Australian slow-fashion house, Madre Natura, took an opportunity to make a statement at Australian Fashion Week 2024, collaborating with its new creative agency, Orphan to unveil a showcase of an old collection on the runway for the first time globally.

'The Last Season Collection' came in direct response to the alarming fact that Australians discard 500 million kgs of clothing into landfill every year.

Madre Natura has chosen not to launch their new collection until every single piece of their previous one has been sold. This decision aligns with their commitment to sustainability and reducing waste in the fashion industry. The collection was streamed live on TikTok, where viewers had the opportunity to shop the collection in real time.

In a novel approach to advertising, a control room was set up backstage to create 10-second shoppable ads for every individual garment in the collection, which were pushed out live. The show was sponsored by Australia’s leading clean-tech startup, 'Greener'.

“At Orphan, we always try to focus on creating work that is both arresting and persuasive. Our hope is that ‘The Last Season Collection’ will persuade consumers to purchase more sustainably, and persuade other fashion labels to stop producing more and more garments, before they have sold the ones they have already made," said Orphan co-founder, Ant Hatton.

Orphan co-founder, Hans Berents, said the aim was to spark a global conversation on sustainability. "‘The Last Season Collection’ was inspired by the desire to create an optimistic future for the planet, the industry and everyone who walks and will walk the earth in generations to come.”"

Madre Natura Founder, Jackie Galleghan, said the idea presented by Orphan "was so on brand" she had to do it. "At Australian Fashion Week, the nation’s top designers have their work on show, but ‘The Last Season Collection’ made us stand out amongst them. It made people talk about us. And it let the industry know that we are here. But most importantly, it means we are not just talking about sustainability and wastage, we are actually doing something about it.”"