Billie Eilish Fronts Gucci Marketing campaign Launching First Bag in Animal-Free Demetra Materials

MILAN — Two years after launching its first sneakers made utilizing the animal-free various materials Demetra, Gucci on Monday is unveiling a brand new iteration of its heritage Horsebit 1955 bag fabricated from it, turning to Billie Eilish to entrance a devoted marketing campaign of photos and movies.

That is the primary Gucci bag to be crafted in Demetra, and it displays the home’s intention towards a extra moral vogue future and towards embedding circularity in its collections, whereas defending its conventional tanning craftsmanship.  

With a brand new uneven silhouette, the Horsebit 1955 bag, marked by an archival equestrian emblem, retails at $3,500 in black Demetra, whereas the mannequin that additionally consists of ebony GG licensed hemp and Econyl regenerated nylon retails at $3,200.

The marketing campaign, conceived by artistic director Sabato De Sarno, was photographed by Tyrell Hampton.

The soundtrack within the movies is “What Was I Made For?” by Eilish, a vegan since she was 12, and a longtime vocal advocate for animal safety, pushing for designers and types to cease using leather-based and furs of their collections.

On the finish of August in London, the singer spoke on the second version of Overheated, a local weather activism occasion introduced by the nonprofit group Help + Feed. She talked about her help for thrifting and different strategies of sustainable purchasing.

In actual fact, to additional amplify its sustainability commitments, Gucci has made an undisclosed donation to Help + Feed, which was based in Los Angeles by Maggie Baird to create an equitable, plant-based meals system and fight meals insecurity and the local weather disaster.

In 2021, Eilish teamed with Nike on a set of sustainable sneakers, two Air Jordan kinds which might be 100% vegan and produced from 20 % recycled supplies. A yr earlier, she partnered with H&M on a sustainable merchandise assortment. In 2021, she was named PETA’s Particular person of the 12 months.

The Oscar and Grammy-winning artist has worn Gucci on a number of purple carpet events, starting from co-chairing the Met Gala final yr sporting a Regency-inspired customized upcycled ivory and duchesse satin corseted gown from the model, or on the LACMA Artwork + Movie Gala in November final yr, accessorizing with a monogrammed sleep masks and blanket. When she received the award for Greatest Unique Track alongside her brother Finneas O’Connell final yr, she wore a customized black ruffled Gucci gown. She has additionally fronted a marketing campaign selling Gucci’s eyewear collections.

Demetra accommodates upward of 77 % plant-based uncooked supplies and is fabricated from viscose and wooden pulp compound from sustainably managed forest sources in addition to bio-based polyurethane from renewable sources. 

The fabric is gentle, sturdy, resilient, versatile and pliable, claimed the corporate.

Gucci launched Demetra in 2021, after two years of analysis and improvement, on three sneaker fashions.

The Horsebit 1955 in Demetra features a heavy metal- and chrome-free tanning course of, and {hardware} is sourced with not less than 30 % recycled brass alloys and finishes containing 100% recycled gold and palladium. Different parts embody licensed cotton lining, and in a single iteration, licensed hemp and Econyl lining produced from regenerated nylon the place the Econyl used comes from manufacturing offcuts which were upcycled by way of the Gucci-Up program; Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemical substances-compliant dye and pigments, and recycled cotton mud baggage with particulars in recycled polyester.

The corporate mentioned the fabric has no impediments to scalability or limitations on quantity.

Demetra doesn’t substitute leather-based however is an animal-free possibility that Gucci can incorporate throughout its collections, as it may be used for all classes of merchandise, from footwear and equipment to purses and attire.

Demetra is made at Gucci’s manufacturing unit Gruppo Colonna based mostly in Tuscany. As a three way partnership with Gucci since October 2019, the style home owns 51 % of Gruppo Colonna. As a part of Gucci’s dedication, any remaining greenhouse gasoline emissions related to Demetra are translated into defending and restoring forests and biodiversity.

In its 2022 Gucci Equilibrium Affect Report revealed in July, the home’s 2022 environmental revenue and loss outcomes revealed that Gucci diminished its absolute greenhouse gasoline emissions in scopes 1 and a couple of of the Greenhouse Fuel Protocol by 90 % and its scope 3 emissions by 70 % per unit of worth added by 2030, from a 2015 baseline. In 2022, Gucci made good progress to achieve these targets, attaining a 68 % absolute discount in scopes 1 and a couple of, with a 55 % depth discount in scope 3.

Demetra is a patented and trademarked materials, whose identify was chosen by former artistic director Alessandro Michele, impressed by Greek mythology and Demeter, the goddess of agriculture and new harvest, given its plant-based basis.

This story initially ran on WWD.