By Kate Sutton

London Fashion Week is a time for emerging and established designers to exhibit their art. But this yearÔÇÖs event experienced disruption from something even more than vogue: activism.┬á

As one the fastest growing climate change movements, Extinction Rebellion (XR) set its sights on London Fashion Week for the Spring Summer 2020 collections, and with good reason. According to the United Nations, the fashion industry accounts for 10% of all greenhouse gas emissions (more than flights and shipping); bearing enormous responsibility for unsustainable practice within the supply chain, including chemical pollution, landfill and excessive water usage.

Throughout the five-day event in mid-September, fashion attendees found themselves amidst a mass of protestors that wore statement slogan t-shirts that read ÔÇ£Repair, Rewear, RebelÔÇØ. The designer, for once, was unknown. Some protestors glued themselves to show entrances, whilst others lay in a pool of fake blood to protest the industryÔÇÖs harmful social and environmental impact. The shows, the parties and the protests reached their climax in alliance, with the final few events somewhat overshadowed by Extinction RebellionÔÇÖs funeral procession that began in Trafalgar Square. Protestors, clad in black veils, gathered around coffins to declare the death of fashion, ÔÇ£RIP LFW 1983-2019ÔÇØ.┬á

Yet, despite the 24/7 media coverage of the events, critics continue to question why Extinction Rebellion target luxury fashion houses. Fast fashion retailers are proven to be the core abusers of the planet; whether this through their promotion of mass-consumption or throw-away culture. McFashion, a term coined by author Michelle Lee, compares the state of fast fashion to the fast food joint: predictable, cheap, disposable and identical across the globe. Surely, XR should be protesting the likes of Primark and Zara, more so than Victoria Beckham and Christopher Kane?

But luxury fashion brands cannot evade responsibility and hide behind expensive branding. Whilst fast fashion may be the root cause of fashionÔÇÖs sustainability problem, it is the luxury sector that possesses the power, the resources and, most importantly, the following, to create and embrace change.┬á

Because, despite retailersÔÇÖ latest pitch to promote their ÔÇ£sustainable fashionÔÇØ collections that promise sustainability and ethicality, customers are becoming more informed and are beginning to distinguish corporate rhetoric with reality. The term ÔÇ£sustainable fashionÔÇØ is, inherently, an oxymoron because fashion is not, and never will be, wholly sustainable.┬á

When faced with the facts, it becomes difficult to invalidate Extinction RebellionÔÇÖs perspective: fashion is in desperate need of an extreme overhaul. In the digital age of protesting, XRÔÇÖs symbolic politics and disruptive awareness may just be the most effective form for fashion to finally redress.