RIMOWA's Great Sustainability Story Is Untold in 'Never Still' Fall 2021 Campaign

Rihanna Headlines RIMOWA 'Never Still' Fall 2021 Campaign by Gray Sorrenti AOC Fashion

Rihanna Photographed by Gray Sorrenti

Getaways were on Rihanna’s mind when she hit the road earlier for RIMOWA’S latest ‘Never Still’ campaign. The journey is lensed by Gray Sorrenti, Davide’s 18 year old niece and daughter of photographers Mario Sorrenti and Mary Frey. Gray captured Rihanna in September 2020 on 26 Harper’s Bazaar editions worldwide.

‘Never Still’ People

The rising-star photographer is more concerned about people than must-have fashion. The campaigns that thrill her the most properly make fashion the prop of people and not vice-versa. Example: Gray Sorrenti Revs Up LOEWE Paula's Ibiza SS Campaign with Loads of Love

A short film includes more RIMOWA campaign stars Patti Smith, LeBron James, and Roger Federer. Smith narrates a poem over the video’s cinematic clips — one that strikes a chord with today’s creative, activist-oriented thinkers. and also the LVMH powerhouse stable of brands.

“No one Builds a Legacy by Standing Still”

The message of the RIMOWA ‘Never Still’ campaign resonates deeply at AOC. The modernization of the centuries-old luggage manufacture was born from the mind of then CEO Alexandre Arnault, now charged with the rebirth of Tiffany & Co.

LVMH is investing significantly in the travel and hospitality sector,. The RIMOWA brand campaign prompts AOC to plead once again to Bernaud Arnault and now Alexandre Arnault, to save our beloved elephants.

Tiffany has supported elephant conservation for several years now and leads the jewelry industry in ethical manufacturing and transparency principles and practices.

Update: AOC is working on the LVMH conservation update and especially elephant conservation. This recent September 2021 article LVMH and UNESCO join forces again to safeguard biodiversity at IUCN World Conservation Congress documents the top-level facts about the LVMH Initiative.

Tech Giant Amazon Rolls Out Amazon Rainforest Carbon Offset Project

Read on: Tech Giant Amazon Rolls Out Amazon Rainforest Carbon Offset Project AOC Sustainability

By Juliana Ennes. First published on Mongabay.com

. First published on Mongabay.com AOC Sustainability

How do you get a small rancher to give up cutting trees for pasture and instead produce high-value and sustainable agricultural products without the requisite skills, money, or access to markets? A new initiative is trying to solve this problem in the Brazilian Amazon.

Called the Agroforestry and Restoration Accelerator, this nature-based carbon removal project aims to help small farmers diversify production and reach new markets, focusing on reforestation and regenerative agroforestry while also advancing economic development. The initiative, announced in early September by U.S-based tech giant Amazon in partnership with nonprofit The Nature Conservancy (TNC), will set up a project in Pará state, home to 9% of the world’s tropical forest area and 40% of Amazon deforestation — the highest rate of forest loss in Brazil.

But this isn’t a philanthropic movement. While Amazon will invest money and provide technical assistance to farmers — and TNC and other nonprofits will provide support on the ground — the tech colossus will receive carbon credits in exchange. Amazon executives and NGO representatives say this project is a win-win for forests, farmers, investors, and even for international carbon credit markets.

“The logic was to generate an alternative source of income so the small farmers wouldn’t have to expand their cattle production through deforestation. This logic, however, had always been philanthropic so far,” said TNC conservation director Rodrigo Spuri Tafner de Moraes in a phone interview.

Before the partnership with Amazon, TNC said it developed a pilot project in Pará over the last eight years named Cacau Floresta (“forest cocoa” in English) to help small farmers start producing sustainable crops of high market value, such as cocoa; Brazil is one of the world’s top cocoa-producing countries, but is still a net importer of the commodity.

According to TNC, this pilot project incentivized small farmers and ranchers to recover degraded or unproductive areas by planting cocoa trees in addition to other native species. This approach created low-carbon, small-scale agricultural production through agroforestry systems that recovered the forest while opening up a new income source for farmers, the nonprofit added.

Farmers peeling cocoa fruit in São Félix do Xingu municipality, Pará state. Image courtesy by © Kevin Arnold/The Nature Conservancy.

Now, through the partnership with Amazon, the investing model aims to generate carbon credits by scaling the project over time, with the possibility of bringing in other investors, the partners say. The goal for the first three years, they say, is to support 3,000 small farmers and restore around 20,000 hectares (nearly 50,000 acres), an area approximately the size of the city of Seattle. Amazon calculates that this would remove up to 10 million metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through 2050.

“We believe that there are more than 40,000 farmers who could benefit from a program like this in the region, and that would take a significant scale of investment,” James Mulligan, senior scientist at Amazon, told Mongabay in a phone interview. “We will set up the basic structure of the project and set up the program to scale. In order to scale, it needs additional investments which could come from different sources.”

To succeed, the project includes comprehensive steps, developers say, ranging from a platform to select eligible farmers, to training for the requisite skills, given that deforestation here is driven largely by cattle ranchers who don’t know how to produce cocoa. Smallholders will also have access to high-quality seeds, access to credit lines, logistics to support sales, and entryways to markets, they add.

Read on: Tech Giant Amazon Rolls Out Amazon Rainforest Carbon Offset Project AOC Sustainability

Farmer Deniston Dutra working on his family’s small farm in São Félix do Xingu municipality, Pará state. Image courtesy of © Kevin Arnold/The Nature Conservancy.

Arizona Muse Moves Family to Ibiza As Ambitious Farmers in ELLE Espana September 2021

Arizona Muse Moves Family to Ibiza As Ambitious Farmers in ELLE Espana September 2021 AOC Fashion

Top model and sustainability expert Arizona Muse covers the September 2021 issue of ELLE Espana. Sylvia Montoliú styles Arizona in country woman luxury looks from Celine by Hedi Slimane, Chanel, Dior, Fendi, H&M, Isabel Marant, Max Mara, Louis Vuitton, Oscar de la Renta in images by Mario Sierra [IG]./ Hair & makeup by Kley Kafe

Reading the translated interview in ELLE Espana, AOC learned that Arizona Muse, her husband, Boniface Verney-Carron, whom she married in 2017, Arizona’s son Nikko, and little Cy Quinn, 2, have moved to Ibiza.

AOC has written about Arizona Muse’s deep commitment to regenerative agriculture. The concept of regenerative agriculture involves a series of farming and grazing practices that rebuild soil organic matter as the foundation for rehabilitating and enhancing the entire ecosystem. Beyond its bedrock focus on soil, maintaining excellent practices in animal welfare and farm workers fairness are fully integrated into regenerative agriculture.

Forbes has an article tonight Regenerative Agriculture: The Next Trend In Food Retailing.

Arizona tells ELLE Espana’s Laura Somoza that her ambition is to be a farmer, and there’s a lot of regenerative agriculture in the Balearic area. “It is incredible what farmers are doing, reclaiming previously desert areas and turning them green again. It is exciting to see how it happens, and I want to be part of this movement.”

More Arizona Muse projects include founding her new charity ‘Dirt’ in June 2021, which sees farming as the future of sustainable fashion. Muse made the announcement coordinated with Sustainable Angle’s Future Fabrics Expo in London, an organization where Muse is a board member.

Arizona will be linking fashion brands to sustainability projects connected to regenerative farming. She notes that certification by Demeter will be required in any projects that she oversees in [another name] biodynamic farming.

In January 2021 Arizona Muse became Aveda’s first-ever global ambassador. She also is a Greenpeace ambassador and recently collaborated with Extinction Rebellion. Muse continues to work closely with Livia Firth, founder of Eco-Age. Call me inspired. ~ Anne

Related: We’ve expanded the Arizona Muse narrative about biodynamic farming with a more detailed and VERY interesting explanation of the origin and beliefs of biodynamic farming. ‘Holistic’ is an understatement. Why Is Arizona Muse So Passionate About Biodynamic Farming in Ibiza? AOC Sustainability

Gucci Off the Grid' X A Vibe Called Tech Collab Lensed by Amber Pinkerton

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Gucci Off the Grid' X A Vibe Called Tech Collab Lensed by Amber Pinkerton AOC Fashion

Gucci took a step forward this summer with its evolving Gucci Off the Grid Collection, shot here by rising photographer, ‘jamaican gyal in london town’ Amber Pinkerton [IG]. Danish stylist Anders Solvsten Thomsen styles models Fabio Silva and Kieza Kanda.

This ‘Gucci Off the Grid’ sustainability campaign is a collab between Gucci and A Vibe Called Tech, a new creative agency founded by Charlene Prempeh, to explore the intersection of Black creativity, culture and innovation. Prempeh is an FT How to Spend it columnist and contributing editor who writes about Black innovators, design, travel, and culture. She is a graduate of Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics [PPE].

Lewis Gilbert is the creative director of A Vibe Called Tech [IG]. AOC will flush out the agency in a separate post.

Returning to photographer Amber Pinkerton in this abundance of Black creativity moment, she was profiled in an August 2020, T: New York Times Style profile: The Rising Photographer Inspired by Her Home Country.

When Gucci announced its first Off the Grid collection in June 2020, Jane Fonda was holding a new bag made of sustainable material.

We now know the material is Econyl, and it’s heavily featured in these Gucci Off the Grid campaign images.

The upcoming Louis Vuitton Charlie unisex, 94% sustainable sneaker has pieces made of Econyl. The fabric made by Aquafil, using large amounts of recycled nylon, is also in heavy use by Prada — who led the Econyl drive — and Burberry, also a founding driver of the material. Track Econyl here.

See entire campaign: Gucci Off the Grid' X A Vibe Called Tech Collab Lensed by Amber Pinkerton AOC Fashion

Louis Vuitton Eyes Sustainable Future With Sneakers Breaking New Ground

Louis Vuitton artistic director Virgil Abloh is a leader in LVMH’s drive towards sustainability.

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Meet Charlie, Louis Vuitton’s new unisex sneaker that symbolizes Vuitton’s commitment to sustainability that has put it out front in implementing environmental changes within LVMH. Virgil Abloh gets much credit for being the leader of the pack at Vuitton, when the focus is climate change policy adaptations.

WWD writes: “Abloh, who defines himself not as a designer, but rather as an “artistic director for a new and different era,” has long subscribed to the theory that modifying an existing object by three percent turns it into “something special.” While that approach has exposed him to accusations of copying, it naturally lends itself to recycling.

“Design doesn’t stop,” he said. “Just because it’s been seen, and it’s been out there, doesn’t mean that you have to crumple that piece of paper up and start from zero. Just because it’s older, doesn’t mean that it’s devalued. That’s me just trying to come up with a new system, especially with the work at Vuitton.”

As part of LVMH’s ambitious plan to achieve maximum sustainability in their start to finish business practices, the company launched earlier in 2021 Nona Source, an online resale platform for the group’s deadstock fabrics and leathers.

The concept was introduced by Romain Brabo and Marie Falguerra, who presented the project as part of LVMH’s intrapreneurship program, DARE, and were invited to pilot it full-time. The internal LVMH DARE acronym means Disrupt, Act, Risk to be an Entrepreneur . . . DARE.

Charlie Hits the Streets in November 2021

Louis Vuitton’s unisex Charlie sneaker. Courtesy of Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton Eyes Sustainable Future With Sneakers Breaking New Ground AOC Sustainability

Charlie has some mighty enticing green measurements, as Louis Vuitton’s first unisex sneaker, produced using 90 percent recycled and bio-sourced materials. Scheduled to launch on November 12, the Charlie features a sole that’s minimally 94 percent recycled rubber.

Charlie’s upper is composed of smooth and grained synthetic material, produced from recycled polyester with a layer of Biopolioli, a corn-based plastic. The tongue patch, back of the shoe and LV logo are made with Econyl regenerated nylon created from nylon waste such as fishing nets, fabric scraps and industrial plastic.

Continue on in AOC Sustainability, where we pick up the story.: Louis Vuitton Eyes Sustainable Future With Sneakers Breaking New Ground AOC Sustainability

Greta Thunberg Covers Vogue Scandinavia Issue 1 Lensed by Alexandrov Klum

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Greta Thunberg Covers Vogue Scandinavia Issue 1 Lensed by Alexandrov Klum AOC Fashion

Climate activist Greta Thunberg launches the first cover of Vogue Scandinavia Issue 1 August-September 2021, lensed by artists duo Alexandrov Klum [IG], The couple Iris and Mattias Alexandrov Klum live in Stockholm and Costa Blanca, located on the southeastern coast of Spain. Read Vogue Scandinavia’s separate interview with Alexandrov Klum.

As you would expect from Thunberg, she doesn’t mince her words in her interview with Tom Pattinson, but also clarifies where she’s coming from on the topic of optimism and change. What better place to do that than in the launch issue of the new Vogue Scandinavia. Thunberg breaks it down for Pattinson:

“There is some kind of misconception about activists, especially about climate activists that we are just negative and pessimists, and we are just complaining, and we are trying to spread fear but that’s the exact opposite. We are doing this because we are hopeful, we are hopeful that we will be able to make the changes necessary.”

[Note that digitally we’re not finding information of Greta’s clothes. We assume they are by sustainable designers.]

There are models who use their Instagram Vogue covers to thank everyone and express gratitude for the opportunity of stepping into the fashion world limelight. Not Greta Thunberg. She used a Sunday Instagram post. to send her main message about fashion around the world.

“The fashion industry is a huge contributor to the climate-and ecological emergency, not to mention its impact on the countless workers and communities who are being exploited around the world in order for some to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposables,”

“Many are making it look as if the fashion industry are starting to take responsibility, by spending fantasy amounts on campaigns where they portray themselves as ‘sustainable,’ ‘ethical,’ ‘green,’ ‘climate neutral’ and ‘fair.’ But let’s be clear: This is almost never anything but pure greenwashing. You cannot mass produce fashion or consume ‘sustainably’ as the world is shaped today. That is one of the many reasons why we will need a system change.”

Greta Thunberg is now 18. In 2020 the then 17-year-old founder of School Strike for Climate and Fridays For Future in America won the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity and its accompanying prize worth one million euros. In 2019, Greta was names TIME Magazine’s Person of the Year and she’s has three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize [2019-2021. Note the 2021 prize will be Awarded in October.]

AOC shares Swedish government-sponsored editorial on the state of fashion consumption in the country: Fast fashion is out — circular fashion is in. Sweden is in it for the long term.

Conservation Architect Gurmeet Sangha Rai by Avani Rai in Vogue India August 2021

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Conservation Architect Gurmeet Sangha Rai by Avani Rai in Vogue India August 2021 AOC Fashion

Mother-daughter duo Gurmeet Sangha Rai and daughter Avani Rai invite us to Chinar Haveli, their family home near Delhi. Both women are connected to legendary lensman Raghu Rai, called India’s best-known photographer alive by Fortune India. His website is awesome.

The women are not mere appendages in the life of Raghu Tai. Gurmeet Sangha Rai is one of India’s most important conservation architects. Priyanka Kapadia styles ‘Lay of the Land’, with hair and makeup by Deepa Verma.

Located two hours from Delhi is Chinar Haveli, a lush and private farmhouse located in the kingdom of nature. The 15-year-old home is build by hand using natural materials. It melds Western concepts with Indian karigari, writes Vogue India.

It’s here that the esteemed conservation architect is captured by her daughter, photographer and artist Avani Rai [IG].

In this interview with TheDesignBridge, Rai talks about the history of architecture and how it has been an evidence to a more intelligent and sensible solution to the world's environmental problems. She also highlights upon the fact that the smallest of the decisions can lead to a larger repercussions.

The High-Speed Evolutionary Downsizing of Sicily's Dwarf Elephants

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The High-Speed Evolutionary Downsizing of Sicily's Dwarf Elephants AOC Sustainability

The Amazing Shrinking of Europe’s Colossal Straight-Tusked Elephants

Imagine massive elephants towering 15 feet tall and weighing over 30,000 pounds.. The vision seems straight out of a science-fiction movie, but these super-sized, straight-tusked elephants (Palaeoloxdon antiquus) were for real, making them among the largest mammals to ever live during the Pleistocene era.

Migrating out of Africa about 800,000 years ago, the giant straight-tusked elephants became widespread across Europe and Asia. Picturing these monumental-sized elephants roaming the British countryside is fantastical enough.

Now imagine that these same super-sized elephants dwindled in size over time — say a few hundred thousands of years or 40 generations and as few as 1500 years— after migrating south to the island of Sicily.

At 15 percent of their original size, the colossal-size elephants became dwarf elephants the size of a donkey. Visualize humans becoming the size of a rhesus macaque monkey, suggests Josh Davis, of Britain’s National History Museum, as a way to understand the focus on new research on Sicily’s dwarf elephants.

The groundbreaking analysis published last month in 'Current Biology', showcases just how rapidly evolutionary changes can occur when animals are isolated on an island.

Jessica Chastain Will Present Trophée Chopard at Cannes Film Festival July 9

Jessica Chastain in Cannes; Since 1998, Chopard is official partner with the Cannes International Film Festival. Courtesy Chopard.

Jessica Chastain Will Present Trophée Chopard at Cannes Film Festival July 9

Actor and two-time Oscar nominee Jessica Chastain will return to the 2021 Cannes International Film Festival to announce the winner of the Trophée Chopard on the 20th anniversary of the award. The male and female winners of the “revelation” prize for emerging talent will be announced at a dinner Thursday, July 9 in Cannes, hosted by Chopard co-president and artistic director Caroline Scheufele.

Chopard is a leader in the Journey to Sustainable Luxury since 2013. Anne of Carversville has written about Chopard’s ethical jewelry efforts for years. The company outlines its sustainability efforts in an extensive explanation of its philosophy and operations on its website.

How Ape Cousins Reveal Human History and Our Common Story of Evolution

How Ape Cousins Reveal Human History and Our Common Story of Evolution

Looking at the numbers, there are approximately 7.67 billion people on the Earth today. In contrast, according to the World Wildlife Fund, the wild chimpanzee population is under 300,000, wild orangutans are fewer than 120,000, and although gorillas are notoriously hard to count, it is estimated there are some 100,000–200,000. Every great ape is endangered—except us.

The tragedy of those numbers is apparent to anyone who cares about conservation. We lose species to extinction every day, driven by economically motivated habitat destruction or unfettered consumerism. Wherever humans go, biodiversity often suffers, and we are everywhere.

Great apes are special because they are the closest remaining threads on that web of humanity, and we can never recover the information they have to share about our origins once they are lost. Apes are uniquely impactful to the field of anthropology, where we researchers look to the past to understand our present. If the desire to preserve biodiversity isn’t enough to save the apes, then unlocking the human story should be a further impetus for their conservation.

Kate Middleton, Beekeeper, Delivers Her Own Honey to Urban Nature Project

Kate Middleton, Beekeeper, Delivers Her Own Honey to Urban Nature Project

The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton may not be in the same league with her brother beekeeper James Middleton, but Kate fell into her own groove with a group of school children at the Urban Nature Project at London’s Natural History Museum in South Kensington, where Kate is the royal patron.

Beekeeping is a very romantic notion, especially in urban areas, where conscientious environmentalists are genuinely concerned about the dire assault of modern life on the world’s pollinators and guardians of the world’s food supply.

The Forward Thinking Museum in London — a virtual space for contemporary photography and videos —exhibited wonderful photos of urban beekeepers around the world. Images include Brian Mc Callum and his hives on the roof of Sir John Cass Primary School. Callum is a pro-bee activist trying to set up as many hives as possible in London.

What a lovely idea, we all exclaim! But wait one moment. Kate Middleton’s very patronage — London’s Natural History Museum, site of her bee honey visit with school children — issued a very alarming report in September 2020. I’ve heard this same call to action about beekeeping in other urban areas. Beekeeping in cities is harming other wildlife, writes the NHM.

What Elephant Crop Raids in Kenya's Masai Mara Are Telling Us About Future Conflict

What Elephant Crop Raids in Kenya's Masai Mara Are Telling Us About Future Conflict

Elephants need large amounts of space to roam in search of food and water. Because of this, they often move outside the boundaries of protected areas – such as the Masai Mara National Reserve and wildlife conservancies – into areas where people live.

These people are impacted by elephants that eat and destroy farm crops. Sometimes their lives are threatened. This often creates fear and anger towards this species and sometimes leads to elephants being killed in retaliation.

These negative interactions – termed human-elephant conflict – pose a huge threat to populations of this endangered species.

World Oceans Day: We Cannot Meet Sustainable Development Goals with a Sick Ocean

World Oceans Day: We Cannot Meet Sustainable Development Goals with a Sick Ocean

Jute Rugs and Biophilic Design: Why Natural Fibers May Create Brain Bliss

Jute Rugs and Biophilic Design: Why Natural Fibers May Create Brain Bliss

6 Reasons Why Interior Designers Vouch For Jute Rugs | AOC Agrees

Almost every interior decorator is raving about jute rugs, and there must be a reason behind it. It’s as if something ancestral — almost primal — happens when we talk on jute rugs, and especially in bare feet.

Working on a recent AOC post Raffia: AOC Launches Earth-Friendly Fibers Sustainable Inquiry in Fashion and Design, we came across the same concept twice in a couple hours: “biophilic design”. Fast Company summed up the concept this way:

Biophilic design dates back to the early 1980s, when the biologist Edward O. Wilson outlined his philosophy of biophilia, hypothesizing that humans have an innate, biological affinity for the natural world. Biophilic design takes this idea one step further: Because humans today spend 90% of our time indoors, according to the 2001 National Human Activity Pattern Survey, it’s necessary to bring the outdoors in and create indoor environments that reference nature in both obvious and subtle ways.

As a reminder, modern humans may be awash in a sea of plastic, but 99% of human life has been lived in concert with nature. Biophilic design assumes that core aspects of nature have contributed to our health and wellbeing, and this connection can be scientifically measured.

Mango Committed 2021 Campaign Advances Strong Sustainability Goals

Mango Committed 2021 Campaign Advances Strong Sustainability Goals

Models Felice Nova Noordhoff and Hamid Onifadé front Mango’s Committed Campaign SS 2021. Julia Sanchis Meseguer styles the couple in relaxed silhouettes, made of natural fabrics such as linen and cotton in terracotta and ecru tones. Ronan Gallagher [IG] photographed the campaign ./ Hair by Paolo Soffiatti; makeup by Egon Crivillers

The Barcelona-based global fashion retailer is raising its sustainability goals, most-certainly as a reflection of evolving consumer mindsets. Currently, 79% of the Mango assortment is “Committed”, meaning that they are recycled or have sustainable characteristics. By 2022, Mango hopes that 100% of every item meets this criteria, writes WWD.

Note that Mango is not asserting that these garments are fully-sustainable in every way. But the company does have an ambitious environmental agenda.

Paloma Elsesser Dives Into H&M Sustainable Swimwear SS 2021 Lensed by Amber Grace Johnson

Paloma Elsesser Dives Into H&M Sustainable Swimwear SS 2021 Lensed by Amber Grace Johnson

Global fashion powerhouse H&M delivers a physical and emotional power punch with its Spring Summer 2021 Swimwear campaign. Led by superwoman Paoma Elsesser, the campaign takes a deep dive into the terrain of unapologetically feminine strength with a cast that celebrates all body types and forms.

The brand comes straight at us with a definitive statement that’s light years away from the “flawless” messages (one of the most harmfull words in modern marketing in the opinion of AOC) of summers past.

Dive in & enjoy the silence

Hey, you! It's your summer, done your way. Don't let self-doubt, other people's opinions and negativity tag along. Dive into the water, swim away from the noise, follow your own voice, and come back recharged.