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Meet AVÌìÌà Paris Alumna Lucy Baudo, Head of CSR & Driving Change

FROM DESIGN TO IMPACT: A JOURNEY IN MOTION

Q: Can you walk us through your journey from AVÌìÌà Paris to where you are today?

A: After graduating from AVÌìÌà Paris, I started with an internship at Zadig & Voltaire as a quality and pattern-making assistant. Then I worked at DIM as a designer, before moving to New York, hoping to settle there.

When I returned to France, I worked as a designer for several brands (Promod, Camaïeu, Grain de Malice…), and joined in 2021. Very quickly, I was offered the opportunity to expand my role and take on sustainability responsibilities, while continuing to coordinate part of the collection process.

Today, about 80% of my time is dedicated to CSR, which includes developing and implementing the company’s sustainability strategy. The remaining 20% is focused on collection coordination: I oversee every stage of the creative process and ensure smooth collaboration between workshops and product managers to maintain consistency and quality in our collections.


Q: What stands out to you from your time at AVÌìÌà Paris? Is there an experience or lesson that particularly resonated with you?

A: The program was very creation-oriented, and I always tried to integrate an ethical dimension into my projects. For example, I once designed a concept brand called ²Ñ¾±³¾Ã©³Ù¾±²õ³¾±ð, inspired by the way animals adapt to their environment. The idea was to create technical sportswear with minimal environmental impact, a real challenge when you consider how reliant this sector is on petroleum-based materials.

Even though sustainability wasn’t really a defined career path in fashion back then, I already had the desire to do things differently.


Q: How do the skills you gained at AVÌìÌà Paris support your work today?

A: What I learned at AVÌìÌà Paris helps me most on the strategic side: market research, buying, understanding product positioning… These days, I’m more often working in Excel than Illustrator! Although my studies were heavily focused on design, even if I’ve moved away from that a bit, I still draw on those foundations.

That said, it was really through internships and cooperative education that I built solid skills. Those hands-on experiences taught me so much, and I still rely on them today. It’s in the workplace that you learn the most, that’s where you shape your mindset, understand the industry’s real challenges, and develop adaptability.

 

CONNECTING PRODUCTION AND ECOLOGICAL TRANSITION

Q: You hold a dual position at Sud Express as both CSR coordinator and collection coordinator. What does a typical day look like for you?

A: What’s exciting is that no two days are the same. The CSR side is more strategic, with a lot of research and long-term project coordination. On the other hand, collection coordination requires a quick response : if a product is missing from the showroom, you need to find a solution immediately.

When things are quieter on the collection side, I use that time to focus on CSR projects, which require more thought and planning. Sometimes, I do miss the more hands-on, fast-paced side of fashion, so I jump back into my collection duties. It’s that balance that makes my day-to-day so fulfilling.

This dual role also keeps me closely connected to the product itself, which is essential for integrating sustainability from the very first stages of design.


Q: How do you bridge the gap between collection design and CSR strategy?

A: Having an overview of the entire collection allows me to anticipate material and manufacturing choices. For example, I can flag when a product uses a blend of three different fibers, which makes recycling nearly impossible. I also work with the design and pattern-making teams to apply eco-design principles, like matching linings with the main fabric to stick to mono-materials.

This connection is key: if you only act at the end of the production chain, you miss the real impact CSR can have.


Q: What are the main CSR initiatives at Sud Express, and what’s been your role in their development?

A: I’ve helped structure several concrete CSR projects at Sud Express.

One of the most significant is traceability. We work with : as soon as production begins, I send them all the necessary data. Seven weeks later, they provide a full traceability report, allowing me to analyze the product’s entire journey.

At the same time, I manage our non-financial reporting, which assesses environmental and governance risks throughout our value chain. We also recently completed our first carbon footprint report. Based on that data, we’ll build a low-carbon strategy.

In 2025, we hope to go even further by launching a repair service for our products and eliminating single-use plastic from our e-commerce and store-to-store logistics.

My role is to coordinate all these projects, identifying the most urgent and feasible ones, and making sure the right teams are involved at the right time.


Q: Did you always know you wanted to work in fashion with a sustainability focus, or did that conviction grow over time?

A: It wasn’t a clear goal from the beginning, mainly because the job as it exists today didn’t even exist back then. But I’ve always cared about these issues. And the more I worked as a designer, the more I struggled with some of the absurd demands, like being asked to design a pair of underwear for under 10 cents.

Eventually, I felt a real disconnect between what I loved doing (design, creation…) and the actual environmental impact of those products. It just didn’t sit right with me. That realization is what led me to shift toward CSR.


Q: Is there a particular project that’s close to your heart?

A: Yes, reducing single-use plastic, especially polybags, the individual plastic wrappers used for logistics. We still use a lot of them, and while we can’t get rid of them entirely, I’m actively searching for ways to reduce their use or make them reusable. These very tangible issues are what really drive me.

 

TOWARD A MORE RESPONSIBLE FASHION INDUSTRY

Q: In your view, what are the biggest challenges fashion faces today when it comes to sustainability?

A: The biggest challenge is shifting consumer mindsets. We can’t change everything overnight, but we have to start somewhere. Fashion is still a very fast-paced industry, driven by image and novelty. The real challenge is finding a sustainable balance between creativity, production, and responsibility.


Q: How do you see fashion careers, particularly in CSR; evolving in the coming years?

A: I believe fashion careers, especially those linked to CSR, will keep evolving for the better. You can already see this in how business models are shifting. I currently work at a brand with a traditional model, where the main focus was once solely on sales : fabric choices, for example, were driven primarily by price, and environmental impact was only considered afterward.

But more and more emerging brands are doing things the other way around. They start with a strict set of sustainability standards, then look for materials that match those requirements.

What excites me about my current role is that I’m part of a structure that wasn’t originally established around sustainability, which means there’s everything to build. And if the management is on board, anything is possible.


Q: What advice would you give a student hoping to build a career in fashion and sustainability?

A: Stay curious. Keep learning. You have to love researching, reading, understanding both technical and regulatory challenges.

Without curiosity, you stop moving forward. Whether in design or CSR, if you never question yourself or stay informed about what’s changing, you’ll just end up going in circles. As a designer, you’ll keep repeating the same styles. As a CSR professional, you’ll just apply the laws without pushing further. Curiosity is what allows you to innovate, evolve, and think outside the box.

And most of all, don’t hesitate to carve out your own path, there’s no predefined route yet. CSR in fashion is still being shaped. That’s what makes it so exciting.

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The fashion industry is undergoing a major transformation, and professionals who can combine creative vision with environmental awareness are more vital than ever.

At AVÌìÌà Paris, both our Bachelor Fashion Marketing & Management and Bachelor Fashion Design programs embed sustainability as a fundamental principle throughout their curricula. This foundational approach shapes how students approach business models, supply chains, and creative design with an inherent focus on ethical and environmentally responsible practices. This integrated approach to sustainability is further cultivated within our postgraduate programs, offering specialized degrees for both fashion business and design majors.

Explore how our programs' sustainable approach can be the launchpad for an exciting and engaged career, driving positive impact. and book a free consultation.