Ethical Luxury Summit 2025: Redefining Luxury

The Place

Los Angeles is seizing the moment, too. Having become a destination for designers such as Peter Dundas and Jonathan Simkhai to relocate both their headquarters and their lives in recent years, the city has already established itself as the ‘It-place’ for fashion. To succeed in Los Angeles, however, a brand must bring something more than just cool clothes and accessories. A legit message, an authentic story, or a deeply resonant cause—but with a genuine LA vibe. The trick is to define this vibe, and ethical and cruelty-free might just be the place to start, as Los Angeles has already been dubbed the ‘ethical fashion capital of the world’ by WWD.

The Ethical Luxury Summit took place in the final days of Paris Fashion Week—and, by extension, the wider fashion month— and managed to transpose two Parisian powerhouse names, Balmain and École Duperré, to showcase in the name of all that is ethical and sustainable. ‘Our participation is linked to our curiosity and to our focus on sustainable fashion, which is in our DNA,’ said Mathieu Buard, director of Fashion and Image Studies at École Duperré.

Victor Clavelly and Guy Chassaing, both graduates of École Duperré, presented their collections to 250 guests from LA and beyond. Clavelly, who collaborated with Rick Owens just a few months ago, delivered quite a showcase of what could easily become a telltale sign of an alien wardrobe—should they decide to mingle with the Earthians. Chassaing, now a member of the Alaïa fashion house, delivered a visual tribute to his grandmother’s beautiful efforts to use ‘rags, shreds and scarves to put together looks and outfits’. As nostalgic as this may sound, there was an undeniable sense of contemporariness in the plasticity of the volumes and the versatility they provided.

A Double Treat

As luxury is struggling to redefine its frame, visionary brands such as Balmain, led by Olivier Rousteing, are seeking to stay ahead of the game by embracing sustainability. In collaboration with Label Oued—a Moroccan creative collective of four: Mina Binebine, Nadia Chellaoui, Youssef Drissi and Angeline Dangelser—the French fashion house offered its dormant stock for upcycling, a win-win strategy for all involved. Encouraged to ‘transform what already exists into something of value’, the designers embarked on a journey of redefining not only upcycling, recycling, and the design process but also the merging of cultures and, ultimately, the very meaning of luxury.

Morocco has a rich and ancient history of craftsmanship—a unique blend of African, Phoenician, Arab and European traditions shaped over the millenia, resulting in an intricate use of colour, shape, and texture. It was, therefore, hardly surprising to witness an explosion of colour, yet the way these hues were enhanced by a pattern-making approach that was as playful as it was sophisticated promises that luxury and upcycling can indeed go hand in hand. This paves the way for greater sustainability—and, therefore, ethical paradigms—to establish themselves within an industry originally shaped by a systemically glamourised notion of rarity, power, and dominance.

The Message

Over 20 international brands and designers presented their collections in the Designer Gallery, including Atelier 7474, Adiba, Brisara, Carter Wade, De Florencio, Enith by Luisa Hurtado, Evlox, Maison Audmi, Tanaka Vintage, Willa Phoenix, Wuxly, Zingales Footwear, XIVI. The aim was to disprove the still-widespread misconception that ethical fashion is solely about T-shirts and plastic bags. With more brands and designers embracing sustainability not merely as a business strategy but as an ongoing effort to align personal and corporate values, the goal is to create greater visibility opportunities.

And while it was unanimously agreed that ethical is the only way forward, the road ahead will require unwavering mutual support from all parties involved. With this year’s turnout — building on what Vegan Fashion Week has established since 2018 — and the participation of global fashion players, the process of redefining luxury fashion is already underway.

Image courtesy of Vegan Fashion Week/Ethical Luxury Summit