A Climate Activist’s View of Paris Fashion Week

You’d be forgiven for mistaking Xiye Bastida for a fashion week regular. Dressed in a charming indigo-dyed blouse, matching button-front skirt, and chic knee-high boots from Chloé’s spring collection, the fresh-faced 19-year-old fit right in alongside the likes of Demi Moore and Gugu Mbatha-Raw at the brand’s fall show in Paris last week. And yet for this young climate activist, the front row is hardly a natural habitat. “There’s a part of being in spaces like this that makes me uncomfortable,” she said after the show. “But I think if there’s not that feeling of discomfort, then you’re not doing something new.” 

When it comes to challenging the status quo, Bastida certainly has a ton of experience. A member of the Otomi-Toltec people, the Mexican-Chilean activist has become a global leader in the climate fight, pushing to center indigenous and immigrant voices in particular. Most recently she caught the world’s attention with her rallying cry for change at COP26 in Edinburgh. “She said something that I strongly believe: We’re supposed to leave our children better off than when we started. And that’s not something that we’re doing,” says Chloé creative director Gabriela Hearst, who was among those in the crowd last November. “When she said those words, I started crying.” It’s no surprise that Bastida’s powerful speech went viral. “All of the world leaders had already walked out when I got up on stage, so I gave my speech to an empty room,” Bastida explains. “You have to trust that when you put messages out there, you will eventually be heard, it just takes times.”

That sentiment isn’t lost on Hearst, a longtime advocate of sustainable fashion practices. Since the Uruguay-born, New York-based designer took the helm at Chloé in December of 2020, she’s doubled down on those values. Bastida clearly did her research before accepting Hearst’s invitation to Paris. “Did you know that Chloé is B Corp certified?” Bastida says, referring to the globally recognized benchmark for social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability. The show itself was a zero-waste affair, with everything from the soil on the runway to the chairs on the front row destined for reuse. 

As you might expect, Bastida’s approach to her own closet is just as considered. Two years ago she took a pledge not to buy new clothes and has stuck to it ever since. “If I buy clothes, they’re thrifted,” she says. In other words, you’re far more likely to find the New York-based activist trawling vintage shopping haunts like the L Train in Brooklyn than swanning around a high-end fashion boutique. Still, that’s not to say she doesn’t appreciate craftsmanship. Woven with scenes from the natural world, the head-to-toe knit looks in the collections were a favorite of hers. Ditto for the organic statement jewelry. (For proof, see the eye-catching shell necklace that hangs around her neck.) “I come from a culture that respects all natural resources,” says Bastida, whose first name means soft rain.