The United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network brings together industries, governments, and cultural voices under one platform. In your view, why is fashion and lifestyle such a powerful entry point into conversations about sustainability?

Fashion and lifestyle are powerful entry points into sustainability because they touch everyone’s daily life and culture. What we wear and how we live are universally relatable as they transform ambition into action, and challenges into opportunities for sustainable development. It makes sustainability tangible. Fashion is a global industry with enormous impact, responsible for up to 8% of carbon emissions (UN News) and an even greater cultural influence. This means changes in fashion can ripple across economies and communities, sparking conversations about responsible consumption, environmental stewardship, and social equity in a way people can connect with. The United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network leverages this broad appeal with over 380 members across 139 countries catalyzing more than 2,100 sustainability commitments, we see that every culture and sector can engage through fashion. By connecting creative expression to sustainability, we invite diverse voices to join a shared mission. Fashion is essentially a common language, one that can communicate values and drive change, from runways to classrooms and from policymakers to consumers. It is a gateway that opens people’s eyes to the idea that sustainability is not just a policy issue; it is part of our identity and everyday choices.

The Fashion and Lifestyle Network was present at the UN General Assembly and Climate Week NYC through panels and activations. What messages resonated in these spaces this year?

At the United Nations General Assembly and Climate Week NYC, we emphasized that sustainability is both a shared responsibility and an urgent imperative. Everyone, from designers and CEOs to policymakers, must act decisively, and the fashion and lifestyle sectors are ready to lead with tangible solutions. We highlighted that sustainability must be a collective effort across individuals, corporations, supply chains, and governments alike. Real solutions already exist, from reducing water use in textiles to advancing circular design, and now need to be scaled through partnership and collaboration.

Throughout the week, our sessions explored how creativity, culture, and innovation can drive systemic change. Speakers including designer Mara Hoffman, Samina Virk, USA CEO of Vestiaire Collective, Linditia and Sarah Teresinski of Redeux Style, who led a live upcycling demonstration, showcased how circular design, storytelling, and ethical entrepreneurship align the industry with the global sustainability agenda. Discussions further examined how resale, repair, and reuse can transform value systems, and how creative cities and local hubs can advance regenerative materials and low-carbon industries. Across all these forums, our message was clear: creativity must meet responsibility, and fashion and lifestyle are central to building a just, inclusive, and regenerative global future.

You’ve often spoken about the importance of elevating member contributions worldwide. Could you share an example of a project or partnership within the Network that has deeply inspired you?

There are many examples of innovation across our member community, but one project that stands out is the redesign of the United Nations Tour Guides’ uniforms. This was a collaboration facilitated through our Network that brought together multiple partners – the Government of Sweden, the UN Office for Partnerships, the UN communications team, the Swedish School of Textiles, the Paul Frankenius Foundation and the Fashion Impact Fund – to demonstrate how sustainability can be seamlessly integrated into institutional identity. The uniforms use environmentally friendly materials (like corozo nut buttons instead of plastic) and digital printing to reduce waste. Unveiled at our Annual Meeting, the uniforms represented far more than a visual transformation as they embodied the collective creativity, partnership, and shared values that drive this Network. It is projects like these that remind us of the profound impact collaboration can have when fashion becomes a force for sustainable development.

Fashion is not only economic, it is cultural, symbolic, and emotional. How do you see these less tangible aspects contributing to advancing the Sustainable Development Goals?

Fashion’s cultural, symbolic, and emotional power is one of the most underrecognized drivers of sustainable development. Beyond its economic influence, fashion acts as a global language expressing identity, heritage, and aspiration. When used intentionally, it bridges creativity with consciousness, allowing sustainability to be communicated not just through policy but through lived culture. When a designer celebrates traditional craftsmanship or shares the story of an artisan behind a garment, it humanizes production and builds empathy which is the foundation for lasting change. Working at the intersection of fashion, media, and diplomacy, I have seen how storytelling can shift collective behavior. The media can amplify sustainable design as cultural aspiration, turning responsibility into desire and redefining what progress looks like. In this way, fashion becomes a diplomatic tool transcending borders, elevating local knowledge, and visually embodying sustainable development. When we quite literally wear our values, sustainability moves from conversation to culture.

Many of our readers are independent designers, entrepreneurs, and creatives. What role can smaller actors - beyond major brands - play in shaping meaningful impact at the global level?

Independent designers, entrepreneurs, and creatives are among the most important voices shaping sustainable fashion today. Their creativity and innovation allow them to take risks, explore business models like resale and repair, and pioneer new approaches to materials and design that can inspire the wider industry. Figures such as Dr. Christina Dean, Founder and CEO of Redress, alongside designers Damini Mittai of Koako Collective, Jann Bungcaras of Jann Bungcaras Fashion House, and Izzy Li Kostrzewa of Isaboko, exemplify this spirit of purpose-driven creativity. Deeply connected to their communities, they tell authentic stories that make sustainability personal and relatable - stories that shift culture, influence consumer expectations, and encourage larger players to evolve. When independent actors come together, through networks like ours or through grassroots movements, their collective influence and local solutions can drive meaningful impact at a global scale.

From your perspective, what does genuine innovation in sustainable fashion and lifestyle look like today? And where do you see the most potential for transformation in the decade ahead?

Genuine innovation in sustainable fashion is about systemic change in what we make, how we make it, and why we make it. Circular models such as resale, rental, and upcycling are no longer niche. The rise of the second hand economy, from retailers embracing resale to startups enabling clothes swapping, is addressing overproduction and waste at the root. Innovation is also cultural. We are redefining fashion’s values around inclusivity, longevity, and well-being. Designers are moving away from endless trends to create with durability and emotional connection in mind. Luxury houses now offer repair services, youth activists are turning thrifted outfits into statements, and sustainability itself is becoming aspirational. This cultural shift may be the most powerful innovation of all.

This year, the Network engaged across platforms from the SDG Media Zone to Partnerships Day to Cumbre de Impacto Iberoamericano. How important is cross-sector collaboration, and what does success look like when these worlds come together?

Cross-sector collaboration is essential to achieving sustainability at scale. Governments provide policy, businesses drive innovation, nonprofits bring grassroots insight, financiers fuel solutions, and media shapes narratives; real progress happens when these strengths work together.

That’s why the Network engages across diverse platforms such as the SDG Media Zone, which brings together media, policymakers, and changemakers to amplify solutions and foster dialogue on the global stage, including actress, model and UNEP Goodwill Ambassador, Amber Valetta.

Similarly, Partnerships Day exemplified collaboration in action, uniting leaders from government, multilateral organizations, and the private sector to advance sustainable development. The panel brought together Princess Jahnavi Kumari Mewar, who spoke on heritage and sustainability; Network member Shannen Henry of the Kaylia Couture program, highlighting creative entrepreneurship; and Marilin Tammsaar, Fashion Executive and spouse of the Permanent Representative of Estonia to the United Nations, who emphasized the power of global cooperation.

And through the Cumbre de Impacto Iberoamericano, the Network supported the inclusion of Ibero-American voices and perspectives within global discussions, ensuring that regional leadership, culture, and innovation play a central role in shaping the sustainability agenda. Together, these engagements demonstrate how success looks when different worlds, policy, culture, innovation, and media, come together around a shared purpose: advancing sustainable development through partnership.

Luxury and lifestyle are sometimes criticised as being at odds with sustainability. How do you see them not as contradictions, but as powerful drivers of cultural change?

Luxury and lifestyle are often seen as incompatible with sustainability, but I view them as powerful drivers of cultural change. True luxury is rooted in quality, craftsmanship, and longevity, values that align naturally with sustainability. A beautifully made piece designed to last for decades sends a clear message that less and better is the ultimate aspiration. Luxury also carries influence. When leading houses embrace sustainable practices or elevate artisan collaborations, they make responsibility aspirational and ripple across the wider industry. Lifestyle platforms play a similar role by showing audiences that conscious choices are part of modern living. Together, they have the power to redefine aspiration itself, making care for people and the planet the greatest marker of value.

What do you think still holds the industry back from faster adoption of sustainable practices, and how can networks like yours help overcome those barriers?

The fashion and lifestyle sector has made meaningful progress, yet systemic barriers persist. The industry still operates on a legacy model that prizes speed, scale, and short-term profit over long-term sustainability. This mindset, combined with fragmented supply chains, financial constraints, and inconsistent policy alignment, slows the transition toward circular and equitable practices. Many businesses still treat sustainability as an optional investment rather than a strategic imperative; especially when faced with economic pressure.

This is where networks help. The United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network facilitates partnerships, convenings, and knowledge sharing that bring diverse actors together to solve common challenges. We create safe spaces for members to share experiences openly, building trust and accountability across the industry. We amplify success stories that show sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand, breaking down the myth that responsibility is optional.

As we approach the midpoint of the SDG timeline, how do you stay realistic about challenges while also nurturing optimism - both your own and that of others - for what is possible?

With just five years left to 2030, this is a moment for clear-eyed reflection. Our planet is under increasing environmental pressure, inequalities persist, and progress on the SDGs is lacking. I believe in facing these realities directly, acknowledging where we are off track and using data to guide meaningful course correction. Constructive realism is essential; it turns awareness into action.

At the same time, my optimism is renewed daily by the people and projects driving impact across our Network. Hundreds of members are advancing thousands of tangible commitments, from local recycling programs to sustainable product innovation, proving that progress is not only possible, it is happening. These collective efforts remind me that systemic change often begins at the grassroots level, and when we connect those actions globally, optimism becomes strategy.

How can the fashion and lifestyle industries ensure that sustainable development is truly global - including voices from the Global South, artisans, and communities often overlooked?

Fashion is inherently global, with supply chains and creative contributions spanning every continent. For sustainable development to be truly inclusive, it must uplift the very communities that have long sustained this industry yet remain underrepresented. Voices from the Global South, Indigenous makers, and artisans must not only be acknowledged but centered in decision making and storytelling. Representation at global forums is essential to ensure that sustainability reflects lived realities, not just policy frameworks. Within our Network, which spans over 125 countries, we actively highlight leadership from Africa, Asia, and Latin America so that innovation from these regions informs the global agenda. We also collaborate with organizations rooted in local contexts to strengthen community ownership and visibility. True sustainability depends on diversity of voice, culture, and knowledge ensuring that every community is not merely included but empowered to lead.

In conversations about fast fashion, there is often a tendency to ‘other’ the problem - to see it as something happening elsewhere, to other people. How do we shift the narrative so that fashion’s impact is understood as our collective responsibility, not just someone else’s?

One of the most effective ways to shift the narrative is through education and storytelling that reveal the human and environmental journey behind every garment. Each piece of clothing connects farmers, artisans, and workers across continents, forming an ecosystem of shared responsibility. When we understand that exploitation or environmental harm in one part of the supply chain affects us all, the conversation moves from blame to accountability. Campaigns like Who Made My Clothes have been instrumental in reminding us that fashion is not abstract, it is deeply human.

Equally important is reframing sustainability as a collective pursuit rather than a niche concern. No brand, policymaker, or consumer can address fashion’s impact in isolation. Through our convenings, we emphasize that governments, companies, and academia all play essential roles in shaping a responsible industry. When collaboration replaces competition, sustainability becomes a shared success story where progress is measured not by who leads, but by how many rise together.

Looking ahead, how do you hope future generations will view this moment in fashion and sustainability? What story do you hope they’ll be able to tell?

I hope future generations look back on this moment as a turning point, when fashion confronted its environmental and social realities and began to reinvent itself for good. Ideally, they will say, “This was the decade when creativity and conscience came together, when sustainability became the definition of style.”

If we do our work well, they will see our time not as one of denial, but of determination. I hope the story they tell is one of renewal, where fashion proved that beauty and responsibility can coexist, and where our choices helped restore balance between people and planet.

The Cumbre de Impacto Iberoamericano creates a Spanish-language platform within UNGA for leaders to amplify strategies rooted in natural capital, education, and space. How important is this kind of linguistic and cultural inclusion in global sustainability conversations, and what unique value does the Ibero-American summit bring to the role of fashion, development, and culture?

The Cumbre de Impacto Iberoamericano is a powerful reminder that sustainability must embrace cultural and linguistic diversity. By creating a Spanish-language platform, it ensured leaders and communities across Latin America and Spain that they can engage fully and share strategies on equal footing. This year’s session explored how education can preserve, elevate, and innovate traditional artisanal and indigenous craftsmanship, by highlighting models that integrate heritage skills into learning systems and empower new generations to sustain cultural identity while fostering economic opportunity.

Featuring UN Fashion and Lifestyle Network Member Manuela Alvarez, Yasmin Sabet (Mola Sasa), and Colombian TV presenter Monica Fonseca, the discussion showed how safeguarding traditions while adapting them to contemporary markets ensures that artisanal knowledge continues to thrive. For fashion especially, it illustrated how cultural heritage and sustainability are intertwined, and how local innovation can inspire global solutions, enriching the entire sustainability movement.

At Denude, we are drawn to what is stripped back - what remains when you take away excess. In your work, what do you feel is the essence of fashion’s role in shaping a more sustainable, longevity-filled world?

When fashion is stripped back to its essence, it is about meeting a fundamental human need while reflecting who we are as people and cultures. In a sustainable future, that essence lies in merging creativity with responsibility, crafting garments that bring joy, identity, and purpose without depleting people or the planet. At its core, fashion is a connection between maker and wearer, past and future, culture and craft. When designed with intention and longevity, it becomes a force for well-being rather than waste.

If you could highlight one designer, project, or place that you feel embodies the values of the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network, who or what would you choose?

The United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network Annual Meeting at the United Nations Headquarters in New York is a powerful embodiment of our values. Each year, it convenes more than 300 network members, industry leaders, media, and UN officials to showcase solutions and progress. We have had the honor of welcoming country representatives such as Ambassador Dr. Alexander Marschik of Austria and Ambassador Maurizio Massari of Italy, alongside network members including Saheli Women, Lenzing, and Council of Fashion Designers of America. The meeting highlights the progress the Network and its members have made and reinforce the vital role of sustainable fashion in advancing the global development agenda. It is this convergence of diplomacy, innovation, and grassroots leadership that defines the strength of our community.

Is there anything we haven’t touched on that you feel is important to share with our readers at this moment?

We are living in a time of global uncertainty, with political divides, economic pressures, and environmental crises shaping daily life. Yet these challenges make our commitment to our shared responsibility more urgent. No matter our differences, we are united by a common hope for a livable future.

What inspires me is witnessing how, even in difficult times, people choose to collaborate across borders and sectors. Fashion reminds us that threads are stronger when woven together and so too are we. If we nurture solidarity, creativity, and compassion, we can build a safer and more peaceful future together.

And finally, as we ask all our interviewees at Denude… tell me a secret. It doesn’t need to be intimate, just a small truth or quirk that reveals a different side of you.

My 9-year-old son is an aspiring filmmaker and I am often recruited as the featured zombie with full effects. Also, I love thrifting and collecting British tea sets. Each piece has its own story, and I often use them as a way to gather community to slow down, share a cup of tea, and simply be together. It is my quiet reminder that connection and presence are the true luxuries in life.