Fashion, fabrics, and fusion, with Gabriela Hearst
WHAT IF WE GET IT RIGHT?
Hey there Earthlings. 💛 We’re talking sustainability and fashion, again. It’s a major industry impacting the environment and shaping the cultural context within which we make climate decisions... and I may be overcompensating for having not given fashion a chapter in the What If We Get It Right? book.
A few weeks ago, I shared here a conversation on Sustainable Fashion and the Art of Care with supermodel/artist Cameron Russell. And what better time to continue this discussion than in the wake of the 2025 Met Gala. Our guest this week is phenom Gabriela Hearst, a super-eco designer.
Gabriela Hearst (center) at the 2025 Met Gala, flanked by Questlove (left) and Chris Rock (right) wearing the custom suits she created to honor the theme Superfine: Tailoring Black Style.
I spoke with Gabi in her Manhattan studio, at a table she’s had for decades, on chairs she’d upcycled.Wediscussed her commitment to sustainability across her entire supply chain, how she turned iconic French fashion house Chloe intoa B-corpwhile she was creative director there, how growing up on a ranch in Uruguay informed her worldview and approach to climate work, and hercompleteobsession with fusion power.
Gabi has dressed everyone from Beyoncé and Dr. Jill Biden, to Julia Louis Dreyfus, Angela Bassett, Cate Blanchett, John Legend... the list goes on. And, afterwe’d bonded about our respect for ecosystems and the challenges/victories of creating a responsible clothing business, she offered to dress me for my book tour.🫨Very fun to raid her closet and borrow some things.
At Pioneer Works in 2024, speaking with Colette Pichon Battle (left) and Jade Begay (center), wearing a GH suit.
GABI’S CALLS TO ACTION
- Be kind. Reach for the balance of heart and mind.
- Meditate — just close your eyes and breathe.
- Buy less. Buy high quality items that will last.
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REFERENCES:
- Gabriela Hearst at COP27 - Fusion: Clean Energy for All
- Overview of B-Corp
- Article on Designers for Democracy
- Fossil fuels account for 82% of global energy mix.
- More than 23 million people face severe hunger due to drought in Horn of Africa.
CREDITS
Produced and edited by Matthew Nelson/Stramash Media and me, with help from Jenisha Shrestha, and many thanks to our guest Gabriela Hearst.