How is Paris Fashion Week (3rd to 11 March) shaping what we wear this Spring/Summer season, 2025?

I expect sustainability to be advancing as a theme in fashion, given our focus on saving the planet. Since the first Climate Change Conference in 1995 it is generally accepted that action to be more sustainable is an urgent priority for many sectors, and the fashion industry should be no different.

Away from the catwalks, most of us are now plugged into using Vinted or other pre-loved recycling outlets, dress agencies, charity shops, swaps or swishes, and upcycling either our own pieces or those we may find from recycled sources, to make them fit, suit and be unique. Not only does this make resource-sense, it also is usually more economic for our budgets too. And, we’re all feeling the effects of inflation and higher bills in some form or another, so if we want to have something new to us, this makes absolute sense.

But, if we want to buy brand new, how are our retailers acting towards sustainability?

• Materials are chosen to be more eco-friendly. For example, organic cotton, recycled polyester and innovative materials – perhaps using AI to create and digitally print. That’s exciting!
• Recycling old garments into new ones. We are encouraged to drop our unwanted items with a store for points or a reduction on new purchases. Also, I see Debenhams.com is now running a pre-loved section.
• Designing clothes with the whole lifecycle in mind. Did you see Dragon’s Den last Thursday (it was a rerun of Series 20, Episode 7) where Cally, creator of This Is Unfolded had quite a pasting with his sustainable idea. Anyway, suffice to say he’s still growing his business and is determined to change the basics of the fashion industry for the better. Read their story here. This episode is available for another 25 days, so watch it now before it disappears if you’re interested (Cally was the last in the Den if you haven’t got time to see the whole episode).
• Reducing the carbon footprint, eg lowering emissions during the production process, eg for the energy-intensive processes like fabric dyeing. Also, they are investing in renewable energy in factories.
• Water reduction. It is known that water consumption in the clothes-making traditional process is enormous, so some brands are investing in water-saving technologies and practices to address this.
• Renting clothes. See Baukjen.com. I think this is in its infancy and will be a growing market, once it catches on. Remember how visiting a charity shop 10-15 years ago wasn’t something we would necessarily be transparent about!

This is all well and good, but what else are we going to see in terms of the actual fashion features?

2.  Sporty Chic