The notion of what luxury is these days, hopefully presents itself to you right now. Perhaps you are lying in the warm envelope of the Mediterranean sun, pool glistening beyond your toes, lingonberry and charcoal juice beside you. Maybe you are recharging in the nurturing comfort of a wellness suite, a session of compression therapy still vibrating round your body. Or maybe you are lounging in a chair opposite someone you love, waiting for something delicious to arrive from Eyal Shani’s kitchen. Can you see the Anish Kapoor from where you are sitting? Enjoy it, my friends: undoubtedly, you deserve it.
But while the experience of luxury for you at this moment may be obvious, what may also be comforting is that it has arrived at your door as mindfully and consciously as possible. As the American fashion designer Gabriela Hearst puts it, maybe luxury isn’t an object or even an experience. Maybe it’s knowing that a designer or producer has done their ‘homework’ — that they’ve put ethics at the heart of their process, with materials sustainably sourced, local trades and communities supported, and unnecessary waste avoided.
This is the heart of the experience at Six Senses Ibiza (but you knew that, that’s why you’re here). And it’s an experience we have extended in to the Agora, a showcase for the best stories of sustainability from the luxury and fashion industries.
Fashion, a bit like holidays, is a nice-to-have. If we were really living mindfully and consciously, perhaps we wouldn’t consume either at all. But while holidays are so much more than a ‘break’, fashion is so much more than clothes.
Fashion is confidence and self identity, imagination and fantasy. It is seduction and empowerment, comfort and joy. Gradually, the fashion and luxury industries are coming to terms with their impact on the world (and it is not inconsiderable), and beginning to turn themselves around: reframe their supply chains, reconsider their materials and the communities that produce them.
At the Agora we have arranged our stories into four chapters: recycle, restore, rent and reduce. These we believe are the ways we can all shop more sustainably.
Recycle is about material science, such as CDLP’s econyl swim shorts (econyl is a textile made from waste plastic), or it is about the clever use of leftover materials, such as Loewe’s upcycled leather handbag.
Restore is about mending, yes, but at the Agora we also think it is about protecting the artisanal communities and handicrafts that have been handed down over generations. We love Wehve’s shawls spun, dyed and woven by local co-operatives in Uruguay, or Antik Batik’s championing of Balinese silkscreen or traditional hand weaving in Kolkata.
Reduce is about us, the consumers. Learning to buy less but buy better, and building a wardrobe that is modular and flexible, full of pieces that can work harder, for longer.
And finally rent, which is the fun bit. We are calling this our ‘Cinderella room’, because here we are gathering the glitziest, slinkiest, sexiest gowns for a one night only borrow. How many times have you bought something fabulous for a party, then never worn it again? Renting makes so much more sense — allowing you to be much more playful in your choices, as your commitment is less.
We believe that luxury 2021 is moving through the world in as frictionless way as possible. It is not deprivation, or ‘hair shirt’, or ‘less’. As the fashion and luxury industries gear up to the challenges we face in the decades to come, we see amazing innovations, plenty to inspire and much to admire.
The Agora is curated by Daniela Agnelli and Tiffanie Darke.