model citizens

Why Fashion People Are Filming Themselves Walking

Anja Rubik.
Anja Rubik. Photo: anja_rubik

The two-week-long U.N. Climate Change Conference happening in Paris right now was supposed to kick off with a rally on Sunday, but it ended up being canceled out of caution after November’s deadly attacks. Among those who’d been planning to attend were Amber and Giovanni Testino, the couple behind the agency Art Partner, who decided to try taking matters into their own hands: “We thought, why don’t we reach out to people in our industry and call them to be part of an online march? If people don’t wake up and say something about this or do something about this, we’re going to miss the chance and it’s going to be too late,” Amber told WWD

They put out a call for videos of people walking left to right, looking to create a “climate catwalk” of people moving in the direction of a more sustainable future. It caught on: Hundreds have submitted, including plenty of big names. It’s particularly popular with those used to being on the runway: models. Natalia Vodianova posted one with her son yesterday, and Anja Rubik even walked barefoot in the snow.

Magazines like W and French and Italian Vogue have taken up the cause, too, as have photographers like Inez & Vinoodh and Mario Sorrenti. (If Giovanni’s name sounds familiar, that’s because it is: It can’t hurt that Mario Testino is his brother.) There’s also designers like Peter Pilotto, and industry people like Eva Chen, who added a Silicon Valley twist with a treadmill desk.

Here’s hoping one of them nominates the master of social media challenges, Donatella Versace. In the meantime, head to the Testinos’ site to learn more and see more submissions, and submit your own with the hashtag #ClimateCatwalk. 

Fashion People Are Filming Themselves Walking