Award-winning creative duo Charney Magri and Ramzi Moutran are challenging fashion industry figureheads to overhaul their production practices in a bid to design sustainably.
Photographer Charney, who boasts almost 20 years of experience within fashion industry, has set her sights on making sustainability aspirational through her organisation Fashion4Change. She, along with Ramzi, a former Ogilvy Executive Creative Director, have created a powerful docuseries and imagery for the fashion industry, highlighting the importance of sustainability in-house. Their mission is to prove why we need to design for a lifetime, not a season.
In fact, Fashion4Change wants brands to use Burberry, who recently announced they have stopped burning millions of pounds worth of surplus stock each year, as the catalyst for changing the entire industry’s future practices.
In collaboration, Ramzi Moutran brings over 20 years of experience in the advertising industry having worked at Ogilvy as Executive Creative Director before setting up his own boutique agency and production house.
Charney, explains: “I’ve spent my career working alongside these fashion powerhouses, but it wasn’t until after my mum passed away four years ago, a real turning point in my life, I felt compelled to make a difference.
“I know why some of the world’s largest brands continue to contribute to the destruction of our planet – they want to protect their IPs. However, there are far better ways to go about it. Sustainability and luxury can and do live together. We are showing them how.
“Through Fashion4Change we are seeking to overhaul the business of fashion, making sustainability the norm, not the exception.”
Fashion4Change was officially launched at the V&A South Kensington on Sunday, July 1, 2018, with the aim of revealing how sustainability can be aspirational.
In recent weeks, journalists have reported that Burberry burnt around £90 million worth of surplus stock over the past five years – but they are not alone in this practice. Richemont, the owner of Cartier, was shown to be destroying more than £400 million in watch parts, H&M allegedly burnt 19 tonnes of new clothing and Nike was accused of cutting up unsold trainers.
According to Fashion Revolution and C&A Foundation, more than ten million tonnes of clothing gets sent to landfills every year, equating to 84% of the world’s textile waste. The UK-based charity WRAP found that £140 million worth of clothing gets sent to landfills each year – a number that could be dramatically reduced through recycling and upcycling.
Charney wants the world to know the extent of the fashion industry’s pollution problem and so has co-directed and produced Fashion4Change’s first documentary series Catwalk to Creation, alongside Ramzi, shooting footage across India, Austria and the UK. The docuseries shows the journey of two sustainable garments in reverse. Catwalk to Creation is due to be released later this year. The film will also be presented to global government officials and fashion industry leaders, educating businesses and consumers about the importance of sustainability and transparency, to spark change.
Catwalk to Creation co-director, Ramzi, who owns his own boutique agency and production house, says: “Catwalk to Creation takes the viewer on the journey of two sustainable garments, from the high street to their creation.
“Charney and I wanted to showcase how organisations are leading the way with their sustainable solutions. The upcycling factory we documented in India has, so far, prevented 10.5 million tonnes of textiles a year from going to landfill. Both are shining examples of what Fashion4Change believes the future of fashion can be if products are designed with people, planet and profit in mind.
“We want to be able to showcase more brands who are doing everything they can to protect the environment. We believe that this, an industry that affects every human on the planet needs to start to design for a lifetime, not a season.”