Mr. Larkin at the Green Shows

With eco-fashion still trying to find it’s place in the fashion world, we have yet to see a repeat performance of a green event at NY Fashion Week. This year for the Spring 2010 series, we had The Green Shows, featuring Bahar Shahpar, Bodkin, Ekovaruhuset, Izzy Lane, Lara Miller, Mr. Larkin, and Study by Tara St. James. The Green Shows took place September 15th and 16th very appropriately on Greene Street and featured a very natural plywood runway.

Show opener Study by Tara St. James brought us a lot of subdued grays, mostly in jersey. There most interesting piece was a strapless buttondownesque bubble dress in a gradient dyed plaid-a little bit of everything in that piece. Bodkin showed us a lot of jersey cottons, tencel button downs, harem pants, and a stormy palette. What made there collection interesting were the different shapes, unique cutouts and fun necklines. One of the standouts from the show was Mr. Larkin. His collection featured several gorgeous Spring dresses, fun skirts, and sexy tops to dress up the wonderfully tailored shorts. The most colorful collection was Bahar Shahpar. Pink, turquoise, and tropical greens were some of the hues making up this vibrant presentation.

Congratulations to the designers that made up the Green Shows this year, and hopefully this will be a repeat performance!

Study by Tara St. James, Bodkin, Bahar Shahpar

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The Greek Goddess-always a strong silhouette, look statuesque in these designs:

Dresses by Beau Soleil: Beau Troy Dress, Beau Kingdom Dress, Beau Guard Dress

The above looks are available now at Nimli

White Dresses are most bold before Memorial Day:

Debra Lindquist Trapeze Dress, Beau Soleil Babe Dress, Larsen Gray Lily Lace Dress

These looks are available now at Coco’s Shoppe

Light & airy and best in a breeze…nothing says Spring like ruffles:

Prairie Underground Ruffle Tee, Stewart & Brown Ruffle Dress, Peligrossa Ruffle Dress

The looks are available now at Greenloop

Forget the blacks and greys of Winter for a while, try on some color:

Elsom Organic Skinny Jeans,Lalesso Towelled Shorts, Rani Jones Striped Dress

These looks are available now at Fashion Conscience

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Noir at Estethica at LFW

London had two eco-events last month (see London Calling), Ethical Pure and Estethica. This was Estethica’s 6th season and with 15 new designers there is no denying the progress in ethical fashion. The show’s main and original label Noir and Bllack Noir didn’t disappoint in continuing to be a sexy and mainstream ethical brand. Other key (awesome)points of this year’s showcase was the launch of the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan, SCAP by DEFRA. Greenwise Business UK summarizes as follows, “Backed by over 300 high street retailers, designers, textile manufacturers and the Government, the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan or SCAP, aims to reduce the harmful lifecycle environmental and social impacts of clothing and textiles – from design, to manufacture, to retail, to disposal. Some of the big names that have so far signed up to the plan include Marks and Spencer (M&S), Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Adili, Nike, Continental Clothing and Oxfam”.

Milan hosted the Ethical Fashion Show during it’s fashion week this season. This was the Italian fashion capital’s first tribute to sustainable style. The theme of the show was traditional skills and social development. EFS partnered up with the Italian non-profit group Arte Fatto, an association that focuses on growing opportunities for ethically conscious artisans and designers. The show exhibited a number of international designers including: Kabul based Royah,  Mona Mohanna of Lebanon, Redesign the World, Italy’s own Altra Qualità, Leila Hafzi of Norway, and French labels Ponchissimo, Valerie Pache, Andes Made, Patrick Lafrontiere, and Ombre Claire. EFS will also take place in Rio from June 11th to 14th and in Paris, October 1st to 4th.

Switzerland hosted their second Green Fashion Switzerland Show at the green lifestyle fair Natur. Designers included Peter Müller, MILCH creations, The Sentis, Van Markoviec, Icebreaker, Switcher, COOP Naturaline.

So Ethic Tradeshow

So Ethic, a massive tradeshow for green designers, showed again in Paris. With over 80 labels at this years show, So Ethic is making its mark in the sustainable and conscious fashion market. This years exhibitors included: Alchemist, Anardo & Skyum, Andrew Crews, Beyond Skin, Cabanac, Camilla Norrback, Ciel Organic, Coll.Part, Dem Collective, Designers Against Aids, EJF, Eribe’, Ethos, L’etrangere, Fifi Bijoux,  G=9.8, Globe Hope, Hetty, Rose, Hip2thejive, Ideo, Jael A Des Ailes, Junky Stylings,  Katharine Hamnett, Kolam, Komodo, Leila Hafzi, Life Clothing,  Loomstate, Makezenz, Marie, Nu, Numanu Label of Love, Sobosibio, Stewart & Brown, Sur Le Dos Des Filles, Terra Plana, Van Markoveic, Wellicious, Wildlife Works.

Nice to see ethical fashion sustaining and growing in Europe. Viva Verde!

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Oscara Lawalata design walks the runway at Dewi Knights Closing Night show

Oscar Lawalata was this year’s winner of the British Fashion Council’s Young International Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Oscar’s interest in textiles and Indonesian methods of batik inspired him to study fashion design at Esmond, a French based school with a branch in Jakarta. He was forced to withdraw from the three year program  in 1998 due to the Asian monetary crisis and with the remaining money, opened Blok S Boutique and focused on “learning by doing”.

In 1999 he was invited to participate in the 1999 ASEAN Young Designers Competition in Singapore where he introduced his version of a traditional piece of clothing from South Sulawesi called a “baju bodo“. With what he called a ‘tough sell’, Oscar won and won second place. His style started to become recognized as he received orders from local celebrities and artists. Lawalata has resisted the spot light however declining interviews and high profile appearances as his main goal is to continue to explore and bring awareness to the cultural textile arts of his heritage. “Our textiles have important stories; they are a heritage treasure for me. Behind the textile there is an idea — of course, there is the history in that they were perhaps once used, or are still used, for cultural reasons, like for ceremonies et cetera. But I believe the ideas and techniques are also very important.”

Through his travels Oscar has urged local governments to promote and market their land’s rich textile history with libraries and by establishing networks to assist the local producers with resource problems. One of these issues is a diminishing cotton supply which Oscar plans to address this June with an expo in Jakarta that will feature garments made from the local cotton.

Lawalata is in preparation now to open his new boutique. He hopes to continue to have an influence on people to appreciate their regions deep, local textile roots in their fashion choices and to not opt over them for western mass produced labels. “We are fortunate to have a textile-rich culture and we should take the time to explore this, learn more about it and carry this heritage into the future … not leave it in the past.”

Congratulations on being selected for this award Oscar. The inspiration you receive from your culture is obvious and in turn, inspiring to others, a truly sustainable equation:)

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The jumpsuit/romper made a brief outing in ‘07 but few were brave enough to give it a try. The ‘09 jumpsuit comes to us with more options, in every possible fabric and with day or night options. Take a look at these sleek one-pieces walking the runways at this year’s major shows:

BCBG, Halston, Emanuel Ungaro, Dries Van Noten, Derek Lam, BCBG

Luckily our favorite green designers were on the same page and anticipated this trend also:

Bodkin Larsen Gray Ecoskin Ecoganik JP Organic Ecoskin

Maybe it’s the economy and the need for a new investment because gold is a hot commodity as it was seen all over the runways for both Spring and Fall 09. From trousers and jumpsuits to trench coats and accessories the gold rush is evident:

Chloe, Diane Von Furstenberg, Etro, Vivienne Westwood

Green can go gold too….check out these versions of the metallic trend:

Ciel Ecoskin Larsen Gray Ciel Ciel

Another look we saw, was a perfectly structured jacket. And we can call it a trend, but year after year, a jacket in the right cut is never out of style. No one did it better this year than Balmain:

BALMAIN, Spring 2009

And here are sustainable versions of this very wearable style:

The Battalion Only Hearts The Battalion JP Organic Larsen Gray

So there you have it…3 great trends seen all over the major runways and the same looks made with sustainable, earth-friendly fabrics. Maybe these looks are just a moment in time, but thank you designers, for the times, they are a changing.

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Cheers Bodkin!  Congratulations on your first show as well as the receiving Ecco Domani’s Award for Sustainable Design in 2009.

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A senior in High School, Ivy’s winning entry was an eco-friendly assortment of handbags made from car upholstery. Ivy collected the materials herself from a nearby junkyard and turned the otherwise forgotten fabric into 5 purses: 2 clutches, a laptop bag, a small shoulder bag, and an oversized bag. The prize? Ivy earned a full-tuition scholarship to the Art Institute in Austin, Texas (as well as a trip to NY Fashion week)!

We were able to ask Ivy a few questions about winning the contest, her inspiration for her designs and thoughts on designing/creating sustainably. This is what Ivy had to say:

Did the Passion for Fashion contest open you up to the concept of recycling/repurposing fabrics or is it something you have thought about before? I have always been interested in recycling and “saving the planet.” I convinced my mom to use canvas bags instead of plastic and re-use CD’s and the outdated Floppy discs in personal art projects. When I learned how to sew, my favorite thing to do was buy a number of garments from Goodwill and chop them up to make new, more fashionable things, and from this came my love for recycling fabrics.

What type of things do you most frequently design?
I design clothing more than anything. I am currently making a jacket out of an old Serape blanket. The serapes are so warm and the colors are gorgeous, so it is a great idea. I hope to start making more soon; all of my friends want one.

Do you have a favorite piece that you have designed?
My favorite pieces have to be the purses I created for the Passion for Fashion Competition. They were so cool and I think they are truly marketable. As far as clothing goes, I turned a Victor Costa Crumb Catcher into an adorable Bubble Bustle dress for a friend’s VOGUE-themed party. I felt terrible for altering the dress but at the same time the finished product was great.

Do you have a specialty or a favorite skill when it comes to creating? (sewing, construction, working with hardware, design etc.)
Design is probably my strongest skill. I can see what I want to create in my head but have a harder time putting it down on paper. For my car upholstery bags, I just imagined what I wanted the product to look like and cut out pieces, hoping my vision would appear. Thankfully, they all turned out how I had imagined them, so I do think the design that takes place in my head is the most reliable thing I can count on when making something.

Are you familiar with sustainable fabrics and if so, what are some of your favorites to work with?
I have never used any sustainable fabrics because where I live they are difficult to come by. I do love the idea of organic cotton, hemp and bamboo though, and I really want to try making something out of soy or lyocell.

Have you been influenced or inspired by other designers?
On the Eco side, Linda Loudermilk, Lara Miller, and Holly Stalder are all great designers that use recycled or organic fabrics. They are an inspiration as far as using organic materials goes.
In the design aspect, I adore Betsey Johnson. Many girls do because of the “poof” and color, which appeals to me as well. But the main reason I adore her clothing is the amount of tool she uses. That seems like a ridiculous reason, but most dresses you buy in department stores put a foot of tool on the bottom of the skirt, expecting it to be full enough. I feel like if you want a dress to be full, go all the way! Follow Betsey’s lead and load it on. That is what makes most of her designs so spectacular in my opinion. She is truly an inspiration.

Has this contest inspired other ideas for future repurposing/recycling projects?
I had someone tell my the other day I should begin making coasters out of the car upholstery as well. I don’t plan on making any, but since I really have began thinking of all of the things that are out there just waiting to be used for something new. I have thought about leather jackets made from the leather seats in cars, but don’t know if I will pursue that one. Still in the thinking stage.

Thank You Ivy and congratulations. It is exciting to think what we might see from you in the future when this is what you are creating now.

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