ORGANIC by John Patrick gives us his “beautiful vision” of sustainable fashion.

To the toe-tapping tunes of The Beatles, designer John Patrick debuted his Fall 2012 ORGANIC collection at a boutique event space in the Garment District for New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Under the heading “A Beautiful Vision,” the show featured a romantic collection inspired by a Julia Margaret Cameron photograph called A Beautiful Vision, Julia Duckworth, taken of Cameron’s niece (and future mother of painter Vanessa Bell and writer Virginia Woolf) in 1872.

Using the photograph as a starting point, collaborator and illustrator Mike Ellis interpreted his own “beautiful vision” in graphics for the invitation and show set. “When the illustration came I was stunned at how magically he captured what I was thinking and feeling,” Patrick said in a press release.

The fall line itself was heavy on textures and textiles, with a dizzying array of eco materials parading down the runway, including handmade metallic lace, sustainable recycled wool, biodegradable cotton cupro, vegetable-tanned leather, hand-loomed Angora, and a kaleidoscope of digitally printed silk from London. Patrick also worked with North Carolina-based Raleigh Denim on a handful of jeans in the collection.

The event marked the first New York Fashion Week runway show for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist – he had previously hosted presentations – and featured environmentally conscious model/actress (and long-time John Patrick fan) Shalom Harlow in the front row.

Here, some of our favorite looks and snapshots from after the show.

Images: Jessica Marati, Hans P. Kraus Jr. Fine Photographs

From a wasteful fashion industry emerges the Zero Waste movement.

It is said that the next great war will not be over oil, but water. So when it takes 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to produce a single pair of jeans, it is extraordinary that cloth has become a readily disposable commodity of little value. Indicative of this is the fact that on average 15 – 20% of cloth needed to produce a garment is wasted and the useless remnants are destined for the incinerator, landfill or occasionally as mattress filler.

In 2008 China, one of the world’s largest exporters of textiles and clothing produced 31.8 billion meters of fabric in January to July alone. You could reasonably estimate that almost 5 billion meters of that fabric was wasted. This astonishing wastefulness is caused by the entrenched traditions of the fashion industry, which separate the stages of garment design and production into hierarchies where the designers often work isolated from production. It is a system that fails to acknowledge that textiles are a finished product with energy invested into their design and manufacture and which seems primarily interested in the next new thing, forgetting also about what happens to garments at the end of their fashionable lives. So what’s being done about it?

Zero Waste cutting

Over the last couple of years I have had the privilege of working with Parsons Assistant Professor Timo Rissanen to bring together the work of 12 designers from all over the world in a zero waste fashion exhibition called Yield: Making Fashion Without Making Waste. All of these designers engage in some way with what has come to be known as Zero Waste Fashion Design (ZWFD). ZWFD involves designing clothing that in some way eliminates waste from the production or consumption of clothing.

This can be achieved in a number of ways and through various approaches; some designers use the left over fabric pieces to make other garments or products; others eliminate the creation of waste altogether when designing their patterns. Many designers use second hand clothing in order to remove waste from the post consumer end of the fashion consumption cycle, while others use innovative technology to make garments in completely new ways. All are in some way are addressing the huge volumes of textile waste contributed by the fashion and textile industry and consumers every year – a massive 30kg per person per year in UK and U.S.

Piles of second hand clothes for sale

Designing Out the Waste
Anybody who has cut out and sewn up a garment will be aware of the pieces between the pattern that are not incorporated into the finished garment. Many people save such offcuts for future projects, but there will typically be pieces that are either too small or oddly shaped to be of any use. These are routinely discarded, passing through the trash, en route to the landfill. In industry, markers are designed to eliminate as much of this wastage as possible in order to save money. However, the design of the garments is dictated by aesthetics and market alone, inevitably resulting in surplus pieces that cannot be used. The company can either creatively use this left over 15% to make different products, or by designing both the positive and negative spaces of the pattern it is possible to reduce this figure to zero. ZWFD aims to tick all the boxes of aesthetics, fit, market and zero waste.

The kimono as a historic example of Zero Waste cutting

These approaches, while sometimes appearing new, are in fact as old as clothing itself. For hundreds of years, aesthetics, and to a lesser extent functionality, have been the two pillars of fashion design, and when coupled with the slightly more contemporary desire for speed and change, has lead to the proliferation of too much fashion, too many collections, too often. Historically fashion was expensive because cloth was expensive and time consuming to produce. This meant it made sense to be careful about how you used the cloth you had and how you cared for the clothing you owned. Mending was common and using cloth frugally was standard practice – there are examples of “zero waste garments” from almost every continent and culture, and we’ve been practicing it for centuries.

Admittedly designing ZWF isn’t the easiest when first starting out. This type of design is not about numbers, it’s about experimentation, playfulness and taking a risk, all while being mindful of the impact of your actions. It slows the design of fashion down and forces many parts of the fashion chain to think about waste and material use from a design and production perspective. Many of the problems that exist in the fashion industry begin with ideas of separation, both geographical and hierarchical. Whether designer/producer, producer/consumer, consumption and disposal, the greater the distance and separation between the stakeholders in the fashion chain, the greater the likelihood of discordance and a lack of appreciation of what is really going on.

Holly McQuillan’s own Zero Waste Designs

Designing ZWF needs to be done with either a close relationship between designer and pattern cutter, or by a designer who is the pattern cutter, any other arrangement will be an exercise in futility. The change enables a close relationship between market, aesthetic and fabric yield to flourish, and from this, beautiful things are possible.

A designer attempting a zero waste garment design cannot simply ask, “have I used ALL of that piece of cloth?”

Doing only this would potentially result in garments that no one would want to purchase. So with ZWFD and indeed all sustainable design, aesthetics cannot be at the expense of the environment, just as the environment cannot be at the expense of aesthetics. There must exist a harmony between both.

Writer Holly McQuillan, is the Yield exhibit’s curator, and is also a designer and lecturer in the fashion design program at Massey University’s College of Creative Arts in Wellington, New Zealand.

Top image: McQuillan’s Yield Exhibit in Chicago

Textile expressions are shaping next season’s ethical spirit

It is amazing to think that the Spring/Summer 2012 fashion week presentations have been underway for close to a month now. We kicked off the season with our announcement of the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris during the first few days of September, and now things have come full circle with the close of Paris Fashion Week today. Plenty of designer and runway celebrities have reveled in the media spotlight, but some very deserving names on the ethical fashion and textile innovation scene might have slipped under your radar. Read on for highlights of the bright new design stars we currently have our eye on.

New York

Kaelen S/S 2012 with Coclico shoes

EcoSalon was on the scene during New York Fashion Week (NYFW), and for the first time ever a (Sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out at the Textile Arts Center in Manhattan set the stage for fashion as a vibrant community outreach initiative. As a fiber and textile enthusiast, I was rather smitten with Kaelen’s Spring/Summer 2012 collection presented at Drive-In Studios. What’s not to love about cool macramé fringe and pleat dresses presented in a stand of birch trees? Designer Kaelen Haworth made wood nymph chic (and Steve Nicks redux) seem transcendent. The pairing with ethically made Coclico shoes was pure genius as well.

Titania Inglis S/S  2012 organic dip-dyed peak dress

Brooklyn-based designer Titania Inglis had a whole lot of textile brilliance going on with her latest collection featuring natural dye methods, local production collaborations, and zero-waste experimentation. I love that Titania creates garments that are versatile as a suite of designs that dovetail efficiently together.

The above dip-dyed ‘Peak Dress’, created with natural dye expert Isa Rodrigues at the Textile Arts Center, has timeless appeal. The chic styling with Bliss Lau jewelry accents the fluid geometry of the draping. The peak dress was created out of Japanese organic cotton voile with a stripe texture, dip-dyed with logwood for the gray hue, and a mix of natural dyes for the peach hue.

Titania Inglis S/S  2012 collarless jacket and pleat short

This collarless jacket and pleat short are also great investment pieces as separates to re-invigorate an existing wardrobe. Materials include a dip-dyed organic cotton denim pieced with a dead stock cotton twill for the jacket, and the same dead stock cotton twill for the short.

Ivana Helsinki S/S 2012 celebrates ethnic prints for Indian Summer

Another favorite textile-inspired line up at NYFW was Ivana Helsinki’s Indian Summer collection. Finnish designer, Paolo Suhonen’s artistic melding of ethnic patterns and graphic feather motifs pave the way for a trend-free and border-defying form of global nomadism. I like that Suhonen always looks to her Scandinavian roots for ongoing inspiration and indigenous source material as well.

London

Mary Katrantzou S/S 2012 takes digital printing for a bold ride

Designers at London Fashion Week certainly were not shy about bold innovation in textile printing technologies, and many would agree that Mary Kantrantzou is still a clear frontrunner in the wild abstraction and remixing of patterns that are mind-blowing on the runway as well as hot on the retail scene. Spring/Summer 2012 was no exception for Katrantzou, although some felt that her pop art ‘brushstrokes’ were a bit too broad this time around. Regardless, I like that this designer pushes her medium to create textiles that fuse repeat patterns in nature with a textured maps of metallic car parts.

Ada Zanditon S/S 2012 ethically-produced Poseidon Dress

Ada Zanditon was, as usual, a must-see show on the ethical fashion circuit, and in keeping with the current trend to host film or installation projects in lieu of a full-blown runway show, Zandition’s Poseisus collection did not disappoint. The pièce de résistance was this Poseidon Dress, which pays homage to the principles of biomimicry as well as the plight of endangered seahorse species off the south coast of London.

Felicity Brown S/S 2012 marries Victorian grace with hand-dyed tribal patterns

One of the most romantic expressions at the London shows was Felicity Brown’s S/S12 exquisitely dyed and adventurously draped dresses. The designer describes her intent best: “Taking inspiration from Victorian lady explorers in Africa, such as Mary Kingsley, Felicity imagined how the influence of the tribes’ women would infuse into their dresses and create a hybrid of the two opposing cultures. The stiff rigidity of the neckline and corseted bodice is reworked with fluid, laser cut silk jersey tubes that have been hand dyed with a deconstructed tribal pattern. The contrast and tension between soft femininity and strong cage like structures are another theme that resonates powerfully throughout Felicity’s work.” – S/S12 press release

Michelle Lowe Holder’s zero-waste designs at Estethica

On the accessorizing frontier, Michelle Lowe-Holder created a stunning showcase of her zero-waste cuffs, collars, and neckpieces crafted out of fabric and textile wastage for London Fashion Week’s Estethica. I also love that this designer also styles her look book shoots in a manner that defies gender, age, and racial stereotypes – totally modern, in the best sense of the word.

Milan

I am basically going to skip over the Guccis, Puccis, and The Sartorialist street style shots from Milan Fashion Week. We know that the Italians are unbearably stylish when it comes to making upcycled boyfriend jeans and cobble-crushing stilettos look killer. I am married to someone who was born in Milano, and trust me, he can make a plain white shirt look like a million bucks.

Km/a’s recycled parachute coat melds materials and conceptual storytelling

I do want to call out one of my favorite labels, km/a of Vienna, who exhibited again this season at WHITE Milano. Sass Brown has profiled them in the past on Eco Fashion Talk, and they have also been standout exhibitors at The KEY.TO during Berlin Fashion Week. Km/a’s novel approach to fusing art, fashion, and the recycling of parachute materials as well as military blankets puts whole new spin on surplus chic and textured storytelling.

Paris

With Paris Fashion Week coming to a conclusion today, I am happy to report that there appears to be a new wave of locally made, ethical fashion in France. Hélène Sananikone, owner and proprietor of Green in the City in the Marais, shared news that, now more than ever, ready-to-wear ethical brands are increasingly available and with colorful and vibrant hues for the upcoming season.

Hélène wrote to us, “When I opened my boutique only three years ago, I could hardly fill my store with French ready-to-wear brands. It was also not very easy to find these designers at the shows that I visited in Paris, and it honestly seemed as if all of the eco fashion was happening abroad. Now, more and more French eco designers have their place at the most fashionable fairs. They can develop fabrics with their manufacturers, particularly exclusive prints with Oeko-Tex dyeing. For a long time they had to be careful and propose basic colors. Now for Spring/Summer as well as for Autumn/Winter, they can dare to add colors and unique prints. Eco fashion need not envy fashion anymore. It is fashion.”

Parisian label ‘Ambryn Tribu Urbaine’ creates hand-drawn whimsy for textiles

Ambryn’s A/W 2011 illustrates eco-luxurious hues and trans-seasonal appeal

Green in the City carries French-made Ambryn Tribu Urbaine in their boutique and for Spring/Summer 2012, this indie label is offering a unique interpretation of ‘Behind the Garden’ with hand-illustrated prints and ethically-sourced fabrics. I am still savoring Ambryn’s Fall 2011 pieces – particularly the hand worked green collar on the above piece for autumn.

EELD S/S 2012 ‘Bird of Paradise’ bio-silk top made locally in France

Also not to be missed on the broadening ethical fashion scene in Paris is the new French-made label, EELD. Designer Chloe Bourrioux recently debuted her bio-silk and eco-friendly dyed pieces for S/S 2012. Added details like her support of traditional lace making techniques from the world famous Calais region and silk from Lyon makes EELD a genuinely French expression of textile rich fashion and local goodness.

Lead image: Michelle Lowe Holder, Kaelen photo by Jeannine Tan via Kaelen’s blog, Titania Inglis photos by Evan Browning,  Mary Katrantzou via Style.com, Ada Zanditon photo by Sarah Brimley, Michelle Lowe Holder photo via Oxfam.

A sleep well-traveled.

These bright and worldly pillow cases are handmade by artisans in Southwest India using Batik, the traditional Indian art of creating patterns on fabric. A set of three pillows spans the globe from the Americas to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia. At $95, that’s a much better bargain than an around the world ticket, in coach.

Look for Lustables daily at EcoSalon. 100% gorgeous green finds, and never sponsored. Submit your favorite to tips@ecosalon.com

If you’re familiar with textiles and design, you’ve probably heard of screen-printing, digital printing, and maybe even sublimation. All three are printing technologies used to create pretty patterns and pictures on fabric. But I would bet the Eames chair and ottoman I’m saving up for, that you don’t know about the Lumi Process.

It’s a cutting edge process that allows photographic images to be printed onto natural materials, from silk to wool to cotton, without any chemical treatment. Jesse Genet, who began her research five years ago when she was in high school, is the brain (and brawn) behind the new technology. Now she’s a student at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles and has teamed up with fellow student and designer, Stephan Angoulvant, to launch Lumi Co.

They’re young, energetic and with a clever self-promotional video, funded the launch of their business with money raised on Kickstarter. It took them only 60 days to raise more than $13,500. They initially aimed for $12,000,

“…the minimum amount of capital needed to allow us to continue R&D, upgrade our equipment for production, and have enough working capital to develop products and open our doors to collaborators in the first quarter of 2010.”

To everyone who donated, Genet and Angoulvant sent out a leather bag, art print, card wallet or coasters (image below), each printed with images using their technology. It got people talking, about the product and the process, and the talk has been nothing but positive.

Genet and Angoulvant, on the other hand, are not talking about the specifics of their technology, other than to say it is eco-friendly and will provide access to innovative products and designs in the future. The Lumi Process doesn’t require intense heat or the use of harsh chemicals. It doesn’t use filters or half-toning; the final images are vivid, true to the original, durable and won’t fade with washings. All their supplies and materials are natural. And the process prints perfectly on textured materials and over seams. Is there anything it doesn’t do?

Actually, no. And now Lumi Co. is collaborating with Cisco Home, a Los Angeles sustainable furniture company, and launching its first product line in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. The owner of Cisco Home, Cisco Pinedo, who’s been in the furniture business for over 20 years, had this to say about the Lumi Process:

“The conventional printing methods don’t have the properties of natural materials…this is an amazing technique, especially for a company like ours where everything we do is around sustainability.”

It’s quite the entrepreneurial, environmental success story. And it’s not over yet.

Ferm Living offers this colorful felt pillow with humorous and vibrant tufts (it also comes in blue); lean it in the corner of your couch, let it rest on your favorite chair, embellish your bed, or add a little cushion beneath your derriere next time you lounge on the floor. (Don’t miss this charming yellow knit floor cushion either!)

When you need a place to rest your eggnog or absorb the sloshes from your cranberry martini, utilize these felt coasters from Parkhaus (they make a bevy of alluring felted objects). With a slew of saturated color choices to mark your liquids, you’ll never confuse your apple cider for his whiskey. These gorgeous felt coasters are available here for a bargain price of $4 each (plus, you can soak up a little history about felt while you purchase these beauties).

According to Ecotextile News, the Chinese government recently “ordered the closure of over 2,000 companies in 18 different industries – including the dyeing and finishing sector – as the country mulls a new environmental tax on manufacturing to crack down on highly polluting industries.”

This environmental tax will likely be enforced on carbon dioxide emissions and discharges of polluted water and, according to Ecotextile News, “would form part of Beijing’s drive to make its economic growth cleaner.”

This is welcome news for the worldwide eco community struggling to crack down on highly polluting, highly energy-wasting facilities, but will this only force the outed to set up shop in another country that doesn’t have proper enforcement in place?

According to MSN, a typical scenario when production is moved from countries like China to lower-cost labor markets in Vietnam and Bangladesh, “a huge restructuring in the global supply chain aimed at reducing costs,”  is the next logical step. Currently, a smaller (but no less dramatic)  restructuring is the movement of companies inland in China from coastal areas.

One of the biggest supporters of the move? Walmart whose shifting of the way it buys its private-label goods (eg. Faded Glory) it is estimated can save $4 billion to $12 billion with a few minor adjustments.

MSN says: “The company also thinks it can find cost savings by even further globalizing the way it buys goods. Instead of its current practice of buying for each national market separately, Walmart is creating four global merchandising centers. For example, a center in Mexico City will handle merchandising for emerging markets. The company plans to extend this strategy to global sourcing of fruits and vegetables, too.

As a result, companies in coastal China will find themselves in competition on price not just with companies in inland China but also with companies in even-lower-cost economies around the world.

In textiles, for example, a company in coastal China, where wages range from $117 to $147 a month, will find itself in competition with companies in Bangladesh paying $60 a month.”

While these new moves in the Chinese government’s crackdown on pollution will allow them to meet environmental standards under a current Five Year Plan, what will be the repercussions? Is there a whole other conversation to be had about ethics?

Above image by Jakob Montrasio

I am somewhat narrow minded. I am prejudiced against color – in the bedroom. My design philosophy has always embraced the notion that the bedroom is a place for relaxation and rejuvenation; a calm palette to ease your mind into dreaming, a space to lay your head on a pillow and leave all the complexities of reality outside the door. My own bedroom is a sanctuary of simple white and natural wood. This Organic Cotton Pin-Tuck Duvet Cover + Shams (starting at $19) from West Elm perfectly depicts the soft texture and gentle color every bed deserves, available in a handful of perfectly muted neutral colors like white, natural, and sea spray.

Lately, irresistible vibrant colors and vivid designs to dress my mattress are everywhere. My nostalgic philosophy is being challenged by these amiable wares from Anthropologie. On the left, the Circle “˜Round Sheet Set (starting at $68) is a lovely field of, “petite dots and bitty petals.” On the right, “undulating stems of oval leaves,” dance across the Azure Fern Sheet Set (starting at $68).

Maybe waking up to saturated colors and playful graphics gives each morning a stroke of energy and creativity. Maybe the bedroom should be full of crisp patterns and bold colors, like a whimsical field trip each night. Either way, I need them. All of them. I will just tuck these charismatic sheets tightly under my serene duvet and test the waters. On the left, “flowering vines curve sleepily,” across the Drowsy Vine Sheet Set (starting at $68). And finally, the Belina Sheet Set (starting at $48) is a place where, “tiny blooms breeze.”

What do you think? Quiet neutrality or vibrant color in the bedroom?

Lately, mail order catalogs have been delivering a pleasant surprise; the pages that were once filled with disregard are making room for a dose of green. Consumer demand and retail desire steer the content of these glossy muses, so pat yourself on the back. Companies like CB2, West Elm, and Crate & Barrel are getting earth conscious.

The Chop Chop Side Table ($199) by CB2 is a geometric dream. These ash wood beauties are created from urban forest “˜casualties’ in the Chicago area. Ash trees that succumb to wind, damage, and age are gathered and carved into rectangular logs and enveloped with a wax finish.

The Organic Plisse Blanket (starting at $54.99) is a weave of luxurious silky soft organic cotton.  The Solid Silk Handloomed Pillow Cover ($29) is handspun tasar silk made in rural India as part of the Aid to Artisans organization.

Crate & Barrel offers the Azure Sofa ($1799) wrapped in steel linen and speckled with tufts. The gentle curves are filled with soy-based polyfoam and rest on a certified sustainable wood frame.

The recent notice of the environment is a step (or push?) in the right direction, but I look forward to the day my mailbox is empty and my inbox is full of paper-free catalogs and every page is innately sustainable.

Speaking of catalogs, don’t forget to check out our sister company – Vivaterra!

This duet of Lace Fans Fabric Pillows (in Olive) from Ink & Spindle stole my heart. It was love at first sight. Nothing freshens a space as quickly (or as inexpensively) as a handful of throw pillows – a pop of color or a rich texture can instantly add life.

I immediately headed over to Ink & Spindle for further intoxication. The artists (Lara Cameron and Tegan Rose) have charmed me with graphic prints in pretty colors. In my humble opinion, the worth of a textile is realized through imagination. Fabrics are like well cared for art supplies. When I see a great fabric, visions of pillows, art, and upholstery dance through my head. These amusing textiles have me dreaming up a myriad of fabric-enveloped furnishings and accessories.

Ink & Spindle plays the conscientious role of a green business through the usual route (water based solvent free inks, recycled products whenever possible, organic, sustainable, and fair trade base cloth, etc.), and have added a sweet effort, including using a water board certified separation system to prevent foreign particles from entering the water system. The company walks the walk, and I like it. Oh, and did I mention they are entirely carbon neutral?!

For pricing information, please visit Ink & Spindle’s online shop or email info@inkandspindle.com.au.