Sustainable design and its importance in contemporary fashion: An analysis of the work of fashion designer Stella McCartney

Abstract

The question of sustainable design and sustainable fashion is a part of the daily life of every modern or (non)modern individual, and it integrates and subconsciously imposes the question of the way of life of a modern man in the new century. Therefore, we can say that sustainable fashion is an aspect of sustainable design and supports sustainability and modernity. Sustainable design is a design that is in function of sustainable functioning and living in clothes, which supports and benefits nature and natural laws. In relation to the latter, emphasis is placed on ecology as a driving force and the most important element of life. The importance of nature and the preservation of its beauty became especially important in the period after the pandemic. The reason is to preserve human health and live in natural conditions, in which man, as the most perfect creature, will fully enjoy all its benefits and beauties. Therefore, ecology and design sublimatively create a new branch, so called eco-design, which finds great application in fashion design. This type of fashion design is primarily supported by environmentally conscious fashion designers, those who strive for design forms and tendencies, who are driven by the desire to preserve nature and urbanize clothing into body shapes that will give new, avant-garde, but above all functional performance and strength of clothing. One of the first fashion designers, a pioneer who bravely performs and joins this wave of creating the so-called sustainable fashion is English designer Stella McCartney. When we talk about sustainable fashion, we must first mention this popularly known sustainable fashion queen. Her name is emblematic and it is inevitable to be mentioned and analyzed in this context. She is one of the few fashion designers who is aware of the importance of nature, the importance of renewing and maintaining natural resources, and last but not least, creating visual forms that will not harm them in any way.