Suzy Amis Cameron's Inside Out Expands Through Research-Driven Design and Strategic Acquisitions

A New Vision for Sustainable Fashion

Paris has long been a hub for fashion, but it's also becoming a center for innovation in sustainable practices. Suzy Amis Cameron, known for her work with the Red Carpet Green Dress campaign, has taken her commitment to eco-conscious design a step further. While RCGD was groundbreaking in its time, Amis Cameron realized that more systemic change was needed.

"I was at this place in my life where I was like, something has to be done, and if there's a way for me to do that, I will," she said. This realization led her to close the chapter on RCGD in March 2024 and launch Inside Out, an international holding company focused on reimagining how business interacts with people and the planet.

Erik Stangvik, former The Body Shop executive, joined as managing partner, helping to build the structure of the company. "The idea was to build a holding company that reimagines how business interacts with both people and the planet," Amis Cameron explained. Inside Out approaches fashion from a biological and psychological perspective, aiming to create what she calls "healthy clothes."

Expanding the Mission

Inside Out now operates across six divisions, including education, media, brand creation, and consulting. The company runs educational workshops for children and teens, produces documentaries exposing the toxicity in fashion, invests in brands, and consults with global luxury names like Salvatore Ferragamo. Consulting clients pay additional fees to fund educational programs, creating a feedback loop that supports growth.

Matteo Ward, a former Abercrombie & Fitch executive who co-created the documentary series "Junk" about fast fashion and textile waste, leads the sustainable fashion, textiles, and home vertical. The company opened its European headquarters in Rome in May, signaling a broader reach.

Recent acquisitions include the children's lifestyle brand The Simple Folk, which Inside Out is using as a flagship for its "evolution, not perfection" approach. The company doesn't see sustainability as a box to be checked; instead, it documents incremental improvements in chemical management, natural-fiber use, and skin-compatible design. With women's and kids' knitwear already available, menswear is in development.

Inside Out also invested in London-based Sheep Inc., the colorful sweater company known for its use of regenerative wool and transparent supply chains, in March.

Research and Innovation

Inside Out isn't just designing clothing for commerce; it's taking a research-to-retail approach, studying how textiles affect people at multiple levels, including skin health and age. "If you're an architect of buildings, you wouldn't build a hospital like you would a school," said Ward. "Why do we treat textiles like one-size-fits-all?"

The company also emphasizes the psychological impact of clothing. Synthetic fibers like polyester dominate the market but are often quickly discarded, ending up in landfills. Amis Cameron and Ward believe this is partly due to how synthetic fibers affect how people feel, while natural fibers like wool and hemp foster comfort, attachment, and well-being.

With several high-profile next-gen materials companies facing structural challenges or bankruptcy, investment has cooled considerably. U.S. university research funding is also under political pressure and facing cuts.

"If you're just inventing materials for the sake of inventing materials, that's when I don't see a lot of opportunity in that space," said Ward.

A Cross-Sector Incubator

Inside Out positions itself as a cross-sector incubator, using its holding company model to fund and commercialize innovations internally while reinvesting profits into science and education. The company's engineered cellulose material, still in development, can be grown in 3D to create custom shoes or personally designed handbags.

"If you're trying to substitute polyester with this material, it's never going to work economically. The incentives are not there. But if you're redefining the role of the product, and then you're finding these materials the best ally to reinvent the wheel with fashion specifically, then absolutely there is," he said.

The company applies the same purpose-based research elsewhere, such as a water-filtration system developed with MIT and Texas Tech that removes PFAS, better known as "forever chemicals," from water, repurposing the waste as fertilizer. In fashion, polyester redirected from landfills is used for essential items like car seats or medical equipment, rather than recycled back into new fast-fashion garments.

"The entire conversation around responsible fashion was that if you had the right material and you had a good supply chain, ta-da, you got sustainable fashion done. But in reality, who needs another T-shirt, even if you're using a better material?" Ward said.

Future Goals

Inside Out is also studying if there are emotional and physical components to why polyester clothing is discarded quickly. Teams including chemical scientists, psychologists, and textile designers are mapping these reactions. "What we wear affects how we feel. It's not just physical health, it's psychological as well," Ward said. He has been working with the European Commission to explore clothing labeling, similar to cigarettes.

"If you buy fast fashion, there should be a sign that said, ‘Be careful, these items can cause mental and physical harm,'" Ward claimed.

Looking ahead, Inside Out plans to expand chemical management protocols, explore new brand investments, and evolve its product design for both health and environmental impact.

"We have a North Star, and we continue to walk towards it to sustainability as a destination," said Ward.

For Amis Cameron, the research is there and scale is achievable. "Sometimes it feels fantastical and magical and science fiction, but it's not," she said. "It works. And it's huge business."