Environmentally Conscious Designers, Racially Diverse Models and Ethical Sponsors: Sustainability and Inclusion in FS’ SKIN

By Isabel Gallacher

Through choosing the theme SKIN, FS2025 embarked on a mission to explore the relationship between “fashion and nudity” (Astrea Pulcinelli-Triossi - Creative Director), highlighting the need to desexualise human bodies while also raising money for Scottish Women’s Aid – a charity dedicated to supporting victims and raising awareness of domestic violence.  

From a sustainability and inclusion point of view, SKIN offered the opportunity to feature eco-conscious designers whose pieces encapsulated clothes “as our second skin” (Astrea Pulcinelli-Triossi - Creative Director) and to select a range of models who brought the celebration of “skin in its many forms” (Astrea Pulcinelli-Triossi - Creative Director) to life.

The sustainable and inclusive mission of FS was clearly part of the thought process for selecting this year’s designers. For instance, models strutted down the catwalk draped in tulle veils made by Love Lane London, a brand that prides itself on “using paper postal packaging” and delivering all orders in “a reusable cotton pouch” (Love Lane London, 2025). Other recognisable brands included Johnstons of Elgin, a company with B Corporation status that has “worked with natural, renewable, biodegradable fibres since 1797”. (Johnstons of Elgin, 2025). In an age where awareness of ‘greenwashing’ has become pertinent, FS’ selection of designers echoed its goal to be environmentally conscious. 

Alongside working with designers who share their mission of sustainability, another goal of FS is to help a “new generation of talented young designers to develop and grow in the fashion industry”. FS2025 invited up-and-coming talents including Taïma Castor (Northumbria University alumna), Roisin Spence (Gray’s School of Art alumna), and Aashima Singh (Central Saint Martins alumna) to have their work featured. The seamless parade of designs by established and fresh names dazzled the show’s attendees and signalled FS’ mission of empowerment. 

From Moët & Chandon to Aipple, the selection of sponsors for SKIN further echoed FS’ efforts to partner with eco-conscious brands. Aipple, a local company in Fife that produces cider, “have alley-cropped” their trees, and “underplanted them with a permanent wildflower mix, which attracts pollinators and pest eating insects that spread throughout the crops” (Hyrneside, Aipple Cider. 2025). Similarly to Aipple, Moët & Chandon is another example of a brand that is actively striving towards a greener future. The French champagne producer launched the Natura Nostra Programme, an initiative that has already allowed “20 kilometers of ecological corridors” to be planted on their estates, with the goal to plant “100 km by 2027” (Natura Nostra, 2025). The initiative has also focused on “sheep eco-grazing” to help “develop areas favourable to diverse flora and fauna” (Natura Nostra, 2025). These sponsors of FS serve as an extension of their dedication to eco-friendliness.  

While the choice of sponsors and designers seem to reflect the goals of FS, the selection of models, although racially diverse, could have benefited from a wider range of body shapes to authentically capture the values of body empowerment and celebration that SKIN aimed to promote.  

Overall, as stated in its mission, FS2025 deftly selected its designers, sponsors and models to ensure that its mission of sustainability and inclusion was represented both on and off the catwalk.  

Credit: Isabel Gallacher

Credit: Nicole Egorova