Can Billie Eilish convince fans to shop more sustainably?

To become a Vogue Business Member and receive the Sustainability Edit newsletter, click here.

Billie Eilish’s Met Gala gown by Gucci was made entirely from upcycled materials worn with vegan platform shoes and a vintage choker. The Grammy-award winning artist is known for speaking out against the climate crisis: her world tour has firm recycling and no-plastic policies, she recently partnered with Greenpeace in a public service announcement, and posted a viral video calling for action and highlighting organisations and activists back in 2019.

Now, the singer is taking her activism a step further. As the UK leg of her “Happier Than Ever” tour kicks off today, fans with tickets will also have the chance to attend a new climate-focused event, Overheated. With a clothing swap, a documentary screening and veganism talks, the event aims to reach Eilish’s impressionable Gen Z and Gen Alpha fans and educate them about sustainable practices.

Read More

Gen Z’s ambition? Create a new fashion system

Gen Zs are emerging from lockdown as business owners and bosses, intent on maintaining their values of authenticity, community and sustainability while building their brands.

By Bella Webb

The event will take place in London at the O2 Arena, on the same dates as the tour on 10-12, 16 and 25-26 June. It is being organised in collaboration with Red Carpet Green Dress (RCGD) Global, Support + Feed (an organisation founded by Eilish’s mother Maggie Baird, focusing on tackling food insecurity and the climate crisis with plant-based food) and secondhand and vintage music merchandising marketplace Reverb.

Live sessions covering topics including how to use your voice for change and tackling climate anxiety will take place prior to the concert, with tickets starting at £25 for under 25s (and £45 for standard tickets). Speakers will include climate activist Tori Tsui, rental platform By Rotation founder Eshita Kabra-Davies and RCGD Global CEO Samata Pattinson. Concert-goers will be encouraged to visit the sustainability village, the exhibition space just outside the ticket barriers, which is free and open to the public.

Slow fashion brand Citizen-T will host a clothing swap in the sustainability village. Fans can bring unwanted clothing to the event and switch it for one-of-kind merch that’s been upcycled from deadstock. The company previously worked with Billie Eilish on an upcycled hoodie collection at Coachella.

Eilish’s young fans have previously responded well to upcycled merch, says Citizen-T CEO Christian Schenk, because it is “unique and tells a story”.

Historically, celebrities haven’t had much luck with influencing actual behaviours, argues Anika Kozlowski, assistant professor of fashion design, ethics and sustainability at Ryerson University. The reason? Hypocrisy: “There’s a huge cognitive dissonance and irony when you have [celebrities and musicians] promoting sustainability yet they wear all the latest fashions, they travel in jets, they live lavish lifestyles,” she says. “Even if everything is gifted to them, [young consumers] see their lifestyle and that’s what they want to emulate.”

However, business leaders supporting the Overheated event say they welcome the opportunity to reach a wider audience to communicate issues around sustainable fashion.

“I’m going to be very mindful about being as relatable as I can be, and even talk about how I wasn’t always aware of the issues [related to climate change],” says By Rotation’s Kabra-Davies. She notes that most of the panels she’s been part of to date have been industry-focused rather than consumer-focused. For this event, “it’s about making sustainability as approachable and attainable as possible.”

“People understand sustainability and act accordingly in different ways,” adds actor Tati Gabrielle, who will speak on a panel with Kabra-Davies and Pattinson. “That is why participating in the panel and being able to share my experience and hear other people’s opinions is an incredible prospect.”

Representation is essential when trying to reach a younger audience, says RCGD Global’s Pattinson. “How to communicate to different age groups is not really a challenge to us. The biggest challenge is that they need to see themselves reflected. They need to see their skin colour reflected. They need to see their experiences reflected, their wallet reflected.”

As physical events return post-Covid, brands and organisations are looking for engaging ways to reach their audiences. “I wouldn’t be surprised if a few brands start doing their own festivals,” says Kabra-Davies, adding that By Rotation has considered hosting festivals for its community. “I think it’s a great way to engage your fans in a physical experience.”

Comments, questions or feedback? Email us at feedback@voguebusiness.com.

More from this author:

Machine-A to open in Shanghai with Raf Simons

Ganni launches zero-waste trousers and mushroom wallets as next-gen materials reach shop floor

Valentino names new Europe CEO