Nature holds the solutions to climate change, even in the fashion industry.
Lucianne Tonti is an internationally recognised sustainability expert, journalist and author who examines how industries respond to environmental, ethical and cultural change. She is the Fashion Editor of The Saturday Paper and Sustainability Editor at Large for Elle Australia, her sustainability column in The Guardian Australia, Closet Clinic, has been read over 9 million times.
Lucianne is the author of Sundressed: Natural Fibres and the Future of Fashion, released in Australia in 2022 and internationally in 2023. The book, now in development as a docuseries, explores how global industries can move towards more responsible, resilient models, with insights that resonate well beyond fashion.
Her forthcoming book, Good Witch, published by Simon & Schuster in July this year, is a global investigation into the legacy of the witch hunts, tracing how the persecution of women, the devaluation of their work and the exploitation of natural systems continue to shape modern economies and power structures. Drawing on research from Salem to Scotland, Lucianne connects history, gender and the climate crisis, offering a powerful framework for understanding risk, inequality and systemic pressures in contemporary society. Her writing also appears in Vogue Business, The Monthly, The Griffith Review and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Alongside her media work, Lucianne brings direct commercial experience. She is an associate at Sweden’s Bergstrand Consultancy, extending their sustainability services to APAC helping organisations prepare for the evolving legislative landscape and the practical implications of sustainability beyond theory or trend. Her consulting clients include Textile Exchange, Global Fashion Summit, Tencel, Lenzing, Nagnata and KowTow.
A sought-after international speaker, Lucianne addresses audiences across Europe, North America and Asia on sustainability, ethics and long-term value creation. She has a Bachelor of Communications from RMIT, a Post-Graduate Diploma in Political Science from the University of Melbourne and a Juris Doctorate from Melbourne Law School.
Talking Points
The Witch Hunts and the Climate Crisis: What History Teaches Leaders About Change
In this keynote, Lucianne reveals how the history of the witch hunts shaped the systems that drive today’s climate crisis and gender inequality. Drawing on her book Good Witch: Why feminine power was lost to history and how to bring it back, she connects the persecution of women with the rise of extractive economic models and shows why climate action is also a cultural and leadership challenge. This session is ideal for organisations focused on ESG, social impact and culture change that want a fresh, story driven entry point into sustainability. The Witch Hunts and the Climate Crisis: What History Teaches Leaders About Change
Key Takeaways:
• How centuries old narratives about power, progress and control still influence environmental and business decisions today.
• Why effective climate strategy requires a shift in culture and values, not only technology and compliance.
• Practical questions leaders can use to identify inherited patterns that limit sustainable decision making.
• Ideas for building more resilient, nature aligned organisations that create long term value for stakeholders.
The Future of Fashion: Nature Based Innovation and the New Consumer
Based on her award-winning book Sundressed and her work as fashion editor of The Saturday Paper and sustainability editor at large for Elle Australia, Lucianne explores how fashion has become a test case for the future of sustainable business. She explains how natural fibres, regenerative agriculture and slower production models are reshaping brands, supply chains and consumer expectations worldwide. While grounded in fashion, this keynote speaks directly to any organisation navigating sustainability, shifting customer values and reputation risk.The Future of Fashion: Nature Based Innovation and the New Consumer
Key Takeaways:
• The key sustainability trends emerging from fashion that signal what is coming for other sectors.
• Why nature based materials and regenerative practices are becoming a source of competitive advantage.
• Practical principles from fashion that leaders in retail, manufacturing and services can adapt to their own strategies.
• How to communicate sustainability in a way that builds trust with increasingly informed customers and stakeholders.
Power, Progress and Gender: What Today’s Workplaces Can Learn from the Witch Hunts
Lucianne uses the surprising history behind Good Witch: Why feminine power was lost to history and how to bring it back, to uncover how the systematic devaluation of women’s work during the witch hunts still shapes workplaces and leadership today. She connects early restrictions on women’s economic, medical and social power with current gaps in representation, wellbeing and opportunity. This keynote suits organisations investing in diversity, equity and inclusion, leadership development and culture transformation that want a deeper, more engaging story behind the business case. Power, Progress and Gender: What Today’s Workplaces Can Learn from the Witch Hunts
Key Takeaways:
• How historical control of women’s bodies, labour and knowledge created patterns that persist in modern organisations.
• Why gender equity is not only a social priority but a driver of innovation, decision quality and organisational resilience.
• Signals leaders can look for to identify unseen bias in roles, recognition and reward structures.
• Practical ways to redesign culture so that different forms of expertise and lived experience are recognised and approaches to care work are reframed.
Storytelling for Change: Using Narrative to Shift Culture and Inspire Action
As a fashion editor, sustainability editor and Guardian columnist whose work has reached millions of readers, Lucianne understands how stories change minds and behaviours. In this keynote, she shows leaders and organisations how to use narrative to cut through complexity, humanise data and create genuine momentum around issues such as climate, transformation and purpose. It is designed for executives, internal change leaders, and marketing and communication teams that need inspiration paired with practical tools.Storytelling for Change: Using Narrative to Shift Culture and Inspire Action
Key Takeaways:
• Why stories are often more persuasive than statistics when driving behaviour or culture change.
• Simple narrative structures leaders can use to frame strategy, sustainability and change in relatable terms.
• How to translate complex topics such as climate risk or ESG into messages that engage rather than overwhelm.
• Practical tips for building a consistent organisational story across internal and external channels.
Rebuilding the Commons: Connection, Community and Culture in Modern Work
Inspired by Good Witch Hunting’s exploration of lost commons, women’s friendships and social bonds, Lucianne examines what happens when community breaks down and how that shows up in modern workplaces. She connects the enclosure of shared lands and deliberate attacks on women’s networks with today’s hyper individualism, burnout and fractured cultures and the devaluation of care work. This keynote is suited to organisations focused on wellbeing, hybrid work, retention and culture repair that want a more meaningful lens on engagement and belonging.Rebuilding the Commons: Connection, Community and Culture in Modern Work
Key Takeaways:
• What the history of the commons and community can teach us about current challenges in connection and trust at work.
• How strong social bonds support innovation, problem solving and psychological safety in teams.
• Practical ways leaders can design rituals, spaces and practices that rebuild a sense of shared purpose.
• Tools for addressing isolation and fragmentation in hybrid and geographically dispersed workforces.
Video
A plastic free conversation with Kowtow
Kowtow Founder Gosia Piatek and Sustainable Fashion Journalist, Lucianne Tonti sit down in our Melbourne store to discuss the move to plastic-free and what it means for not only Kowtow, but the wider fashion industry.Regenerative Agriculture panel in London
In this panel discussion, experts in the field of Regenerative Agriculture share their learnings and insights on powerful practices that restore biodiversity, soil health, and ecosystems, mitigating climate change. They discuss best practice to transition away from synthetic, polluting fertilisers on which the big ag farming industry heavily relies on. The panelists share inspiring success stories of their regen ag projects, and appreciating the momentum of it in fashion, encourage and inspire us to support and further grow the demand for fibres from regen ag projects for those materials that are fashioned from nature itself.Inside ideas conversation with Mark Buckley
Lucianne Tonti is a journalist, author, and regenerative fashion consultant. She is the fashion editor of The Saturday Paper, a regular contributor to The Guardian where she writes the weekly series Closet Clinic. Her writing also appears in Australian Vogue. Her first book Sundressed: Natural Fabrics and the Future of Clothes, was released in Australia in July and will be published by Island Press in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in 2023. Lucianne has worked in sustainable and luxury fashion in Melbourne, Sydney, London, and Paris.Conversation with Petit Foreward
Foreword Reviews is pleased to share an interview with Lucianne Tonti, author of Sundressed: Natural Fabrics and the Future of Clothing
