The environment in the fight against the disaster of fast fashion in Africa, through a hard-hitting fashion show

When fashion becomes a spokesperson for the denunciation of pollution. Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato is inviting us to "think about the future of the fashion industry" with his mixed-media haute couture show inspired by his trip to Kenya, where "mountains of rubbish" are being heaped up by fast fashion. The designer presented his collection at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris on 25 January.

Fast fashion", like fast food, refers to clothing designed by popular brands to be replaced as quickly as they are bought. New clothes come out all the time, and tonnes of barely worn clothes swell the landfill sites, particularly in Kenya.

"I went to Kenya in October, and we are preparing a documentary on the future of the environment and the fashion industry", Japanese designer Yuima Nakazato told the media backstage at the show.

"Second-hand clothes are pouring in from all over Africa", which is suffering from "major droughts", and "I wanted to see what was happening on the ground. That was the starting point for this collection".

The floor of the room where the presentation of her collection took place at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris was reminiscent of an open-air rubbish dump full of clothes. Black outfits accompanied by thick-soled boots opened the show.

Between "colourful outfits" and "mountains of rubbish", "I tried to see not only the beauty, but also the dark side, and to blend them together", he explains.

"We need to think collectively about the future of the fashion industry. There is no definitive answer, but it is important to discuss it," he says.

The unisex collection, which came alive with colour throughout the show, was presented by male and female models, a rarity in haute couture.

The way clothes are worn in Kenya is "in some ways linked to the kimono", a gender-neutral Japanese garment made from rectangles of fabric, using the same patterns for men and women, explains Yuima Nakazato.

In terms of materials, there is also a fusion between the two continents: some fabrics are made in Japan from recycled second-hand clothes, while the beige and orange colours come from the stones of the African desert.

"I brought stones to transform them into powder using nanotechnologies and to dye the fabrics," he explains.

In the final outfit, supposed to be the haute couture wedding dress, a dark rainbow-coloured creation covers the model from head to toe.