“Start anytime, with anything, enjoy the journey and after a while ‘getting there’ will become irrelevant.” – Sylke Golding

Sylke Golding started in a shoe store. Well, she was discovered in one. It’s a dreamy tale of being in the exact right place at the exact right time, causing the trajectory of your life to spin off in a crazy, unexpected direction. One minute, you’re shoe shopping with your sister and two weeks later, Elite Model Management has you jetting off to Paris for the summer to take test portfolio shots. Ain’t life grand?!

Sylke spent the next decade working with some of the most progressive, important fashion houses in the world, namely Valentino, Prada, Armani and Comme des Garçons, both on the runway and in print. And where is she now? Creating small batch, thoughtful fashion in her Brooklyn studio under the moniker Sealmaiden.

No, Sylke doesn’t have her own couture line. Yet. She is a textile surface designer; she creates and executes stunning silkscreen designs onto existing cotton dresses, shirts and bags. She’s a hardworking, self-taught, one woman operation, from sketches to screen-building to hand inking every garment.

Though quite removed from the bright lights of the catwalk, she has discovered her element and a bit of artful meditation along the way: “I have found peace of mind working for myself and by myself, space and time disappear and I am just doing. It’s also lot of work and many long hours spent completing orders and working every day including weekends. But it is totally worth it. I am the boss here! As a model one is rarely allowed input into the creative process. Often you are just there to be pretty and make the clothes look good. But this is mine, I own this.”

Despite being surrounded by fashion icons for a decade, the surprising catalyst for opening her own studio was her husband: “Sometimes it takes another person to make you see things about yourself that you cannot see on your own.” Back in her modeling days, she would keep a little notebook with her to help kill time between shoots and on airport layovers.  She filled these notebooks with doodles–her husband wanted her to do something with them. “A new design usually starts with looking at my old doodle drawings. I am always amazed how ‘new’ they look after not having looked at them for a while. Even drawings I initially did not consider a success. Months or even years later I finally have developed the eye to see it – some things take time.”

Her current designs are incredibly elegant and dramatic with an air of fluidity, particularly her on-trend use of metallic inks on black–nature-inspired designs that read a bit Art Deco. As a model, she loved “Japanese designers best, Comme de Garçons and of course Yohji Yamamoto were really quite something else,” she said. “Later on when I visited Japan, I understood why, what really got to me was their way of making the extraordinary look unassuming and unpretentious.”

“I can’t call out one particular thing that will inspire me. Inspiration is funny that way, it just hits you and you see it. It can happen while walking the streets or flipping through a magazine or watching a movie. Its a accumulation of past experiences and all the things you have seen before and things that caught your eye a long time go and somewhere got stuck in your head…Inspiration is everywhere.”

The Sealmaiden collection is eco-friendly and socially responsible, produced using only ethically sourced, sweat-shop free materials (shirts, dresses, totes) and printed with 100 percent water-based inks. This has always been of huge importance to Sylke, not as a sales tool or a desire to serve an environmentally aware niche market, but in the most sincere way possible: “I love nature and I love eating healthy nutritious foods. I love the natural order of things. I want to help preserve this.”

What’s the next chapter in Sylke Golding’s journey? She’s completed a few semesters at FIT to hone her skills in pattern-making and garment construction and has her heart set on starting her own stem to stern clothing line.  Those notebook doodles will become full-realized fashion sketches and she’ll be hiring models of her own. She’ll be walking the runway again, this time at the end of the show, to gather applause and garner praise for a job surely well done.

All photos of Sylke Golding appear courtesy of Sealmaiden

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Gorgeous red carpet-worthy dresses made from upcycled Speedo fabric, from suits worn by Olympic swimmers.

Now that the Olympics are over, and the American swimmers nabbed more gold medals in swimming than ever before, what happens to all those old Speedos? UK-based designer Orsola de Castro has been making high-end fashion from recycled materials since 1997, through the fashion label From Somewhere. One of the brand’s newest collections is made from, you guessed it, upcycled Speedo fabric.

The high tech quality and intense accent colors of the fabric lends a strange, yet very fashion forward quality to de Castro’s elegantly tailored dresses. If it wasn’t for the small logo that makes an appearance on some of the garments, you would never guess what they were made from.

De Castro runs From Somewhere with her partner Filippo Ricci, and the two are also the founders and curators of The British Council Estethica during London Fashion Week. They want to use their fashion label to further the discussion about overproduction and waste, two very urgent issues that the fashion industry needs to figure out how to deal with. To de Castro and Ricci, upcycling becomes a design solution to this environmental problem.

The label originally began their collaboration with Speedo in 2010 when a stock of their LZR Racer Elite suit became redundant following FINA regulations regarding competitive swimwear. The company contacted From Somewhere to help create something with the waste, and that’s how the first collection, which debuted at Estethica, was born.

The new colorblocked “Unity” gown is made from offcuts produced in the making of Speedo’s Fastskin3 Super Elite swimsuit, which was used by the athletes at this summer’s Olympic Games in London. All the colors in the “Unity” dress represent all nations coming together in a non-competitive way and are also a reference to water. De Castro used the stretch of the fabric to emphasize different parts of the female body, and she also utilized Pinterest to gather inspiration and visual references.

“The idea was to combine sportswear and fashion in a way that it is 100% fashion but also 100% sportswear,” says de Castro. She also wants this dress to inspire the confidence of an Olympic athlete in any woman that wears it.

Watch the video below to hear de Castro talk about the inspiration and process behind the dress.

We like, and it seems Ryan Lochte does too.

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Life on two wheels. 

EcoSalon reader Kristin Bott rocks a sundress at the Portland Short Track Series.

As she puts it, “It rains for nine months of the year in Portland. Not an exaggeration. So when summer comes, the whole city celebrates. Every year, the folks behind the Portland Short Track Series  have a ‘summer casual night’ when they encourage racers to ‘Leave the lycra at home and come race in your Monday best’- casual threads: oversized surf trunks, colorful skirts, double-rainbow tie dye tees, knitted socks… anything goes. I lack tie-dyes and surf trunks, but I do have a couple of sundresses, and I rarely wear skirts, but it seemed a good fit.”

On the Move documents our life on two wheels. Have your own On the Move worthy photo? Send it our way! Email pictures tocontact@ecosalon.com.

Image: Richard Rosko

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EcoSalon’s Marketing Manager and resident foodie Anna Brones shows us how she plans to accessorize her favorite little black dress this summer.

Ever wondered how our editors channel this season’s trends to complement the favorite pieces in their own wardrobes? Well, look no further. Here’s how our Marketing Manager Anna Brones is planning to accessorize her favorite dress by Horny Toad this summer. A consummate foodie and playlist maven, Anna also has a crafty side, which she uses to create beautiful earrings from used bike tubes. Anna’s style is simple and laid-back with a distinct feminine vibe, she likes to stick to simple basic clothing and let the accessories to the talking.

Mulu: Black and White Striped Infinity Scarf by Raven + Lily
This light and airy scarf is the perfect choice for summer. Made from locally sourced cotton and hand-loomed by Ethiopian women who were former fuel laborers, this black and white infinity scarf wraps one, two or three times. Through Raven + Lily’s partnership with Connected in Hope Foundation, the women receive economic and educational opportunities, enabling their families to thrive.
$57, Raven + Lily

Upcycled Leaf Earrings by AB Designs
These pretty leaf-shaped earrings are made from upcycled bike tubes by Anna herself. She carves the shapes by hand and cleverly lets the natural curve of the tubes be part of the design.
$19, AB Designs/Etsy

Prairie Underground Undone Shrug
A great layering piece like this is a must have for those cold summer evenings. The edges are raw and unfinished and, instead of buttons, it’s got fun string ties. Do like Anna and wear it over a dress, or pair it with denim for a more casual vibe. Made in Seattle, from 55% hemp and 45% organic cotton.
$128, Embodies

Shannon South ReMade in the USA OOAK No.1 Clutch
Color-blocking is a trend that is still going strong. The similar hues in this one make it a highly versatile choice.The OOAK is a one of a kind clutch that, like all Shannon South’s designs, is made from vintage leather sourced from old jackets. This one has a vintage suede lining, brass zipper and a knotted leather pull.
$195, Shannon South

Gold Leather Slit Cuff by Fahmina
This cuff by Topanga-based eco-designer Fahmina is a great way to add some flair to an outfit. Metallics are highly versatile since they tend to go with everything, which means you can get by with less. Wear it on the outside of your sleeve to really show it off. Made from upcycled pre-consumer leather waste, salvaged from factory cutting tables.
$96, Fahmina

El Naturalista Senda Sandals
Anna’s not afraid to add a pop of color to her wardrobe. The best way to dress up a simple outfit is to add a distinct pair of shoes, preferably in a bright color like these from Spanish shoe label El Naturalista.
Approx. $150, El Naturalista

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Shabd is having a summer sale.

Brooklyn designer Shabd Simon-Alexander creates and hand dyes limited edition collections based on simple shapes with attention to fabric combinations and compositions. She says on her site that her approach to working with fabrics “draws from minimalist art, quiltmaking, and the folk costume tradition of beginning one dress with the remnants from the last.”

This silk dress with individually hand dyed in a geode pattern and has a V-neck on one side, boat neck on the other, and can be worn front or back, belted or not.

Though we don’t want to promote sale shopping, Shabd is having a great sale on her site with 30% off most items from spring.

This dress was one of our favorites.

On sale for $340.

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

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

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