Rejecting Trends to Save the Planet with Patagonia and Stuart Trevor

Fashion trends have never been more accessible or short-lived. ‘Being trendy’ might have once been a priority reserved for those who could afford fashion as a hobby, but today – with the widespread usage of social media – anybody can keep on top of the hottest trends on the shelf, speeding up the life cycles of micro and macro trends alike. Are you an office siren? A ‘00s fanatic? Or is ballet core more your thing? (Although, tennis core is way more ‘in’ since last month). 

Access to the fashion industry’s constantly changing moods is easier too, with brands churning out mass-produced garments for any occasion. All that’s left to do is buy, buy and buy some more. 

Except… the fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of humanity’s carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, according to UNEP. Continuing on its current trajectory, the fashion sector will increase its carbon budget to 25% by 2050.  Not to mention the microfibers released in oceans each year from washing the tonnes of clothes we buy, as well as the water used by the fashion industry to create them. 

It’s a self-perpetuating cycle – one that couldn’t be ignored at Cannes Lions this year, where marketing and product director at Patagonia Tyler LaMotte, institute of positive fashion lead Shailja Dubé, and founder of STUART TREVOR and All Saints Stuart Trevor came together today to discuss why being unfashionable is the best we can do.

Looking back to the beginning of All Saints when he founded the brand about 30 years ago, Stuart says that longevity was at the forefront of everything that he was doing. “Some of the things I designed 30 years ago are still best sellers today all over the world. I had no idea at the time this would happen.”

Scarcity is, always, the mother of creativity. Stuart traces his understanding of longevity to the humble beginnings of his family in Dundee. “My mother’s friends in her church used to give us suitcases of old clothes, but they didn’t fit us. She taught me how to sew. I’d take a huge pair of trousers and take them in to fit me, and put pleats on them, like David Bowie. That’s how I developed my own style and that’s carried on all the way through.”

This is what he’s doing today with STUART TREVOR, his namesake brand, or otherwise known as ‘the brand that doesn’t produce any clothes’. Today, ST’s primary produce is from a stock of vintage pieces that already exist – ones that Stuart himself has collected over the years – an idea that was born when he was upcycling garments with his daughter over lockdown, altering, adding to, and distressing them.

Another brand with the long game in mind is Patagonia, which has confidently claimed that “Fashion is none of [its] business”. 

“Patagonia started off as a climbing equipment company, not an apparel company,” Tyler reminded the audience. “In climbing, you don’t make mistakes, because people’s lives depend on it. This was the quality mindset that transitioned from the very onset for Patagonia into its apparel later on. Apparel made with a climbing ethos in mind.

“Some would ask, ‘What do a bunch of climbers and surfers know about making apparel?’. And, in the beginning, I’d say not much. But they just knew it had to last.”

Patagonia doesn’t only make a promise for long-lasting products, it’s confident in its apparel enough to even dabble in ‘forever’-lasting products. Tyler touched on how the confidence of knowing that you own a piece of clothing forever, and that it will stay intact or be able to be repaired to its original state (something Patagonia offers as a service), changes the narrative – instead of a customer, you become an owner. 

“Eleven years ago at New York Fashion Week, we introduced the ‘Worn Wear’ concept. The intention was to really change that relationship between the person and the product and really ask customers to think before they buy. The most responsible gear is the one you already own. It’s also one that’s built with the highest quality and has the availability to be repaired, passed down and passed along.”

Since that NYFW, the brand has continued to reinforce within its customer base that repair is a radical act. “This should apply to everything you buy,” explained Tyler. “How do we change this relationship that when something is broken, we need to think about it from a repairability standpoint. We need to nurture the things that we own, by changing our mindset from consumer to owner. When we’re making these purchasing decisions, we need to be in this ownership mindset, if we are going to save the planet.”

Stuart agreed, explaining that he encourages people to bring him a suitcase of clothes to exchange for a credit note with which they can buy something that the brand has reimagined and repurposed. “The sense of relief that people get when they offload all the things that they’ve stored for so long is incredible.”

Awareness in customers about the current situation in the fashion industry is only growing, so transparency is rightfully also on top of the agenda for fashion brands. Dedication to honesty and transparency stretches back fifty years for Patagonia, and Tyler explained that the teams are “happy to see regulations coming [their] way.”

“We’ve been very transparent in terms of quantifying our supply chain, talking about the metrics that go into our products such as percentage of recycled content, fair trade, and all the B Corp work that we do. Transparency has been paramount for us, because educating customers changes their behaviour and informs them on why they should choose quality and responsibly made products.”

The buying power of the future - gen z and gen alpha - are all for it too. Stuart added that, judging by his own children, those are the generations reluctant to even socialise with people who succumb to the latest trends and buy into fast fashion. “Gen z and gen a are the people brands need to listen to, those are the people that will make a change.”

With a nod to Patagonia’s recent campaign ‘Fashion is None of Our Business’, Tyler doubled down on advertising’s responsibility of educating customers and helping them make better choices.

To close the talk, he addressed the audience at Cannes directly –- those responsible for communicating and marketing for the ‘good’, timeless product. “I hope that we can instil an ethos of considering quality in terms of our messaging,” he said. “Considering quality in both what you market and what you’re asking the consumers to do.”