What do you do when you’re a supermodel, you’ve got a bunch of supermodel friends, and there’s an issue that you want to bring attention to? You utilize your resources! “The last week has made it obvious urgent climate action is desperately necessary and we’re going to have to put up a fight to get it,” Cameron Russell wrote on her Instagram. “Yesterday, Hurricane Patricia made landfall in Mexico. It was the strongest hurricane ever recorded. This massive storm was a powerful wake-up call. And this week #exxonknew has been trending after journalists uncovered that ExxonMobil, the world’s largest and most powerful oil company, knew everything there was to know about climate change by the mid-1980s, and then spent the next few decades systematically funding climate denial and lying about the state of the science.”
Russell urged her followers to join 17 models (including Lily Donaldson, Stella Maxwell, Bella Hadid, Arlenis Sosa, Toni Garn, Grace Bol and Barbara Palvin) in a protest march with People’s Pilgrimage across Brooklyn Bridge on Monday. The runway knockouts boast a combined 6 million followers. These high profile platforms are sure to start at least a few conversations that wouldn’t have happened otherwise.
Inspired by Filipino diplomat-turned-activist, Yeb Sano, Russell told Vogue how and why the fashion industry should get involved in the war on climate change: “We’re one of the dirtier industries in the world, so if we change our practices, it can have a massive impact. The other piece is that fashion has one of the most compelling media and culture machines that exist. This is an exciting time where fashion can be very avant-garde and can lead a conversation when it comes to climate change.”
We’re with you Cameron.