除了創意上的挑戰，許多設計師的現​​金流也陷入了停滯。零售商取消了秋季前的訂單，使品牌面臨著堆積如山的未售出庫存，服裝銷售在春季創下新低。對於那些想展示新東西的人來說，唯一的選擇是變得資源豐富。他們利用過去幾季剩下的材料，重現舊有的圖案，依靠自己的雙手，在家裏縫製、立體建材、點綴和染色服裝。 「我通過它意識到，我從來沒有想過要做更多的東西，要更有創意。」就連 Jonathan Anderson 這麼說。這就是約束和限制的好處，因為它們能夠同時縮小了你所關注的事情，並釋放出你在#BeforeTimes 從未有過的想法。

當然，另一個好處是，所有這些方法都更具可持續性：利用你所擁有的東西，重新利用材料，只設計真正需要的東西。正如 Gabriela Hearst 所言，設計師們 「撇去了肥肉」，「肥肉」是為了取悅零售商或是滿足世俗外觀而製作的多餘物品。幾十年來，零售商和媒體的口號是「越多越好」：更多的系列、更多的SKU、更多的顏色、更多的獨家產品、更多的合作，最終造成更多的浪費。

但對大多數人來說，這也是一種似曾相識的感覺。多年來，設計師、零售商和編輯們一直在抱怨這種快速節奏、過剩時裝以及對創造力的傷害，更不用說對環境的影響了。一場全球性的大流行才將對話轉化為行動，就像在3月所採取的生活方式：社交距離、在家工作、戴上口罩一樣，時尚需要的轉變。一開始聽起來是有點不可理喻，但執行起來並不困難。這些變化加在一起，將產生巨大的影響。

Gabriela Hearst 則不遺餘力地計畫着下一個10年的時尚，用有限的資源，以較小的規模，有意識地製造，並不缺乏創造力。

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? @emilyfarra @vogue for including us in your “Waste Not” piece. & letting us explain how we dealt with “skimming the fat” “… The pandemic made the mentality we are working in feel more relevant,” explains Hearst. We were always thinking 10 years ahead, about when we have water shortages and climate disasters. The pandemic isn’t what’s going to wipe us out as a species, but the environmental crisis will. We have to change [our behaviors and systems] drastically, and the pandemic taught us that we can do that—we can change in the blink of an eye. We have the technology to make those changes in the fashion industry, but it just takes a new consciousness.” IHearst says her spring 2021 collection is actually “extremely intricate,” even more so than her past efforts. She designed it alongside her men’s collection, which was made entirely of preexisting patterns and fabric, and resort, 60% of which was produced with preexisting and recycled materials. Spring will boast a similar percentage; in these photos, Hearst collages leftover materials and trims with new garments made from fabrics her team purchased pre-pandemic. Working with deadstock wasn’t a new challenge for Hearst; her north star goal is to eventually reach 80% non-virgin materials, and her team has been “working backwards” for a few seasons by purchasing rolls of preexisting fabric before the collection is even designed. That means there is a predetermined number of garments they can make, and by choosing not to develop all-new materials, the carbon footprint is significantly lower. One problem that was entirely new for Hearst was tackling a sudden excess of inventory: With her London and New York stores closed for months, unsold merchandise piled up, and she wasn’t willing to put it on deep discount. Instead, Hearst is doing something bolder: She’s creating a “retrofit collection” of past-season garments that are tweaked or redesigned to feel like new. The collection will be sold exclusively in a top London retailer. “The key is to make sure it still feels desirable,” “No one is going to buy something for its good intentions. They’re going to buy it because they truly desire the product…”

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「這場大流行讓我們工作的心態感覺更有意義，我們總是在考慮未來10年，考慮甚麼時候會出現缺水和氣候災害。其實環境危機才是消滅我們這個物種的原因，並非大流行。我們必須要徹底改變我們的行為和系統，而大流行則徹底喚醒我們要在時裝業內做出改變。」Gabriela Hearst 對可持續性發展的時裝向來都是竭盡全力。

全新 Gabriela Hearst 度假系列便有 60% 材料都是利用回收的面料和過往使用過的材料製作的，將大流行前購買的材料與剩餘回收再利用的布料拼接。對於設計師 Gabriela Hearst 來說，使用剩餘布料並不是一種新的挑戰；她最終的目標是達到80%的非原生材料製造服裝。

不過由於 Gabriela Hearst 在倫敦和紐約的店面已經關閉了幾個月，品牌未售出的商品更是堆積如山，Gabriela Hearst 不願意將這些商品大幅打折出售。相反，Gabriela Hearst 正在做一些更大膽的事情，便是推出復古系列，將上一季的服裝進行解購和重新設計，以 upcycling 的方式將奢侈品設計升級再造。

「你能做的最可持續的事情就是在設計上，很多時候就在這浪費不少。如果你控制你的本能，避免過度設計，你真的會變得更敏銳、更專注。這就是我喜歡這些限制的原因，你的創造力以一種非常專注的方式流動。如果你優先考慮可持續發展，這就是答案。如果我們要做一件帶裝飾的亞麻布連衣裙，我們要在上一季的 herringbone 蕾絲裝飾和新的 herringbone 蕾絲裝飾之間做出選擇，我們就會使用已經有的那件。如果這是你的心態：新的不一定是更好的，你可以把剩下的布料變得很漂亮，你就會有很大的進步。」

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Gabriela HearstInterview人物專訪

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EMILY FARRA Translated by Katherine Ho