Femininity meets power-play in Costello Tagliapietra’s Fall/Winter ’13 collection at New York Fashion Week.

Stitched from the see-sawing juxtapositions of life, thoughtfully constructed dresses, like the ones that glided down the runway of the Costello Tagliapietra Fall/Winter 2013 show this week, have a story to tell. And if these dresses, jumpsuits and alpaca cloaks could talk, there would be conversations to be had.

From boardroom banter to cocktail chatter, they whisper of femininity, power and mysticism. Over weekend cappuccinos, they share their secrets in finding a graceful balance between femininity and masculinity, between power and sweetness. And, because they are the carefully crafted garments of Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra, the design duo behind the line, they murmur one word again and again: sensuality.

When I first met the endearing business- and life- partners following their Spring/Summer 2013 showcase, the same, singular word, came up repeatedly.  At first, it seemed surprising to hear two burly men speak so softly about a woman’s emotions and desires—about sensuality. So this time I asked how it is that they simply ‘get’ women.  “It’s easy, really,” says Tagliapietra.  “Most of our friends are women, and we grew up with sisters.  We just surround ourselves by women. Strong women.”

With its Fall/Winter collection, Costello Tagliapietra calls forth the ‘working woman’s wardrobe’.  “It’s powerful, and it’s feminine,” says Costello. “Our woman is not afraid to embrace her femininity.” It’s this yin and the yang—the pairing of a slinky polyester dress color blocked using AirDye technology, contrasted with an alpaca caplette, sourced from Tagliapietra’s mother, the owner of an alpaca farm in New Jersey—that makes this collection so wearable. “We love that the alpaca comes from a women-run operation; we love that the animals aren’t harmed; and we love the whole farm-to-table mentality,” Tagliapietra proudly adds. Opposites really do attract—from runway-to-real world, in a magnetizing way.

Backstage: Designers Robert Tagliapietra (left) and Jeffrey Costello (right).

More looks we love:

Photos: Jennifer Barckley

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Fact: It takes over 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to make 1 pair of jeans, and over 400 gallons of water to make one t-shirt.

The water crisis conversation is growing exponentially. Fears of losing access to potable water face a growing number of people across the globe. In fact, it’s expected that two-thirds of the world’s people will run short of fresh drinking H20 by 2025. So, in just over a decade, it’s possible that 75% of the globe’s population might not have access to clean drinking water. What does fashion have to do with this? A lot.

As a $450 billion global industry, only half of 1% of those garments are created in a way that attempts to respect people and the environment. When the majority of the garment industry production happening in an “unsustainable” way, their unfortunate use of dirty chemicals is leading to toxic runoff that flows into rivers, lakes, and streams and diminishes the world’s fresh water.

In textile production, the dyeing and finishing stages typically require high water and chemical use. According to Global Action Through Fashion, the majority of compounds used for applying color are highly carcinogenic or otherwise toxic, and those chemicals generally are discharged into nearby waterways. Brooklyn, New York was a hub for textile manufacturing and dying back in the 1920s and 30s. Josh Verlean, Staff Attorney and Chief Investigator for Riverkeeper tells EcoSalon that before the Clean Water Act amendments of 1977, the colors of the Hudson River were often stained by automobile dyes or textile dyeing; the water would reflect the colors that specific dye houses were processing that day. Much of the dyeing process for larger companies has now moved overseas, but that doesn’t mean it has disappeared.

Outsourcing expands into cotton production as well. According to the Environmental Justice Foundation, about 44 per cent of the world’s water use for cotton growth and processing is not serving the domestic market but instead, is being soaked up for export. And cotton – the fabric of our lives – is responsible for a large dent of the garment industry’s water waste. It takes over 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to make 1 pair of jeans, and it takes over 400 gallons of water to make one t-shirt.

Fashion is interrupting the natural current of the world’s most vital resource. So, what’s it going to take to ensure that the fashion industry stops contributing to this daunting reality, and who are the superstars in the fashion industry that are working to conserve, protect, and keep the fresh water flowing?

Costello Tagliapietra Spring/Summer 2012

AirDye Solutions has tackled the issue in a tech-savvy and action-based way. AirDye technology allows for the application of color to fabric without the use of water. It ends up using about 90% less water and 85% less energy than conventional dyeing processes. Standout designers like Costello Tagliapietra have been using this innovative and water conserving technology for the past several seasons. When asked if they notice a difference between using AirDye and conventional dying techniques, Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra say “Absolutely.”

“We have the amazing opportunity to have the backside of the fabric look just as beautiful as the front, something that is not possible with traditional dyeing; we are even doing prints on both sides in some pieces.”

With luxe collections packed with color and mesmerizing prints, Costello Tagliapietra is definitely not sacrificing style for ethics, which has interested more designers to jumping onboard the AirDye train thanks to their lead.

Another brand, BluDemocracy, has tackled the agua quandary head-on by replacing cotton with bamboo in the production of all of their everyday basics. The LA-based company claims that to make a cotton t-shirt, it takes 11,500 cups of water, whereas to produce a bamboo tee, it only takes 3,840 cups. By producing and processing their bamboo collection sustainably, Blu Democracy hopes to make a dent in this overwhelming statistic: 1 billion people worldwide don’t have access to clean water…right now.

Blu Democracy’s representative Walka Quiroa tells EcoSalon there are ways to instigate change by sharing “in your face knowledge about the extreme lack of clean drinking water around the world, along with spreading simple ways individuals and companies can make positive change to these frightening statistics.”

Massive transformations in our daily lifestyles are not required, according to Quiroa, but rather, creating awareness around products that are good for the earth is the first tread. As Quiroa tells EcoSalon, “Knowledge inspires change.”

BluDemocracy bamboo tees

How important is water? We humans are comprised of 65% of it, and 75% of the earth’s surface is covered with the stuff. We need it, plants need it, animals need it – where did the disconnect evolve away from such a crucial resource?

In a recent visit to the Minnesota Marine Art Museum, an exhibition titled: “Upon Native Waters: The Photographs of Edward Curtis,” sparked reminders of the basic foundation that water’s worth was built upon. Edward Curtis’ photographs of Native Americans in the early 1900s showcased vividly the ways that water was integral to the everyday lives of people. In these times and through these cultures, a clear connectivity could be observed between water and humanity.

Photograph from “Upon Native Waters: The Photographs of Edward Curtis,” currently at the Minnesota Marine Art Museum

Water didn’t used to flow out of faucets and it never grew on trees. It might be time to take a tip from our elders and remember that water is a valued resource necessary for survival – one to be respected and appreciated.

Image: Nadia Moro

The post Swimming Against the Mainstream Fashion Current appeared first on EcoSalon.

Crazy for chrysanthemums and other vibrant prints at Costello Tagliapietra’s Fall/Winter 2012 runway show.

One day last spring, fashion designer Robert Tagliapietra came home to find a workroom filled with chrysanthemum sketches drawn by his design partner and now husband, Jeffrey Costello.

“For some reason I was painting chrysanthemums all spring,” Jeffrey told EcoSalon just after their Fall/Winter 2012 show on Thursday.

“He was obsessed with them,” Robert added.

Designers Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra

The duo behind fashion label Costello Tagliapietra took the sketches, played with them in Photoshop, and used AirDye technology to digitally print the resulting patterns onto vibrant dresses and separates for their Fall/Winter 2012 collection. These looks, with others, paraded down the runway at Milk Studios on Thursday afternoon to a packed house, which included Susan Sarandon, Padma Lakshmi, Miss J. Alexander, and the Misshapes’ Leigh Lezark in the front row.

“New York Fashion Week is an important stage to showcase your work and we feel blessed to have had the opportunity and the audience for as long as we have been in business,” the duo told EcoSalon just before the show. “It would be a sad day when, as a designer, we would do all of this hard work and put in all of these hours of work and not get to showcase it!”

The audience certainly appreciated the parade of gorgeously draped gowns, cocktail dresses, and separates. But while the solid colored pieces were masterful, the printed ones seemed imbued with an entirely different energy.

“We love the prints this season,” Jeffrey told EcoSalon. “We love what they do to the clothes. They have movement to begin with so they give the pieces so much more movement.”

One reason for the vibrancy of the prints is the aforementioned AirDye technology, which Costello Tagliapietra has been utilizing consistently for six seasons and which appears on nearly every piece in the line. AirDye is a sustainable way to apply color to textiles without the use of water, which makes it environmentally preferable to traditional dye methods. The technology also allows for more precise color placement.

Below we’ve posted a selection of our favorite printed pieces from the show, with the chrysanthemum pattern up at the top. See what we mean about energy?

Images: Jessica Marati

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