New Zealand just announced the world’s next eco fashion week, joining Amsterdam, Vancouver and Berlin Fashion Weeks. Flying the flag for the Asia Pacific region (Australian designers have also been active in the ethical realm), New Zealand will be hosting an Eco Fashion Runway Event in September to support their exciting, emerging market. The show will include up to 14 designers and involve New Zealand’s sustainable style model, Hannah Pasene. Like most of the other big fashion weeks, it will be a combination of workshops, pop-up shops and spectacular runway events.

Co-founder and eco fashion designer Denise Anglesey says the idea for the event has been brewing since 2008, and indeed she is joined by plenty of other Kiwi creators. To celebrate this exciting new announcement, we look to three of New Zealand’s successful labels that keep sustainability in style.

Shikoba Clothing

Shikoba Clothing‘s creation is influenced by New Zealand’s unique natural environment (think Lord of the Rings) and cultural heritage. Aroha Wikotu founded the line in 2006, and she has a strong commitment to innovation and is constantly researching new processes, technical skills and the latest in fabric design. The entire line is 100% made in New Zealand, and their website hints that they will soon be announcing a new eco label, which uses only New Zealand-made fabrics, so this is one line to keep an eye on.

Untouched World

Untouched World prides itself on being the first fashion company in the world to be recognised by the United Nations for sustainability. A fashion and sportswear brand based on and inspired by the New Zealand lifestyle, Untouched World works on the principle that you don’t have to forgo luxury to support fashion that is both stylish and eco friendly. This ethos caught the attention of the United Nations, which in 2007 acknowledged their efforts by accrediting them to use the United Nations Decade of Education for Sustainability emblem on its clothing. They regularly publish sustainability reports on their website and have won a plethora of awards for their efforts. Their logo represents a Maori kite, which is an emblem of the relationship between man and nature. This sentiment drives their business and is reflected in their effortlessly chic styles.

Kowtow

Kowtow Clothing only uses certified organic, fair trade materials and they regularly promotes the fact that their lines are ethically and sustainably made from seed to garment. They use only 100% fair trade certified cotton (which is also 100% organic!) and manufacture in an ethical factory in Kolkota, India. They are so committed to fair labor that the Kowtow team travelled to India, to document on film, their entire cotton chain from seed to garment. In addition to offering stylish, quirky pieces for both men and women, they also have a ‘building blocks’ collection of versatile, long-lasting pieces, which will blend across the seasons and team nicely with more of the up-to-the-minute looks.

Images: Shikoba, Untouched World, Kowtow, N.Rekhviashvili

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Canada’s sustainable fashion growth is a healthy sign of the times.

With easily more than 50 Canadian designers now working various sustainable practices into their collections, it was difficult to highlight just these five. Canada has seen tremendous growth in the number of eco fashion designers over the past few years. The following designers represent both those who have been leading the movement in Canada, and also some up-and-comers that you should be watching. Their A/W 2011 collections are sure to impress even the most discerning.

Nicole Bridger, Vancouver

Nicole was the first winner of Canada’s Fashion Takes Action award, Design Forward. Her A/W ’11 collection is entitled “Safe to Love,” aptly named after a personal experience she recently had. “Every season I reflect on life lessons that I’m learning”, Bridger says of coming out of a painful relationship. In addition to earth tones, we can expect to see passionate colours from Bridger this fall including reds, purples, and blush pink.

Thieves, by Sonja den Elzen, Toronto

Continuing on the theme of consciousness, Thieves’ A/W 2011 is entitled “Reflection,” which according to designer den Elzen is the embodiment of seasons layered and loved.  “It is about the seasons and years blending together, erasing the lines of time and offering genuine lifelong pieces that become the foundation of a wardrobe for those who are reflective and conscientious of their surroundings.”

This fall, we can expect to see more of the highly tailored look den Elzen achieves with beeswaxed organic cotton and hemp/wool/tencel suiting blends, combined with soft draped jerseys, organic wool knits, and lush, hand-knit wear.

Adhesif, by Melissa Ferreira, Vancouver

Newer to the scene but becoming known for their use of reclaimed and recycled materials, Adhesif recently rocked the runways at Vancouver Eco Fashion Week . For A/W 2011, we can expect to see more vintage tweed, wool suiting and printed cotton twill.

“The colour palette reminds me of a sunset on an open field in the Prairies,” states designer Melissa Ferreira. “Many pieces have a draped feel to them but I have added in some pieces that have a ‘sack’ or box-cut look as well”.

 Harricana by Mariouche, Montreal

For more than two decades, luxury fur designer Mariouche Gagné has been ethically recycling fur made in Canada. She claims to have recycled over 50,000 coats, saving 400 metric tons from landfill. The Harricana A/W 2011 collection features three themes: Femme Fatale, giving rise to elegance and femininity; Military, urban, unisex and streamlined; and Timeless, evoking the wild and untamed nature of the great Canadian outdoors.

Device by Melanie Ferrara, Toronto

Since 2008, designer Melanie Ferrara has produced a series of vintage-inspired modern classics, made in Toronto using tencel, organic wool and organic cotton. For inspiration for her A/W ’11 collection, she looked to the period of the 1940s. “Fashion at that time was influenced by wartime austerity measures, and was characterized by tailored silhouettes with an emphasis on the waist and shoulders,” says Ferrara who adds she used a neutral color palette of navy and black as the base, paired with greys, cream, plum and plaid.  “The result is a collection of timeless, wearable pieces which range in style from modern casual to sophisticated elegance.”

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Fashion Weeks around the world have taken the headlines by storm with coverage from NY, Paris, Milan and London. And thankfully, each of these international shows have featured sustainable fashion on their runways.

Here in Canada, we tend to hold our Fashion Weeks a bit later in the season, mainly so that our top fashion media outlets don’t have to be in two places at once. This week we are hosting both Montreal Fashion Week and Eco Fashion Week (EFW) Vancouver.

For the first time, Montreal Fashion Week has teamed up with non-profit organization FEM International to present ModEthik, which will feature an exhibition and collective runway show, as well as an educational discussion around ethical fashion and responsible consumerism.

Vancouver is taking it to a whole new level with the first ever Eco Fashion Week. The three-day event will be focused on sustainable fashion and includes a trade show and seminar component as well. I caught up with the organizer, Myriam Laroche, who hopes that buyers will put EFW on their calendars twice a year and that Vancouver will become an international eco fashion capital.

“Our mission with EFW is to make it easy for the fashion industry to take the green road”, states Laroche. “In order to do this, we feel that the educational part of it is extremely important. The runway show presents the look of the collection, and is an opportunity to show buyers how to wear and style the clothes. The trade show provides a platform for designers and buyers to deepen their understanding of eco fashion, and at the same time meet and develop business relationships.”

Eco model, activist, designer, author and sustainable pioneer Summer Rayne Oakes is one of the presenters at Eco Fashion Week Vancouver. Delegates will learn about her new company, Source4Style (which is currently in private beta) – the world’s first online marketplace for designers to search and source leading sustainable textiles. I had a chance to chat briefly with Summer about her talk and the importance of having sustainability sessions at Fashion Weeks across the globe. Here is what she had to say:

“Sustainability is still such a black box in the fashion industry. It’s not uncommon to have workshops and presentations designed to elucidate and untangle its inherent complexities. And if attendance to these talks is any indication of people’s interest, well then I don’t see any sign of it stopping.”

And I couldn’t agree more. The industry is becoming hungry for this information. They want to understand the social and environmental impacts of their work, and how they can do their part. And it makes good business sense for Fashion Weeks to provide the venue for such growth.

Image: Courtesy of Montreal Fashion Week

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Will you be in New York this February for Eco Fashion Week? (And do ya like how we’re slowly turning the tables on you, boring old Fashion Week?) The GreenShows should be your major focal point.

Touted as the only “premiere fashion event exclusively committed to eco-friendly, ethically sound, fair trade fashion in New York City,” the venue, now in its second season, has peeled some serious rubber (not to mention, appealed to some really great talent).

Thieves by Sonja Den Elzen, Spring 2010

This time around, notable designers like Samantha Pleet, Thieves by Sonja Den Elzen, cmarchuska and eight others will debut their Fall 2010 lines to hungry eco-press and audiences hoping for something new from the sustainable front.

Designer Samantha Pleet, photo by Jacqueline Di Millia

This is a challenge when all designers participating in The GreenShows have to abide by a “Designer Criteria” which means they have to include some aspect of the sustainable design industry. In this case it means:

1.    Vegan/Animal Free
2.    Ethically Produced
3.    Fair Trade
4.    Organic Materials
5.    Recycled Materials
6.    Ethically Produced Wool
7.    Natural Dyes
8.    Carbon Footprint Conscious

Let’s hope it also means really well crafted designs that don’t play it too safe.

Main image: The Daily Green

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