For Annabelle Azadé, Sustainable Fashion Is Not Just an Option, It Is the Future

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing all of us to pause and reconsider how we live and how we consume. In just a few months, the environment is demonstrating how much cleaner and less toxic can be if we only slow down and consciously consume. Of course, this retraction is due to COVID-19 required social distancing and sequester. Still, nature is giving modern mankind a wonderful glimpse into what could be.

As we re-examine consumer culture, we should also rethink how we affect the global footprint, and how our consumption of fast fashion and non-sustainable products is having a direct effect on climate disaster. We can do so much better. And the solutions are at our fingertips, literally.

Once considered a fashion option for the environmentally conscious consumer, sustainable fashion has moved beyond its conceived image of granola fashion displayed on unflattering silhouettes. Sustainable fashion is now a viable choice, a choice of the present and the future. Just ask Stella McCartney and Vivienne Westwood.

Realizing that sustainable fashion is here to stay, Annabelle Azadé has jumped ahead of curve and launched the fashion e-commerce site, Shop the Future. She graciously spoke with Fashion Reverie about this new venture and why the time is ripe for a new vision of fashion that has meaning and does not hurt the environment.

Fashion Reverie: What inspired you to start this online sustainable fashion e-commerce site?

Annabelle Azadé: I have been a fashion journalist for the past 10 years and I had come to the realization that sustainable fashion designers did not have a platform to share their vision of their collections. With the COVID-19 pandemic it has been so important that the fashion industry supports local designers that are sourcing textiles locally and using homegrown manufacturing. This pandemic is bringing to the forefront the absolute necessity of sustainable resources and how cutting down on the global footprint can no longer be something we are aiming for. It is a must-do right now!!

There are many techniques that are used in the couture world that are slowly disappearing only because avant-garde are simply not interested in these techniques anymore or some these techniques are too expensive. As a fashion journalist it was important for me to start a project that gathered the qualities of some of the lost couture techniques.

I decided to launch the “Shop the Future” e-commerce site because many sustainable fashion designers/brands are struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic—this struggle proceeded the current pandemic. Some of them are in small boutiques and stores around the country, but with many major US cities shutting down, if something is not done, these sustainable fashion designers will go out of business. Many of these designers create made-to-order garments where it is important to touch the fabric and try on garments, but at this time, that is not possible.

Many sustainable fashion designers expressed to me their situation and how they needed a platform to sell their collections. From these conversations I decided to launch Shop the Future.

FR: So, talk about all the services you offer at Shop the Future.

Annabelle Azadé: Shop the Future offers ready-to-wear, accessories, and loungewear because a lot of people are working from home. We also offer marketing and public relations, strategy, and fashion show production. (We presented at New York Fashion Week (NYFW) spring 2020 season, and hopefully we will be presenting again for NYFW spring 2021 season.)

Unfortunately, most emerging designers and particularly emerging sustainable designers do not have the budget for seasonal presentations, good PR, marketing and strategy, so with Shop the Future we provide all those services, if wanted, under one umbrella. It is very important to me when I am working with a new sustainable brand to offer them Shop the Future’s options.

We can also help sustainable brand have access to conferences, speak on fashion panels, as well as present networking opportunities. Lastly, we offer VIP placements, and press credibility strategies. I have teams in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Mexico City.

FR: Why do you think sustainable fashion is so important now?

Annabelle Azadé: The moment is right for a conversion to a sustainable lifestyle, and we are all going to have to reconsider how we consume and that includes fashion. In the Western world there are things like food, transportation, education, healthcare that are all going to have to shift to a sustainable model.

The retail industry is experiencing a major crash in the US. Over 250,000 stores have shut down in the past three weeks and many stores chains will likely start bankruptcy proceedings. Macy’s, TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, Sears, JC Penny’s, and Nordstrom’s are all struggling.

That said; this pandemic is causing us all to reflect on how we consume and live our lives, so the time is ripe for sustainable fashion. And as we are all in a state of reflection, we will consider how we shop, how garments are produced, and that trajectory will lead consumers to sustainable fashion. Remember, locally made garments and textiles cut down on the global footprint. The garments may be a bit more expensive, but the garments are a better quality and consumers are helping to cut down on carbon emission.

FR: Is the fashion industry coming on-board with sustainability, and if so, why?

Annabelle Azadé: First, let’s start with a process that a lot of sustainable fashion designers are using called upcycling. Upcycling starts with the premise of creating garments from fabric that has been used before, like buying used garments and using the fabric from that garment to make a new garment. Creating something out of something that already existed is not a new concept. Jean-Paul Gaultier upcycled throughout his entire career, so did lots of couturiers. For the most part, upcycling was used in the couture market.

Fast fashion, which is employed by retailers that sell very inexpensive garments, don’t employ upcycling, and they are harming the environment by always having a need for brand new textiles, using toxic dyes that pollute the water in Central and Southeast Asia where most fast fashion is made. Despite the knowledge of how fast fashion hurts the environment, many US mainstream brands are not supporting or incorporating sustainable fashion. Some say they are, but it is mostly lip service. That said, there is support for sustainable fashion from the CFDA and NYFW, but that support as of now is not making much of an impact.

Europe is a different story. Five years ago, Vivienne Westwood was embracing sustainable fashion and using that concept in her collections. And now Stella McCartney has come on board. To add to that, Zandra Rhodes was employing sustainability 40 years ago.

FR: How do pick your designers/brands, what is the criteria?

Annabelle Azadé: My choices are connected to brands I would wear myself. I know that if I am going to represent these sustainable brands the clothes need to be appealing to consumers and wearable.

All the brands that I represent have a social purpose. Many local artisans that last their jobs during the 2008 economic crisis have great knowledge culled from previous generations. So, many of the sustainable brands that I represent employ local artisans which gives their brands a remarkable story, facilitating these brands to give back to local economies. I want to invest in people that are investing in people.

FR: Who is your consumer?

Annabelle Azadé: My consumer base is mostly female, highly educated, international travelers. They usually speak several languages and they are very interested in high fashion. They are also looking for a brand that their friends and colleagues don’t have in their wardrobe. My consumer likes standing out in a crowd and loves being the first to discover a fashion brand.

FR: Who are your team of experts?

Annabelle Azadé: I am a part of San Francisco’s Bloomingdales Fashion Incubator. I have a celebrity stylist based out of New York City that is a part of my team of experts. I have an expert based out of Mexico, who is a fashion journalist, so she knows lot of about Latin American fashion. She also partners with a very large institution in Latin America, Mola Univerto, which gathers together all the Latin American sustainable designers. Latin American artisans create incredible embroideries, and each country has a different technique based on indigenous cultures.

In Los Angeles I have two assistants, and one assistant in San Francisco. I have also surrounded myself with a host of partners like Mola Univerto, Role Model Management, and others.

FR: What’s next for Shop the Future?

Annabelle Azadé: I want Shop the Future to become the biggest US sustainable marketplace. We want to expand the sustainable market. We also want to produce more live events, so that designers can show their collections live, in real time; nothing can replace that.

—William S. Gooch

 

Image credits

• annabelle-azade-wonderwomentech.png — Editorial image.
• img-7283-for-annabelle-azad-sustainable-fashion-is-not.jpg — Editorial image.
• gigi-moda-collage.jpg — Editorial image.
• tara-lalic-red.jpg — Editorial image.
• host-var-collage.jpg — Editorial image.
• alterre-shoes.jpg — Editorial image.
• shop-the-future-feature.jpg — Editorial image.