You know warm days are truly coming to an end when fashion packs are racing around New York City’s famed fashion week dressed in fall looks determining what we’ll be wearing the following spring. Next week, sustainable style gets its day in the sun when the Now spring ’11 showcase goes on display. Showing menswear, womenswear and accessories from a strong bunch of independent, consciously-minded labels, the NOW Showcase has grown substantially since they launched nine designers to eighteen.

“Since we started 2 years ago we have doubled in size. I think our success is due to the honest community we have formed. Many of the designers return each season and really like the atmosphere and vibe of the show. We are non-competitive and all support and help each other out throughout the year. We have a loyal following of buyers as well as designers, its become a place people come to because they know they will see old and new friends,” says Creem designer, Raina Blyer.

Knowing that there’s enough love and goodwill to power most of New York City at NOW, we turn to the designers to ask them one question: “What was your favorite part of designing spring 11?”

Here’s what they had to say.

Deborah Lindquist

“I’m launching a whole new brand based on urban, feminine t-shirts and t-shirt dresses in organic cotton and micro modal silk blends.  I’m still doing my more couture based collection but the emphasis has shifted for spring to bustiers, sweaters, and gowns. So my new focus for spring ’11 is t-shirts and ballgowns!” – Designer Deborah Lindquist

AngelRox

“What I liked most is the organic nature in which AngelRox  continues to evolve thanks to the lovely community of customers that support it. It’s their desires and needs I listen to and create new pieces for the collection based on their inspiration.”
- Designer Roxi Suger

Jai

“This season we worked with vegetable and fruit dyes! We had a blast blending, soaking and washing! JAI is now deliciously regal!” – Designer Kizzy Knight

EcoSkin

“We’ve been working with an amazing new sustainable fabric called Sorona corn jersey and we have been busy testing different weights and processes. It is always exciting to feature fabrications that are not currently out in the market but are sustainable – this is the best part of my job. Creating amazing bodies that feel comfortable and look chic is what dressing women is all about!”
- Designer Sandy Skinner

Chulette

“We try to push ourselves. Since we first introduced organic and sustainable material into our collection last fall, we’ve done more research and designed a collection using as much sustainable material as we could while still retaining our aesthetic. It’s exciting to offer something green that is feminine, modern and sophisticated.”
- Designer Lee Phutrakul

Origin Twenty Three

“This season we are expanding the agency from strictly fashion to also include lifestyle products such as essential oils, traditional herbal tinctures and elixirs, teas and herbal honeys. Inspired by my time this summer spent studying the botanical characteristics, medicinal properties, and therapeutic uses and effects of the herbs grown on the Goldthread Apothecary, Herbal Farm farm in Pioneer Valley, Western Mass. I am delighted to be showing JAI’s whimsical Spring collection produced here in NYC and hand dyed with turmeric, strawberries and natural plant dyes.” – Origin Twenty Three Owner and NOW Showcase Co-Founder, Eileen Moran

Juleselin

SDN

Lalesso

Manisse

You’ve got to wonder how designers get their ideas, what makes them complete whole collections based on architecture, a movie, a skyline or a color from deep within a forest.

What makes one stick out more than another? How can one be so inspired to create?

I caught up with four designers.

Where Do You Draw Inspiration From?

Nature Vs. Future/Designer Nina Valenti:

I just love to draw. I love playing with line, balance & texture. I get inspired by fabric, shapes and form. I love architecture, interior and furniture design. Living in New York City, there are so many buildings around me and I always love to look up and notice the way the shapes cut into the sky and  look so different from every angle. I get inspired on my Brooklyn bike rides under the Verrazano bridge. I just absorb my surroundings, then sit down and draw most of my collections on the subway.

Allison Parris:

Because my mom is an interior designer, I have so much exposure to old architecture and interior details that I do tend to take from that (even when it’s subconsciously!). Having an eco-friendly brand, however, a lot of what I like to do is play up the great textures that you can find in some of these raw materials. I think it gives another dimension to the clothing and really gives the garment a life of its own.

Moda Spia/Designer Ursula Dean:

My inspiration comes from film, travel, the playground. I love the billowy clothes of children in old fairy tale illustrations as much as Brigit Bardot’s care-free glamour.

Jackson, Johnston & Roe:

We draw inspiration from where we’ve grown up, the cities and surroundings we live in currently and from the endless archive of fashion of the past… both in history and within our families. Lately we have been inspired by traveling – not just the destination, but what you take for your trip. We think of our collections as everything you’ll need to have with you on your travels, and we consider packaging and versatility as well as the longevity and wear of the clothes. We are inspired by the quality of construction in garments from the past and we strive to bring that quality to our line.\

Image: Digital Sophia Photography

Vintage Kimono From Kimono Lily

With kimonos, we have freedom from binding elastics, cuffs and buttons. We are interesting, commanding and ready to sweep through rooms and poolsides flowing like a high priestess.

Here’s to the famed kimonos of both old and modern silhouettes that have stolen so quietly into design we don’t even notice the influence anymore. Having been around since Japan’s Heian heyday in 794-1192, a typical kimono wardrobe symbolized the wearer’s age and marital status, indicated through sleeve length (young, unmarried women wore the longest sleeves).

Today, we wear them to be different and glorious in short- or long-sleeved, floor-length or tunic, without or without an Obi – and we rarely worry if they’re a turn-off to men (they are). We didn’t let the muumuus get us down, so why should kimonos?

Here are a few kimono-inspired pieces that are stylish, green and ready for speed, unless of course, you’re trying to cook and have sweeping sleeves stylishly catching on fire”¦

The Obi inspired Whitney and Rose Dress by Mr. Larkin


Aoi Repurposed Kimono Jacket

Nature Vs. Future Mock Tunic Dress With Obi Belt

Wildberry Organic Cotton Kimono by VivaTerra