In the age of fast fashion, Saudi Arabia’s flagship fashion event, Fashion Futures, rather, focused on fashion that laid focus on the environment. The online conference, titled ‘Fashion Futures Live: Moving Towards Sustainability, Diversity and Innovation,’ saw the most inspiring experts from all over the world in the fashion industry, along with a number of influential leaders speak about the topic of sustainability.

Streamed online where individuals took part through an interactive virtual platform, the event saw experts of the fashion industry present their experiences and practical solutions to reduce pollution within the industry.

Broadcast simultaneously from Riyadh and New York, the event kicked off with an address by the sector development director of the Fashion Commission at Saudi’s Ministry of Culture, Noura bint Faisal Al Saud.

The event led by Princess Reema Bint Bandar, Saudi Arabia’s ambassador in the United States, noted that it is time for creativity in Saudi Arabia. As she spoke, she emphasised the need for slow fashion and the importance of reducing consumption for a cleaner, more comfortable work system, that would benefit creatives, workers, and the environment in the long run.

The Fashion Commission launched the ‘Fashion Futures’ initiative in 2019 intending to dedicate an event to fashion in the Kingdom. The event was redesigned in 2021 as a leading digital platform in the field of fashion.

The event saw some of the prominent names like designer Rebecca Minkoff and Susan Rockefeller, President and Trustee of Oceana –a non-profit organisation for the protection of marine life.

The event was held in 17 sessions wherein industry experts covered topics like global fashion agenda and sustainability, entrepreneurship as a collective, entrepreneurship mindset inspiring the fashion industry, building a legacy — Fashion X Design, the face of leadership, inspiration in designs via culture and style, diversity and inclusion as a business model, technologies across the supply chain towards sustainability, female founder — Being fearless, the influence of fashion for a social cause, environmental efforts in fashion via entrepreneurship, transparency via partnerships in fashion, institutions and media focusing on sustainability, influencing towards sustainability, future of fashion — Conservatism — Oceans — Activism and future of fashion is now.