For all that the climate crisis has been at the center of the international conversation; for all it has been at the forefront of the Democratic presidential debates; for all the talk about it around the Oscars; for all that it was one of the biggest trends to emerge from the shows last season — for all that, as the New York collections draw to a close, the question of sustainability has been strangely absent from the catwalks. (So, for that matter, have most issues.) Admittedly, paper invitations have largely given way to digital ones, and designers have hinted at the subject: At Sies Marjan, Sander Lak claimed inspiration from a Guggenheim exhibition by Rem Koolhaus opening next week entitled “Countryside: The Future,” about — yes — the ecology of the outdoors. (Mr. Lak is a sponsor, so he’s putting his money where his mind is.) Then he used material science to bring it in: embedding leaves in cloudlike white dresses and suiting; adding tendrils of root systems to a big black overcoat; felting and fraying wool so it looked like mossy fungus.

Source: International New York Times February 12, 2020 13:33 UTC