Can Luxury Fashion be Sustainable? A Deepdive Behind Building a Brand on Heritage, Ethics and Quality

For many luxury brands, 2025 has been a year of crisis. Major fashion houses like Dior, Armani and Loro Piana were placed under investigation after their production lines had been linked to sweatshops in Italy. Gucci, Loewe and Chloé got fined for anticompetitive pricing practices.

Amidst rising prices and lower quality, heritage brands have seen their first major slowdown in 15 years. And that’s including the pandemic!

Some say: luxury is dead. We say? The luxury sector is up for a long-overdue transformation. 

Paving the way are indie designers, sourcing eco-friendlier materials and collaborating with local artisans. Brands that are known for high-quality pieces that are made under ethical production standards. 

In this blog, we’re zooming in on an example of such a brand that we’re personally quite fond of: Gaâla. Not only does their story read like a movie, but their dreamy designs and photoshoots give main character vibes, too.

Let’s dive right in!

Meet Kelly Gaalon, the designer behind Gaâla

The brand is named after Kelly’s last name. Why did you pick this name and what connects this brand to your family?

Well, the name came about quite spontaneously. It was when I announced the creation of the brand at a family dinner — surrounded by my brothers, sisters, parents, and my grandfather, then in his mid-nineties and sharp as ever.

He asked if I had thought of a name for our brand. I hadn’t. He immediately suggested Gaâla, after our own family name, de Gaalon — a name he carried alone after his brother died in the Second World War, and that our family has held for nearly a thousand years.

The name resonated deeply with me. Beyond the Gala, the excitement, Gaâla is a family company, but it’s also a family heritage of elegant, intentional women who helped me build my self-confidence, my self-respect, and the sense of elegance and femininity that I’ve carried into the brand. I really hope to pass this heritage on to others, as well.

We read that you financed the start of Gaâla by selling your apartment and taking a leap of faith. Can you walk us through the moment when you decided “now is the right time” and what that felt like?

Like all the best things, there wasn’t a feeling of “this is it.” We were really carried by momentum. It was exciting, fun — I didn’t overthink it. We just did it, and things began to unfold naturally.

What did you underestimate about starting your own brand?

Mainly all the parts that weren’t imagining and designing beautiful clothes. I remember when our orders suddenly shot up in Gaâla’s second year, and we realised we couldn’t keep up just by renting a small space in an atelier for our little team. We needed our own atelier — and many, many more constructors and tailors!

We somehow made it happen — and fast — because we had to. That’s the wonderful thing about starting something new, but also the danger in thinking too far ahead sometimes. We took it one step at a time, and that gave us the focus and confidence to meet each challenge as it came. And come they did!

What did you find the hardest part about launching your brand?

Getting the aesthetics right — the ones that I saw in my head. Finding the right people to construct, to photograph, to see the vision. Honestly, it’s still one of the hardest parts today. But we have an amazing team now who make it possible. 

What are your proudest moments in building Gaâla?

It’s hard to point to just one moment, but I think our second year had some of the best ones. I started meeting people who already knew about the brand, we held our first big photoshoot in Paris, and we began receiving orders from all over the world. That’s when all the hard work started to turn into real momentum. I was completely overwhelmed — excited, grateful, and, I suppose, a little proud too.

What are you currently working on behind the scenes and/or what are future plans you’d like to share?

It’s been a challenging year globally, but beyond keeping everything running smoothly, I’m developing a basics line made from innovative plant-based fabrics — rose fiber, banana, orange peel, and others. We already use these materials in some dresses, but there’s so much more to explore.

We’re also preparing to expand our petite sizing line, which has been a frequent request from our community.

What does “luxury” mean to you and how do you incorporate it in Gaâla?

For me, beyond ensuring the very best materials and craftsmanship that are available, it’s got to be the attention to the little details. You have to think of the small comforts and conveniences that others wouldn’t. To give your customers small surprises in the construction, or little thrills with your thoughtfulness.. It turns out, that’s all it takes to create something luxurious.

What is your favourite advice for people who are trying to contribute to a more sustainable fashion industry?

That’s a great question. The growing awareness and accountability we’re seeing in the fashion community have already pushed many brands to lower their footprint and experiment with more sustainable and creative materials. At Gaâla we regularly use end-of-roll luxury fabrics, and innovative materials from rose petal, orange peel or banana fiber. 

But beyond that — what can we really do as wearers?

I actually wrote about this on our Substack, but in short: buy what you love, what lasts, and treasure it.

I always think of my grandmother when I say that. She was an incredibly elegant and creative woman, and I was always amazed by how many lives and looks she could get from her wardrobe. 

To me, that’s the true heart of sustainable fashion: not only how something is made, but how it’s cherished and reinterpreted over time. In fashion, we’re often pushed toward constant replacement, but real sustainability comes from pieces made to last — to be worn, loved, and even passed on.

When you buy something you truly love, you’ll naturally want to care for it. It becomes part of your story. We really design with that in mind at Gaâla — timeless silhouettes, quality fabrics, and craftsmanship that encourages a lasting relationship between the wearer and her clothes. Fashion, after all, should be less about consuming and more about cultivating — cultivating your style, your wardrobe, your sense of self.

Do you have a favourite item of your brand? If so, what makes it so special?

That’s a hard one — I’m attached to so many of the designs. But if I had to choose, I’d say the Nadine Bordeaux trench. It feels so chic and comfortable, and I love how easy it is to care for. I just spot clean it myself, and it always looks perfect.

Besides shopping, what is the best way for people to support your brand at this moment?

Our community means everything to the life and growth of Gaâla. It helps us immensely when women share their Gaâla pieces — how they wear them, how they style them. Seeing that joy and authenticity really gives life to everything we’re about. 

I feel so much gratitude for everyone who’s believed in us, worn our designs, and shared our story. Gaâla has always been about connection: between generations, between women, between what we wear and who we are.

A Final Word

For us, Gaâla proves to us that there is space for fashion brands that connect luxury with quality and ethics. Their beautiful designs and well-crafted items bring in the confidence to build the life we want as women. And that, to us, is true luxury.