She’s a classic heroine. The ingenue perched on the hills, high above the lake, she’s bathed in sunlight, draped in shades of turmeric, tangerine, scarlet and crimson. She poses a vignette for her story. Perhaps she is the beauty betrothed, or the apathetic antagonist. She draws you in with her magnetic demeanour, her sensational costume.

 

Yet, this prima donna of a Fellini-type romance, is a transformed coquette. She’s tuned in to a new world and she’s wearing her responsibility. This modern muse is not puppeteered nor deluded. Her choices, her life, her style are committed to a conscious bias and to a sustainable future.

It is not enough to simply deliberate the fine art of fashion trend anymore. The industry has been thrust from a complacency and into an order that requires reform. The power of now means real fashion comes by way of a renewable future. Less consumables! Less water wastage! Less landfill! Less emissions! The fast and furious world of style is changing for the better.

GUESS knows a thing or two about delivering long-lasting trend, and this season they are mobilising sustainability as a key factor. This capsule collection, given the moniker SMART GUESS, at first glance seems congruent to all casual elegance they design. Yet, this one is cleverly vetted by ecological technologies. The pieces of the collection are formed using sustainable neo-fibres and existing upcycled materials. Many of the fashion pieces are made in conjunction with brands like Repreve, a future-focused company that successfully repurposes billions of discarded plastic bottles, while the link-and-charm jewellery collection is crafted from upcycled stainless steel.

In 2019 GUESS released their third sustainability report. A ecologically-focused report that pledged the company would continue responsible practice in the area of water usage and sustainable material sourcing. They also agreed that by this year, 25 percent of denim and apparel would meet their SMART GUESS guidelines.

It’s widely reported that nearly 92 million tonnes of textile waste globally ends up in landfill each year. When creating fashion and accessories from non-renewable sources commodities like water, petroleum and fibres are put under immense pressure, then often relegated to a high proportion of wastage. In turn, these actions damage fragile ecosystems and pollutants multiply as a result. Not only do industry leaders have an urgency to review practices but so too do consumers.

The utopian ambience of the world in which our dolce vita shoot takes place this season, high above Lake Lugano, Como is symbiotic to the GUESS fashion discourse. Visceral pleasure with earthen grounding. A celebration of fashion-future set amidst one of the world’s most naturally beautiful locations.

The collection is enticing, even before its ecological viability. The monochromatic order of the baby pink sweat-and-skirt set offers a renewed effervesce to retrospective athleisure. The flirty romance of the crimson red, point-polkadot chemise makes it a valiant showstopper. And the festivity of the tangerine disco jumpsuit, replete with a neckline of ruffles, is poised for performance.

There’s also the minimalistic cut of the coral mini dress, and the sophistication of the multi cut-out blouse naturally married with a pair of decadent taffy-pink Bermuda shorts. Igniting the collection to fever pitch, however, is the GUESS little red dress. A mini-cut hoistered to sultry levels with its ruched, puffed sleeves and its silhouette so sweetly sensual it’s almost cosplay against the Italian backdrop. The pungent hues of this red-scale collection forge a sublime contrast to the terracottas and viney greens of Villa Fogazzaro Roi.

This GUESS sustainability arm is a champion of what fashion of the future could be. Supremely styled pieces that wear well and look good. Fashion that doesn’t relinquish trend nor quality and harbours genuine sensibility for a conscious new world.

We have a responsibility to rewrite our fashion character. She may garner a flashback, she may procure classic cuts but her advocation is so much more. A humanitarian, an eco-warrior, a conscious consumer.

This is her narrative. Now with a vulnerable humility. A SMART responsibility that makes la dolce vita, or “the sweet life”, just that little bit sweeter.