Fashion Designer Gabriela Hearst Honored with 2024 TIME Earth Award for Sustainability

In a star-studded ceremony on Wednesday, April 24, 2024, fashion designer and creative director Gabriela Hearst was honored with the prestigious TIME Earth Award. The award, presented by acclaimed actress Jodie Comer, recognizes Hearst's unwavering commitment to sustainability and her vision for a future powered by clean energy.

The TIME Earth Awards annually celebrate individuals who are shaping the future of our planet through their dedication to climate justice, sustainability, and activism. Alongside Hearst, the 2024 honorees include luminaries such as actor and activist Jane Fonda, former U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, co-founder of Ceibo Alliance and Amazon Frontlines Nemonte Nenquimo, and pioneering environmental justice professor Robert D. Bullard.

In her acceptance speech, Hearst passionately advocated for a shift away from fossil fuels and towards sustainable energy sources. "In my journey of sustainability, I have found my Holy Grail when I understood that sustainability is an energy issue. That we can't continue moving this world on a majority of fossil fuels," she declared.

Hearst expressed her excitement for the potential of fusion energy, stating, "My great hope and Holy Grail is in Fusion. I have hope that we can transition from our dependence on fossil fuels. That in the puzzle of carbon-free energies such as solar, wind, intermittent ones, hydrogen, nuclear, I have tremendous excitement for the possibility of Fusion. The energy that powers the Universe."

The event was a showcase of sustainable fashion, with Jodie Comer stunning in a black pearlized nappa cut Mina dress with ivory pleated cashmere silk wool gauze and an Eloise ankle boot in black calf with custom rose gold circle hardware. Hearst herself wore an ivory silk faille duchesse Origami Wave Cape over a sleeveless Maslow dress, paired with an Edwina pump in ivory calf hair texture and rose gold heel detail.

As the fashion industry continues to grapple with its environmental impact, Gabriela Hearst's recognition at the TIME Earth Awards serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of sustainability and the potential for innovative solutions like fusion energy to shape a brighter, cleaner future.