Paris Fashion Week 2025:
Sustainable Fashion or Glamour?

.

Paris Fashion Week (PFW) remains the crown jewel of the fashion world—but behind the spectacle lies a heavy environmental toll. In a typical year, the “Big Four” fashion weeks—New York, London, Milan, and Paris—collectively produce around 241,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions [1], with New York leading the pack and Paris close behind [2].

In this blog, we take a closer look at the true footprint of PFW 2025: from the carbon cost of global travel and high-flying luxury to digital alternatives and ethical gray areas. We'll explore the comprehensive impact of the Fashion Weeks and the mounting pressure on luxury brands to reinvent themselves sustainably.

Carbon Footprint: Travel, Shows & Infrastructure

A huge share of Fashion Week’s emissions comes from transport. Industry studies estimate that flights alone for designers, buyers, journalists and celebrities generate on the order of 147,000 tonnes of CO₂ per year across all major fashion weeks [2]. (For perspective, that’s equivalent to 10,000 round-trip flights New York–Paris.) Much of this is long-haul air travel, often in premium class. In fact, flying business-class emits roughly 3× more CO₂ per person than economy (and first class about 9× more) [3], because those seats take up more space and carry heavier furnishings.

Beyond the runway flights, Fashion Week also relies on massive production infrastructure: energy-intensive lighting rigs and elaborate stage sets. While precise figures are scarce, experts note that even lighting and sound for a single 15‑minute show can burn thousands of kilowatt-hours. Hotels and ground transport add another layer: one estimate puts accommodation and local travel for the week at 78,000 tonnes CO₂ (for hotels and taxis) [2]. In short, each Paris Fashion Week show—even a modest one—can generate tens of thousands of tonnes of CO₂ once you factor in flights, electricity, heating and support services [2].

Picture by Dennis Zhang.

Runway Shows: Single-Use & Invitations

Beyond carbon emissions, Fashion Week generates enormous streams of waste. Each show often involves custom-built sets, props, and decorations designed to last only a few minutes—paper sculptures, theatrical backdrops, extravagant installations—all destined for the landfill or recycling immediately after the show. Industry insiders often describe a typical post-show scene as “a dumpster full of plastic water bottles, printed press notes, invitations, flowers, and decor” [4].

On top of that, there's the massive waste of water, electricity, and raw materials during the production of Fashion Week collections. Some reports suggest that producing a single runway show can consume more resources than six months of the collection’s actual wear and use [5].

Textile Waste in Fashion Weeks

Unsold Clothing and Limited Editions

Many of the pieces created for runway shows are one-of-a-kind or part of limited samples—and most never make it to stores. Industry estimates suggest that 15–30% of garments produced are never sold, ending up destroyed or stored indefinitely [6,7]. That’s a massive loss of resources before garments even reach consumers. At events like Paris Fashion Week, where hundreds of exclusive looks are shown just once, the scale of this waste is even more pronounced.

Production Waste

Behind every couture show is a surprising amount of textile waste. On average, 15–20% of fabric is lost during the cutting and production process due to offcuts, alterations, and rejected pieces [8]. In haute couture—where garments are complex and precision-made—this adds up fast, often amounting to hundreds of meters of discarded fabric per collection.

Oil-based and Synthetic Fibers

Roughly 65–70% of textiles used on the runway are synthetic—think polyester, nylon, and acrylic [9]. These oil-based fibers are non-biodegradable and can take 200 to 400 years to break down [10,11]. Their environmental impact doesn’t stop there: they require significant water and energy to produce, and every wash releases microplastics into the environment.

Paris Fashion Week S/S 2024. Picture by Miu Miu.

Fashion Week Format: From Spectacle to Intimacy

As sustainability pressures mount, recent Fashion Weeks—particularly in Paris—have seen a noticeable shift from large-scale theatrics to more intimate, stripped-back runway presentations. Balenciaga, for instance, narrowed its runway to the width of a standard office chair, with guests seated in a single row right next to the models, highlighting what designer Demna called “proximity to the clothes” [12].

Less drama, more consequences?

While smaller shows may cut emissions—fewer people flying in, less elaborate sets, lower energy use—they also unintentionally open the door wider for fast fashion. By making runway looks feel more "everyday" and wearable, designers are creating styles that are easier to replicate at scale. Fashion Week’s shift toward realism still “creates the desire” that fuels mass-market copies and overconsumption [13].

Do haute couture and fast fashion both benefit?

Interestingly, this more accessible approach to fashion can benefit both high-end and fast fashion brands—though in very different ways.

A 2024 study published by the Journal of Marketing Research [14] found that fast fashion “copycats” produce a dual effect:

• On one hand, they can cannibalize luxury sales by offering similar designs at a fraction of the price [15].
• On the other, they can expand the market by increasing brand awareness and demand for the original styles [15].

On the other, they can expand the market by increasing brand awareness and demand for the original styles [15]. The effect depends largely on the level of similarity:

• If fast fashion copies are too close to the original, they can erode exclusivity and dilute the luxury brand.
• But when they’re similar enough to evoke a vibe, without being identical, they fuel aspirational desire—encouraging consumers to seek out the real thing.

Haute couture and top-tier ready-to-wear aren’t aimed at your local mall – they exist to spark trends and give brands a “halo effect” . A sumptuous Paris catwalk can transform a simple garment into an aspirational symbol. For instance, a plain logo tee that might retail for $500 can shoot to the top of fashion wishlists simply by being featured on a runway or worn by celebrities [13,16]. That cachet trickles down: within weeks fast-fashion chains have copied the look in cheap polyester.

Ultimately, this shift to “real clothes” on the runway may reduce emissions and waste—but it also speeds up trend cycles. Fast fashion retailers benefit from the immediacy and relatability of these designs, while luxury brands gain cultural capital but must work harder to preserve their distinctiveness in a sea of lookalikes.

Models walk the runway during the Chanel Womenswear Spring/Summer 2021 show as part of Paris Fashion Week. Picture by Pascal Le Segretain.

Sustainable Alternatives & Industry Pressure

The rising critique around Fashion Week’s environmental footprint is driving change. In recent years, both innovation and public pressure have nudged the industry toward more sustainable practices.

A few leaders are showing that sustainability and style can coexist. Stella McCartney, for example, has long championed cruelty-free and recycled materials, often bypassing traditional runway shows in favor of museum-style exhibits or smaller, low-impact events. Her collections feature up to 90% sustainable fabrics, including grape leather and recycled cashmere—proof that luxury doesn’t have to come at the planet’s expense [17]. Similarly, Collina Strada primarily uses deadstock and recycled textiles [5].

Even event organizers are stepping up: Copenhagen Fashion Week now requires all participating designers to meet strict environmental criteria, including using at least 50% certified or recycled materials per collection [18]. In the UK, the British Fashion Council has banned exotic skins at London Fashion Week starting in 2025—a symbolic move, given that Paris, Milan, and New York have yet to follow suit [18].

Still, while these advances are promising, they don’t address fashion’s biggest blind spot: mass production. Regardless of how sustainable a material is, if clothes are being produced at excessive volumes, they will continue to strain the planet. Even recycled fabrics have a footprint. For example, producing recycled polyester still emits up to 50% of the carbon emissions of virgin polyester and continues to shed microplastics when washed [19]. Moreover, less than 1% of all clothing worldwide is actually recycled back into new garments, highlighting the limits of circularity in practice [19,20].

On the other hand, designers are experimenting with upcycling on the runway: Gabriela Hearst famously reconstructed vintage mink coats into new knit patterns for AW25, blending haute couture with reuse [21]. Even fast-fashion brands are under pressure to replace petroleum-derived synthetics with biodegradable or recycled fibers.

In other words, eco-friendly materials are a step forward—but without tackling the sheer scale of production, consumption and afterlife, Fashion Week’s sustainability efforts risk becoming another form of greenwashing.

Extinction Rebellion protestors at London Fashion Week Picture by Niklas Halle'n.

Future Directions: Innovation & Conclusion

What might Fashion Week become next? Analysts suggest major structural reforms. One idea is to merge or reduce shows to curb travel. The Carbon Trust and consultants propose combining men’s and women’s collections in single events, co‑locating seasons, or even choosing a single host city per season (rather than staging four separate weeks) [2]. In this “Olympic model,” Paris might rotate the spotlight with other capitals, or showcase only the most essential presentations. Hybrid formats are also in play: as digital streaming cuts costs and carbon (though live engagement still lags), some envision “showrooms” and augmented reality runways supplementing physical events [2].

Paris Fashion Week epitomizes couture’s beauty and excess—but the numbers tell an uncompromising story. The opulence of the runway comes with undeniable carbon and ethical costs. Private jets, overnight stays, and pyrotechnic sets all add up to a climate footprint that no amount of chic can disguise. The big question: can brands balance prestige with the planet? Many say yes, if luxury is redefined.

At AYA, for example, we believe fashion can aspire without expiring: every AYA garment is made in a traceable, single-origin supply chain (all in Peru) to keep miles—and emissions—low. We use only biodegradable and certified fibers (100% organic pima cotton) so that at the end of life the cloth returns safely to earth. In our view, true elegance is a transparent journey from field to fabric, not a carbon-churning spectacle.

The real showdown is yet to come: as Fashion Week 2025 wraps up, will carbon counting become as paramount as trend forecasting? Can luxury houses “show” responsibility as well as showmanship?

AYA Collection: 100% organic pima cotton, plastic-free and natural dyes.

Authors & Researchers

Jordy Munarriz

Environmental Engineer with a master's degree in renewable energy and a specialization in sustainability. Researcher and writer, he combines his technical knowledge with his passion for environmental communication, addressing topics of ecological impact and sustainable solutions in the textile industry and beyond.