Galeries Lafayette invites Vivienne Westwood to launch sustainable fashion project

By

Marion Deslandes

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Jul 15, 2019

After introducing a fresh slogan, “Changeons de mode” ("Let's change approach," playing on the French word 'mode' which also means ‘fashion’), French department store chain Galeries Lafayette has fleshed out the details of its new corporate identity, going hand in hand with the plan to promote more sustainable fashion. The new approach will be launched in conjunction with a major commercial campaign next autumn, whose guest of honour will be British fashion designer and activist Vivienne Westwood.

From September 2 to October 14, Vivienne Westwood will take over one of the shop windows at the Galeries Lafayette’s Haussmann branch in Paris, as well as a pop-up store on the branch’s first floor. The focus will be on Westwood's fashion work and on her activism, notably in raising public awareness for human rights and environmental protection.  

In parallel, Galeries Lafayette is adopting a fresh creative eye in the campaign for the “Changeons de mode” project, a continuation of the ‘Go for Good’ initiative introduced in 2018. US photographer Roe Ethridge will supervise the department store's visual image, which had been entrusted to creative studio Toiletpaper since 2016, and before then, from 2001 to 2014, to French illustrator and photographer Jean-Paul Goude. Ethridge’s first campaign will be unveiled next autumn.

“Our department stores are and always will be places of inspiration and pleasure, renowned also for their choice,” said General Manager Nicolas Houzé, adding that “in this day and age, choice means having access to a selection of products and services notable for both their style and good sense. It is a transformation on which we embarked in 2018 with the ‘Go for Good’ initiative, introducing a selection of several hundred brands that have a positive impact on the environment, local manufacturing and social improvement.”
 
To bolster this message, Galeries Lafayette has enlisted as brand ambassadors four leading figures from the world of fashion, cinema and business: activist Kimberley Drew, the founder of French label Patine, Charlotte Dereux, actress and director Hafsia Herzi, and US fashion designer Stephen Phipps.

As part of the project, the department store will also organise a series of conferences, and introduce other initiatives in the autumn: the French women’s ready-to-wear federation will operate a pop-up store featuring 10 emerging designers on the branch’s second floor from September 19 to October 13 and, as supporter of the ANDAM young designer prize, Galeries Lafayette will host an exhibition in the Galerie des Galeries area to fête the prize’s 30th anniversary.