Parsons Paris students recently had the opportunity to explore contemporary fashion and environmental sustainability in a project aptly titled Rebranding Sustainability. The project was a collaboration with Tranoï, a leading international fashion tradeshow, and Maison Lesage, a legendary French textile house specializing in embroidery and sequins.

Students redirected the narrative around sustainability away from the typical “earthy” aesthetics toward a wider interpretation of concepts in order to generate desirability around sustainability to a greater audience. They worked closely with the CEO of Tranoï and his creative team to explore haute couture embroidery while questioning the sourcing of traditional materials and introducing unexpected ones—an endeavor that upended conventional thinking about sustainability in fashion design.

Through the project, students produced 27 unique pieces using natural or recycled textiles, all embroidered by hand with traceable materials — that is, fibers whose origins and production methods guarantee they have been made sustainably — which are not typically considered part of a designer’s repertoire.

The project culminated in a public exhibition during Paris Fashion Week at Carrousel du Louvre. For the exhibit, Tranoï selected 12 pieces reflecting four major themes around sustainability: Reinvented Materiality, Climate Change, Second Life, and Critical Systems. The exhibition not only showcased the students’ innovative work, but also raised public awareness around the wider environmental impact of our decisions.