professionals and students donned plush headphones to listen to the sound of streams and songbirds, while seated, ironically, several stories above the horizon. An off-screen voice repeated phrases such as: “We are consuming too much” or “Isn’t it nice to slow down?”, emphasizing that sustainability requires a slowdown as a matter of principle. The first consumer-focused podcast episode drops Thursday on Spotify.
The news has accompanied a handful of panel discussions and precedes further news from Kering. For the first session, Marie-Claire Daveu, Head of Sustainability at Kering, spoke about the company’s feat in moving away from fur, as well as the optimism that drives her profession.
“You don’t work in sustainability if you aren’t optimistic,” Daveu underlined.
The conversation continued with actress Kerry Washington and sustainable designers Brother Vellies, founder Aurora James, Angel Chang and Studio 189 co-founder Abrima Erwiah.
Washington, who recently wore an archival Donna Karan dress to the Oscars, said storytellers are the real power-holders in changing the sustainable fashion narrative. “Real change happens when the message is delivered at multiple stages in the process. If people walk down the street and see a huge [billboard] of what Kering is doing [can] turn on your phone and scan a QR code and they walk past the shop. People are getting information in multiple places and understand that this is not just a trendy moment. This is not a trend. This must be life changing for the health of our planet… There are multiple opportunities to contribute to this narrative.”
Erwiah spoke on a panel with Hassan Pierre, co-founder of ethical retailer Maison de Mode, and Natasha Franck, founder of digital supply chain tool Eon. The final conversation was between Fashion Institute of Technology President Joyce F. Brown and sustainable fashion and climate activist Saad Amer.
A selection of sustainability-minded FIT student designers also presented their work. These conversations and more are what’s to be expected from the podcast, though no further details have been revealed.
