Who
Defines
Luxury?

Luxury Loves Polyester

The brands won’t say it out loud, but their price tags do. One thousand, two thousand, five thousand dollars— for what? What are we wearing — fashion or fossil fuel? What are we breathing — style or microplastics? Elegance wrapped in oil. Luxury on the tag –littering the landfills. Prestige or poison? Luxury didn’t just fall for polyester — it married it. We’re smarter than this. We won’t play this game.

So we've started asking,
What is a luxury item?
and Who Defines Luxury?

Author/journalist Alden Wicker wearing Another Tomorrow

But there are alternatives...

Another Tomorrow is one example

Another Tomorrow is a blueprint for what fashion can be when it’s rooted in integrity, intentionality, and intelligent materials
From the start, the brand was built ground up with transparency and responsibility at its core: traceable wool, organic cotton, regenerative fabrics, and production that honors both maker and wearer. Recently, they expanded this vision with a moto-jacket made from Mirum, a next-generation, plastic-free leather alternative. It’s proof that even the most iconic staples of luxury can be reimagined without compromise. More on No Kill Mag

But they’re not alone

We’ve seen designers doing things differently. From upcycled couture to bio-based textiles, they are stitching together a different story—one that treats beauty as abundance, not waste. Here are a few more you should know.

Grace Gui

Grace Gui’s work traces the journey from farm to fashion. Using silk directly from silkworms and other raw sources, she reimagines luxury as something deeply connected to origin, material, and process. More on No Kill Mag

Caroline Zimbalist

Caroline Zimbalist creates sculptural pieces from bioplastics, balancing hard shine with soft form. Her practice merges art and innovation, showing how design can move beyond petroleum-based plastics toward a regenerative future. More on No Kill Mag

J-RAT

Janelle Abbott transforms discarded textiles into radical, one-of-a-kind garments for her brand J-RAT. Her process rejects fast fashion’s disposability, proving that what’s cast off can be reborn as statement pieces — raw, bold, and unapologetically original. More on No Kill Mag here + here.

GANNI

GANNI is rewriting the rules of contemporary fashion through next-generation materials. From plant-based leathers to innovations like Circulose, their collaborations show how scale and creativity can accelerate the move beyond fossil-fuel textiles. More on No Kill Mag

Allina Liu

Working with TomTex, Allina Liu brings couture sensibility to material innovation. TomTex — crafted from mushroom and shell waste — becomes the foundation for intricate, body-conscious silhouettes that expand what luxury can feel like.

Lost Woods

Lost Woods builds bags with Mirum, a plant-based leather alternative free of plastics. Their designs combine clean lines with tactile depth, proving that accessories can be both enduringly elegant and free of fossil fuels. More on Lost Woods on NKM. More on Mirum on NKM

Why this matters

Luxury isn’t just about clothing—it shapes culture, sets standards, and tells the world what is worth aspiring to. When heritage houses use polyester and nylon—the same cheap plastics as fast fashion—they normalize disposability at the highest level. That choice ripples outward: into landfills, into our food chain, into our lungs.
Polyester is oil in disguise. Every wash releases microfibers into water systems. Every gown or suit made from it is destined to outlive us in a landfill. And every marketing campaign that calls this “timeless” or “sustainable” is quietly betting that we won’t ask questions.
But luxury can mean something else. It can mean garments made with respect for the earth, designed to be cared for, repaired, and cherished. It can mean materials chosen for their performance and integrity, not their profit margin. It can mean beauty that enhances life, rather than pollutes it.

This matters because our choices reverberate. The labels we check, the questions we ask, and the standards we set push the industry to change. If we refuse to equate polyester with prestige, fashion will have to meet us where we stand: demanding elegance that is worthy of the future.

What you can do now:

  • Check the label before you buy. Polyester, nylon, acrylic = plastic.
  • Ask brands to be transparent about their fabrics.
  • Support designers and companies that prioritize natural, regenerative, or circular materials.
  • Redefine luxury as something that values both people and the planet.

Want to stay connected as we track the next chapter of fashion’s future?

for updates, resources, and ways to take action.

A campaign by No Kill: Project Planet

Missed first video? See it here.

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