Time for the planet, a world without trends and the plastic-free fashion week
February 09 2023
I wish I had more time. I really do! Don’t you? Of course, it’s not just that I try to fit too much in one day (my glass-half-full attitude can be a problematic stance), but also my watch has been slowing me down. Actually, it’s been slowing down incrementally for days, which means that it’s in need of a visit to the watch doctor.
Days have felt very full, overflowing one into the other. As Freddie, the Mettā View’s copy editor, was sharing on social media earlier, perhaps it’s the effect of this week’s full moon? If that’s the case, I’m ready for the waning moon’s invitation to slow down.
Occasionally, time comes up as a topic for me. But this week, I was also influenced by my editing of the upcoming interview with Cécile Duranton, managing director of Time for the Planet, a unique fund created to support impactful innovation to decarbonise the atmosphere. However we may feel about the impending consequences of the climate crisis, she reminded me that Mother Earth is just doing what it’s supposed to be doing, she’s just being herself, given the circumstances, and we just need to stop with the moaning and jump on this opportunity to just do better by her.
Meanwhile, I’m excited to hear that time is actually flexible. According to this NPR article, time is partially man-made, or at least man-managed, it does ebb and flow and slows down. And apparently, it’s also an illusion. Don’t believe me? Read (or listen to) the article.
I’m off to London for a few days, but I will take a breath and try to reset myself - and the watch.
Thanks as always for reading me…
And now off we go with this week’s picks!
Much love,
LOOKING OUT
Time does not change us. It just unfolds us. Max Frisch
CLEANING OUT FASHION WEEK’S MESS
I can’t say that I ever asked myself how the fashion system that we inherited came about. That the system is broken is something I am well aware of. First, because of the frenetic rate of production of new collections, unsustainable for the designers and their teams; it’s also not suited to the changes we need to make as conscious consumers in order to reduce carbon emissions. Two articles this week touched on this idea:
First, in Fast Company, journalist Elizabeth Segran wonders how we can get out of the mess of fast fashion and come back to quality garments made to last, and imagine a future without trends.
Meanwhile, Vogue Business reports on the staggering changes applied by Copenhagen Fashion week to make not just the events and shows more sustainable but to apply strict guidelines for brands selected to participate in the event. CPHFW CEO Cecilie Thorsmark affirms that: “Our brands are not compromising on aesthetics or fabrics or creative expression. But, they’re living up to 18 minimum standards that cover the entire value chain and doing business in a more responsible way.”
All the while proving that restrictions won’t stop great creatives from throwing a good show. If they can, really, everyone can. Read about it here.
SEX SELLS, BUT WILL IT SELL THIS LIPSTICK?
We all know the power of a great red lipstick. Don’t we? Whether you wear one or not, you’ve felt it, whether worn by Marilyn, your mother, your best friend or yourself. That power connotes a strong sense of sensuality, made more sexually obvious by make-up artist Isamaya Ffrench who just launched a new line of penis-shaped lipsticks. I can’t say that I’d want to pull one out of my purse, but I must say I love the idea nonetheless. Are you buying? Discover here.
FROM HOST TO HOTELIER
My former boss, French designer Christian Louboutin, of red sole fame, developed a passion for Portugal many years ago. From an early property investment in a group of fisherman houses in Comporta, which he redesigned with his colourful and distinctive taste, he then found another house further South, in the quiet Melides, by a lagoon near the oceanfront.
From hosting friends and family, he has now gone into business as a hotelier and just opened his first property, a thirteen-room hotel in Melides called Vermelho (meaning red in Portuguese, a chic nod to the Maison Louboutin and its red soles). As bold and bright as you’d expect, discover here.
Looking In
I’m delighted to be sharing with you a new interview on Out of the Clouds, this time my guest is Cécile Duranton, managing director of Time for the Planet - a trail-blazing non-profit citizen fund whose mission is to detect and finance the most impactful climate change innovations.
Cécile shares with me how she found herself via her travels, very early on, having left her home in the South of France as early as 14, before going on internships in the UK and Vietnam when she was 18. The passionate traveller chose to study agronomy engineering and pursued this in Brazil, later in New Zealand, before turning to business development for French companies, working largely in South East Asia. She shares how she very much learned on the job, facing cultural and other barriers, and why she chose to learn new languages — to keep an open mind throughout and build strong relationships (and an international network) in doing so.
Cécile then tells me all about Time for the Planet, including how she went from becoming an engaged part of the community to a trainer and then to a hire, all within a few months. We talk about the triangle of inaction, how and why the fund operates as a startup, why they pair innovators with entrepreneurs and how their communication went from dragging their performance, to now incentivising and generating shareholder pledges.
A fascinating and motivating conversation. Happy listening!
