Going Green With GANNI

Who kept up with the 2022 Copenhagen Fashion Week? I know I did! I loved scrolling my feed to see new catwalk photos of innovative designs coming in S/S 2023.

One of Tulerie’s Closet favorites, Ganni, the Danish brand, had a beautiful runway show inspired by the joyride feeling creative director Ditte Reffstrup often has when creating. She said, “My best ideas come to me in the morning. I put my headphones on, turn the music up super loud, get on my bike and cycle to work. Those 15 minutes are completely mine to treasure. My mind is open and my thoughts just flow. This collection is really about that feeling.” The collection was
also inspired by the city of Copenhagen and the magic and electric feeling the city brings during the summertime.

View this link to see the sporty ready-to-wear looks that walked the runway with a touch of the iconic Ganni girliness.

However, the best part for Ganni during the height of Copenhagen Fashion Week would have to be the announcement of their recycled T-shirt from old cotton waste in partnership with Infinited Fiber Company, which is taking circular fashion to the next level.

The grey T-shirt with the jumping dolphin graphic is launching in the S/S 2023 collection “in efforts to lead next-gen materials research and development, and reach its goal to reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent by 2027, which it set in 2019.”

The T-shirt is entirely biodegradable and comprises recyclable and micro-plastic-free textile waste fiber Infinna developed by their partner brand Infinited Fiber Company. The company says Infinna is the “super fiber the world’s being waiting for.” They are a company built on keeping fabrics in circulation and using their technology to turn textile waste into something practical and valued by the industry.

Their saying, “It’s time for the textile industry to lose its virginity,” got the attention of not only Ganni but also Adidas, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Patagonia, and many other partner brands.

Even though the S/S 2023 Ganni collection doesn’t include other biodegradable pieces, Ganni says it plans to implement this sustainable technique in future designs and collections.

Vogue Business said that “For Spring/Summer 2023, 97 percent of Ganni’s ready-to-wear collection will consist of “responsible styles” – which the brand defines as meaning that at least half of the composition is certified organic, lower-impact or recycled. The company is working towards having 100 percent “responsible styles” in the future.”

Ganni has involved itself in the production process, which they see as a necessary step. Using the newly developed fabric in something as simple as a graphic T-shirt allows them “to test and understand the fabric under controlled circumstances, increasing the likelihood of us succeeding when we broaden the scope to include other product groups.”

This past June, Ganni launched three ‘fabrics of the future,’ Mylo, Stem, and Circulose; Infinna has been added as the fourth. Even though clothing has been made out of recycled fabrics, we haven’t seen many cases where companies use old cotton and fabric waste to form new textiles.

Instead, we often see plastic water bottles as the primary source of recycled fabric. This is where Infinited Fiber Company comes into play because they are creating and testing the technology to fill that gap in a sustainable fashion.

Ganni recognizes this T-shirt is in the earlier works and that “fabric innovations need a lot of testing and work to be able to bring them to market,” says Reffstrup. But, despite the challenges, I think Ganni deserves a round of applause for taking a leap of faith and trying something new to improve their company's environmental impact and inspire others to do the same.

I think the dolphin graphic on the T-shirt symbolizes just that, a leap of faith and a leap into a more sustainable future. Fashion brings vibrancy to our lives and is something that gives us a joyride feeling. Brands like Ganni that are transparent about their efforts to continue to fuel our fashion joyrides are why we continue to have hope for a better future.

-As always, elevate your wardrobe with respected fashion and embrace the shift in style