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Reformation kicked off the fall season with its first-ever “no-show” digital fashion event.
Reformation kicked off the fall season with its first-ever “no-show” digital fashion event.
On Wednesday, the Los Angeles brand debuted its autumn 2022 line at an online-only virtual showcase streamed on its e-commerce site.
Models in dresses, sweaters, separates and outerwear walked the runway in an empty L.A. warehouse for an audience watching from their digital devices.
Reformation wanted to highlight new styles and material innovations without staging a full-scale runway show and the waste and carbon footprint it typically generates, Kathleen Talbot, the brand’s chief sustainability officer and vice president of operations, told Sourcing Journal.
The brand recruited ‘90s-era supermodel and environmental activist Carolyn Murphy to serve as the face of its campaign.
The digital exhibition was “an opportunity to introduce our fall collection and still have fun” while underscoring “what a nimble, less conventional supply chain lets us do,” Talbot said.
Reformation launched in 2009 with a goal of giving new life to deadstock fabrics and still prides itself on small-batch manufacturing and speed-to-market capabilities.
Over the past decade, Reformation has not only adopted more sustainable materials, like Tencel lyocell and recycled cotton, but worked with material innovators looking to upend the traditional fashion supply chain.
“It’s been a fun challenge to go after some of these better materials that we knew we needed to drive our climate-positive commitments and our circularity goals,” Talbot said.
This fall Reformation will introduce a 90-percent-recycled cashmere sweater that builds on last year’s launch of sweaters made with 70 percent recycled content.
Reformation, which debuted its RefRecyling program in 2015, announced a partnership with reverse logistics and textile recycling firm SuperCircle in 2021 to provide a fiber-to-fiber recycling solution for pre-owned clothing.
The fall collection will showcase Reformation’s expanded partnership with traceable wool provider Nativa and its rising regenerative agriculture program.
Circularity-focused suppliers like Manteco that mirror Reformation’s mission help the company transform its material lineup. “We’re definitely not alone in this now,” Talbot said. “I think that is really at the heart of the ‘no show’—how can we continue to challenge the status quo and really push for things that are smarter and more sustainable?”