Bal Harbour

In the 2020's, one luxury maison has emerged as fashion's leading climate crusader: Paris- based Chloé. This may come as a surprise. As far as top- flight labels go, Chloé is relatively small, nota- bly understated, and, perhaps as a result of this, infrequently on trial in the court of public opinion. Yet quietly, under the direction of Ur ug uay-bor n Gabr iela Hea rst , Ch loé ha s quantifiably established itself as the industry's frontrunner when it comes to ethical and re- sponsible thinking. In 2021, the same year Hearst joined the company, the brand became the first luxur y maison to be awarded B Cor p stat us. That cer tif ication, desig nating that a business is meet in g high st a nda rds of account abi lit y, transparency, and sustainability, is one of the most rigorous to achieve and set the house on a course toward a purpose-driven model. The mission at Chloé is clear: Ever y thing t hey do – creat ively to ad m i n i s t rat ively– i s decided upon through a conduit of responsi- bility. In February, just as this issue was going to press, the company announced its latest initiative, Chloé Vertical, which is a digital ID detailing the materials used to create its bags, shoes and ready-to-wear. It also allows for a longer lifespan for its products, in partnership with the resale platform Vestiaire Collective. When Hearst arrived, she instituted the removal of cotton t-shirts from shelves. The fiber is not particularly sustainable, given the amount of herbicides and pesticides it takes to grow. Hearst has instead implemented a broad application of linens, which require far less chemicals to produce. She and her team also spent months working on what is now a house icon: The Nama sneaker, the production of which emits 35 percent less greenhouse gasses and uses 80 percent less water than Chloé's previous signature sneaker. Denim–all of it– is made from 87 percent recycled cot ton (no original production needed, in this case) and 13 percent hemp. And their Penelope bag range, another keystone in the burgeoning greenness of Chloé's pseudo-utopian vision, is mostly made of skins procured in par tnership with Leather Working Group, an association that tackles chemical mana gement , traceabilit y, and social responsibility in the leather trade. How does this drive manifest visually? For Spring/Summer 2023, Hearst quoted Stephen Hawking, who has famously spoken about his wish to see nuclear fusion as a source of–yes, inf inite and clean– energ y. She a lso v isited IT ER , t he pla net 's bi gges t nuclea r f u sion research project, in France. The reflection and trip proved fruitful: Architecture at ITER in- formed Spring's round-yet-structured silhou- ettes. A pink suit is Hearst's subliminal way of nodding to the fuchsia-colored plasma pro- duced by fusion reactions. For Pre-Fall 2023, Hearst found that , according to the United Nations Development Programme, four out of five people displaced by climate change are women. This inspired her to resea rch t he Italian Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, who depicted, against convention at the time, women as prota gonists and a gents of their own destinies. This is esoteric stuŸ, but Hearst's hard line is working at Chloé: Sales have gone up 60 percent , and more and more people are pay- ing attention–if not seeking out–the push for a more awa re a nd act ion- or iented lu x ur y fashion brand. If Ch loé becomes t he lit t le eng ine t hat could, imagine what change the biggest play- ers might bring about? CHLOÉ H A S QUA NTIFI A BLY ESTA BLISHED ITSELF A S THE I N DUSTRY 'S FRONTRU N N ER W HEN IT COMES TO ETHICA L A N D RESPONSIBLE THI N K I NG. Looks from the Spring/ Summer collection BAL HARBOUR 165

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