A journey that will not burden the future

Both are stars of the catwalk, where the high fashion business employs them and has brought them to fame. It sounds a little strange when you hear them talking about second-hand clothes and used fabrics. The top model Tereza Maxová visited the young designer Jiří Kalfař with us. When we sat together in the hybrid ŠKODA SUPERB iV, everything started to make sense.

Tereza Maxová fell in love with southern France where she lives with her husband and three children for several months a year. “We are surrounded by nature,” she says in the garden next to her house on the Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula. “We really appreciate that. We try to be sensitive to our environment, not to burden the planet unnecessarily and not to be wasteful,” adds the Czech supermodel.

Maybe you would expect to see her in a dress and stilettos, but she prefers to wear comfortable shoes instead of high heels and is wearing loose bell pants and a casual romantic blouse. Her lifestyle also changed her view of fashion. “For a long time, I have been worried about fashion being one of the greatest sinners in terms of pollution. Wasted clothing, chemical production of fabrics, microplastics, bleaching, dyeing… All this is unnecessarily burdening the planet,” she explains.

Her family sorts its waste conscientiously, uses low consumption LED lights, and tries to maximise their use of public transport or bikes when travelling. And they are looking for a sustainable way to dress. “For many years I have not worn real fur. I'm a big fan of second-hand clothing and recycling of clothes. My children often inherit their clothes from each other, and I try to buy things from organic cotton and sustainable materials,” says Tereza Maxová.

On the French Riviera she has an ideal opportunity to expand her wardrobe. The new star of the world fashion scene, designer Jiří Kalfař, has opened his pop-up temporary showroom. He was the first Czech to make his mark in the main program of the New York Fashion Week. He has succeeded in both London and Paris and leading fashion magazines are interested in his designs. His theme is sustainable fashion, for which he received the prestigious Innovation Award 2019 awarded under the auspices of Princess Charlene of Monaco. “I embraced the zero waste concept – I process yard goods so that there are no shreds and I can use everything. I use ecological, but also upcycled or vintage materials,” says the charming thirty-one-year-old.

Tereza Maxová was interested in his designs, but mainly in his philosophy and approach to fashion. Gradually they became friends. Kalfař does not build a permanent network of stores and does not want to create unnecessary retail outlets. He prefers to use pop-ups to meet his customers in various places and allow them to see and try the pieces he designs. He invited us to a temporary showroom in Cote d’Azur in Nice. “It's just a few kilometres from our house,” Tereza says.

She drives to Nice in the new ŠKODA SUPERB iV, the first-ever Czech car with a plug-in hybrid drive that combines an internal combustion engine with an electric motor. In purely electric mode, it has a range of up to 62 kilometres on a single charge. “That's enough for us, we'll be driving emission-free,” she smiles as she disconnects the car from the wallbox, the home wall charger.

Tereza admits that she drives in the city only if necessary, she enjoys family trips far more. She is cautious at the wheel and drives safely. She even handles sharp switchbacks on the steep descent with a remark and smile. “At least we can produce some energy for later,” she says and reminds us that the SUPERB iV uses braking energy to recharge its battery.

Jiří Kalfař welcomes Tereza in a simply furnished space and the model immediately looks at new pieces: a non-chemically dyed red tulle skirt, a 60s upcycled vintage lace that the designer discovered at the local market, kapok and Buddhist silk dress.

“Natural materials are an important part of sustainable fashion. But the most important part of sustainability is that there is no unnecessary overproduction or waste. Large clothing brands normally produce up to a quarter extra for each collection that is not sold. Everything is excessive, producing a lot of waste that is incinerated and consuming unnecessary energy and material. Human labour is undervalued, the situation in factories and workshops outside Europe is undignified. When you think about the damage fashion does, you will understand what a destructive business it is. When I am a part of the business, I try to do it differently,” explains the designer.

He recycles his show collections himself, combining old materials with new ones and imbuing them with new life. He produces only in small quantities. “We got used to excess. We should think more about whether we absolutely need new clothes, whether they really are so worn out that they need to be trashed, or whether they can be repaired or otherwise used. Fast fashion is rather like fast food, it is a choice as to whether you want to consume or to change your habits,” says Jiří Kalfař.

Tereza tries out several combinations - a comfortable Mediterranean style outfit, a shimmering transparent blouse and a deep orange sweater. She listens to the story of each piece. Finally, she chooses a jacket with slits that can be worn as a poncho. “It is made from a recycled fabric that we bought as it was going to be thrown-away as residue. These were a few limited pieces and no more can be produced because there is no more fabric. Exclusivity today cannot be guaranteed by money but a product can be unique in the way it was created. One can have a great feeling that the things you use do not have a negative impact on the planet,” adds the young designer.

Tereza Maxová sits back in her car in her new jacket and she looks great. Even in the afternoon sun, the SUPERB iV is pleasantly chilled and always sufficiently charged to get home – emission-free.

Smart air conditioning - Remote control of the air conditioning system is part of the smart ŠKODA CONNECT application. So you can cool your car using your mobile phone before you hit the road. You can choose whether the air conditioning is activated only when the vehicle is connected to a charging station, if you use renewable energy at home, and you can use clean energy for cooling. Along the route, there is no need to cool the car which also reduces emissions.

“I enjoy looking for a path that connects what I love without burdening the future. Every day I enjoy moments that make sense to our lives,” Tereza says.