Sustainability is quickly gaining favour in fashion. From recycled or renewable materials used in production to the popularity of vintage and second hand, fashion is evolving for a more climate-conscious future. But pressures to impress - fuelled by social media - could be holding back a full embrace of sustainable practices.

Consumer attitudes are changing. On Earth Day 2024, protestors picketed outside the headquarters of fast fashion brand, Shein, in Los Angeles, wearing towels and bathrobes donning the slogan: "rather be naked than wear Shein!".

Initiatives from the industry echo calls for greater sustainability. The British Fashion Council, the non-profit organisation that runs London Fashion Week, has established the Institute of Positive Fashion set up to commit to climate action in line with UN goals.

Designers, too, are partaking in the movement. Stella McCartney has long forefronted sustainable practices and new British designers partaking in fashion week, Chopova Lowena, are creating garments with recycled materials and deadstock textiles.

Despite growing demand for sustainability in fashion, the pressure of dressing to impress still exists and is heightened by social media. Platforms like TikTok and Instagram expose users to vast swathes of people very quickly, so every outfit becomes open to judgement and comparison.

As celebs and influencers alike head to London Fashion Week shows and events to be photographed, will we see another instance of sustainable fashion ideals falling flat in practice? We asked industry experts, “Is sustainability taking second place to social media in London Fashion Week?”.

Image credit: British Fashion Council

LFW has just arrived, and the question of what to wear is on every attendee’s lips – but with every influencer wanting to be stopped in the street for a TikTok fit check, is an entirely new outfit as desirable as it once was?

With next day delivery on tap, ‘new in’ doesn’t stay new for long, especially with hauls of clothes regularly gracing social feeds, and if anyone can get their hands on an item, it quickly loses appeal to those who are trying to lead conversations around style rather than follow trends.

It’s now a bigger flex to be able to say something is pre-loved, vintage, borrowed from your Mum’s wardrobe or was a BNWT bargain from Vinted than it is to say ‘head to toe ASOS’. It shows that you have an eye for fashion, rather than wearing what an algorithm suggests to you – helping that social positioning of being an expert worth following.

When it comes to the high-end fashion influencers, though some entirely lean into their love of designer and unrelatable, unapologetic spending, many are keen to be seen as indulging in classic, high quality pieces. And for bigger events, their designer outfits are often loaned out by brands (often as part of on-going ambassador agreements that come with contracted social posts), rented or bought with the intention of selling on.

Being pictured in the same outfit twice may not be the same fashion faux par it was dubbed in the early 2000s, but influencers are finding new ways to navigate styling with sustainability in mind.

Sustainability and Fashion week notoriously have a tricky relationship, some could argue are paradoxical in nature. Even with the best efforts from designers and brands, in real terms, messaging and activations around the former can at best be a glance of genuine efforts and at worst performative. Social media, you would hope, should only ever be reflective of the designers and ingenuity of Fashion Week’s showcasing designers, rather than the other way around. Favouring a swift turn of spotlight from the pampered guests and parties towards the runway.

Fashion week’s original sin in many ways would see an array of invitees in an ever evolving of wardrobe, all while attending a string of catered events, however that shouldn’t detract from why they are there, the designers leading charge in the evolution of design, such as Christopher Raeburn celebrating 15 years, a designer who was upcycling surplus fabrics in the 00s and Priya Ahluwalia the London-based designers, known for deadstock-derived collections. In many ways, sustainability isn’t taking the backseat to social media, it’s just a matter of letting social media report rather than dictate.

Sustainability is a tough brief to crack at London Fashion Week, where newness reigns supreme. A stage for showcasing innovation and creativity, it's increasingly becoming a battleground for likes and shares.

The Row's decision to ban phones at their FW24 show was a bold move. Perhaps they were aiming for a more immersive and thoughtful experience. Or maybe it was a response to influencers who have overshadowed the actual clothes in recent years?

The pressure on influencers to never wear the same outfit twice undoubtedly has a detrimental effect on sustainability. It trickles down to fast-fashion culture, where clothes are seen as disposable, and impulsive purchases are encouraged. This is why Shein exists.

It would be refreshing to see influencers adopt a more sustainable approach by re-wearing outfits during Fashion Week. They could swap clothes with other influencers or collaborate with brands to create timeless pieces that can be worn differently and repeatedly. By challenging the idea that newness is always better, influencers can help shift the focus towards quality, durability, and creativity, beyond the premium brands they promote online.

It's encouraging to see eBay's "Endless Runway" and Oxfam and Vinted at this year’s Fashion Week. I hope the influencers who attend their events wear something they've worn before in a fresh and fashion-forward way, walking the walk as well as sharing a big moment for the sustainable future of LFW and beyond. That’s exciting for me.

In 2024, Fashion Week is entertainment. Full stop. Way back in what feels like the annals of history, the twice annual festivals of style were a distinctly functional part of the fashion ecosystem – a chance for buyers and editors to engage with coming seasons, acting as arbiters of taste and trend.

But the walls have been torn down. And now we all get to peek behind the curtain. In the era of always-on content, there’s often more cameras on the front row than the runway, more TikToks from behind the DJ booths of after parties than the actual clothes.

Fashion Week is a performance. A spectacle carefully curated to keep designers in the news cycle. And everyone can get a piece – even ‘regular people at home’ on social media.

In this world, brand building, and brand universe curation always comes first. In this world, SHEIN has its own runway shows, while Pretty Little Thing and Molly Mae make it on the official schedule. In this world, sustainability is always an afterthought.

But that doesn’t mean sustainability can’t also be part of the carnival of entertainment.

Local brand Collina Strada has been a highlight of New York Fashion Week for several seasons and their SS25 presentation, “Touch Grass”, was no exception. Guests sat in a grassy plot of land in between typical apartment blocks watched as models pushed lawn mowers, tossed mud, and cartwheeled down the runway. A spectacle, certainly. But also an invitation to dive deeper into the brand’s world, one driven by the message that “sustainability is a journey”. Ironically, while designed for virality, “Touch Grass” acted as a meme-ified provocation to log off and reconsider our relationship with Mother Earth.

We can pontificate about marketing sustainability all we want, but it’s the brands, publications, and influential voices that really live it that can make an impact. There’s a distinct opportunity to play the system at its own game, turning sustainable messaging into a form of scroll stopping entertainment that forces people to reconsider and reevaluate the systems we often take for granted.

Sustainability is only taking second place to social media if you allow it. The underconsumption movement sweeping social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, coupled with the rise of pre-loved fashion in culture has created a thriving connected community all joined by a love of finding unique archive pieces that stand out, while protecting the planet. Fashion creators are no longer chasing the notion that wearing something once means that they stand out. They are proud to credit second-hand platforms and are busy scouring vintage sites and charity shops to pull together a ‘fit that can’t be copied straight away. Alongside this, platforms such as eBay are disrupting the fashion industry by running events such as their Endless Runway with two on-schedule events in partnership with the British Fashion Council and their US equivalent, to bring circular fashion to the forefront of consumers' minds. They’re live streaming two shopping events that enable fashion fans to buy all the clothes shown in the pre-loved runway on eBay Live right away, alongside additional drops featuring a wider selection of pre-loved pieces throughout LFW and NYFW. All of this indicates that more sustainable options exist, but only if you scratch below the superficial and the surface.