Fashion Week has always been viewed as a competition among designers to “out-weird” each other. In Silicon Valley, clothing label Betabrand is clearly the latest winner.

This morning, when I arrived at work, I clicked on a link to read a Business Insider article titled, “This fashion brand used drones instead of models at their runway show in Silicon Valley.” Before me was video footage of a Silicon Valley Fashion Week? show (the question mark is deliberate, though no one is quite sure why, except, maybe it’s there because SV is mostly considered a boys club, and a sweatshirt-sneaker clad one at that), replete with lights, untz-music, and clothing streaming down the runway…on-hangers attached to drones. I looked down at my bagel and thought, “What did they put in this cream cheese?”

Thankfully, my breakfast wasn’t laced with hallucinogens. Rather, that’s just how things work when Betabrand is in charge. It’s a brand known for doing things differently, to say the least, and has truly come into its own over the past several years. (After all, this label is the one that introduced the world to the glass-ball-emulating Disco Pants.) Naturally, when such a company is tasked with producing Silicon Valley Fashion Week?, starting with the event name’s unconventional use of punctuation, it’s bound to be unique. Not only that, but the concept was wildly well-received before it even happened, completely selling out several days prior to its first day.

Each night’s events were dedicated to a different element of the intersection of fashion and technology, beginning with May 12’s “Motion and Light: The New Commuter” theme, which was presented by electric bike makers GenZe. Judging from the media coverage that SVFW? has received, the events were a fanciful combination of fashion and performance art; for example, trapeze artists swinging from suspended bicycles, mixed with illuminated pieces of clothing and accessories. To say it was futuristic is an understatement; in fact, SVFW? very much seemed to celebrate the present.

That was particularly evident during the festive observance of wearable technology, going beyond smart watches and web-enabled glasses. The pieces showcased were downright practical; Elektronista’s iPhone- and iPad-charging clutch, for example, will certainly be going on my list for Santa.

Despite selling out as quickly as it did, there was some amount of pre-conceived skepticism around SVFW?. Some found it absurdist, and perhaps even unnecessary, with GQ labeling it as “probably not a good idea” in advance. However, Betabrand‘s timing of and approach to SVFW? is actually quite brilliant; consumers who ordered them in time are finally receiving their Apple watches, the buzz around which has yet to fade. And, as the same GQ article notes, previous “attempts to introduce wearable tech during actual fashion weeks have fallen flat,” highlighting the value of dedicating three days exclusively to something that has gone well beyond a trend. In fact, in its execution of SVFW?, Betabrand isn’t really showcasing a certain kind of look. Rather, it’s showcasing a lifestyle that’s only going to become increasingly accessible and, consequently, familiar.

With the pace at which the elements of such lifestyles develop, I’m eager to see what is available to be demonstrated at future editions of SVFW?. Furthermore, I’m keeping my eye on Betabrand, and how its forward-thinking legacy continues to influence what it produces, especially in the context of technology. Everyone is welcome to submit their ideas; just check out the manufacturer’s public Think Tank. Might I suggest a WiFi-enabled Tinder Cap, which allows its users to swipe right for potential dates on the bill of a hat without fear of public embarrassment?

The possibilities are endless.

Related on EcoSalon

Wearable Technology: Can It Really Improve Your Health?

Sustainable Fashion? There’s An App For That.

San Francisco’s Fashion Incubator At Macy’s Heralds New Designers

Images: Happy Nerdcore

Top Image: Betabrand

The post The Runway Models Are Drones: Silicon Valley Fashion Week Actually Happened appeared first on EcoSalon.

We all know by now that Brooklyn is the center of the universe, and this past weekend, it was the headquarters for ethical fashion.

I arrived at Industry City, a massive warehouse in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, not knowing quite what to expect. I hadn’t heard of any of the designers on the roster, and I was eager to see their offerings.

The first thing I noticed was that this wasn’t like any fashion show I’d attended before – it was the most beautifully diverse scene I’ve ever encountered in the fashion world. Instead of a sea of white people and Anna Wintour clones, multiple races and ethnicities were on the scene and running the show. I liked the vibe immediately. There was a rawness and authenticity you rarely see, even though the event was well-produced and sponsored by the likes of Uber.

After a few cute, quick runway offerings from a dog(!) designer and a children’s clothing line, wearable, sustainable, ethical fashion began to float down the runway. I noted and approved of the fact that it wasn’t just the crowd that was amazingly diverse – the runway was too. The best known designers still can’t get it together around the issue of race – every year they have their token black, brown or Asian face, so they can say they did that. Not here, at Fashion Week Brooklyn – the gorgeous models streaming down the runway came in every possible beautiful hue as they showed us the spring and summer 2015 lines. (Hello, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week – are you paying attention?)

I am not going to lie to you and pretend I have any journalistic integrity when it comes to fashion – I write about the looks that I feel like I’d want to wear, full stop. The first designer I fell for was Born Again Fashion by Bridgett Artise. She offered gorgeous sustainable looks with a Caribbean flair – all using upcycled vintage materials. My fave was a brightly colored afghan blanket turned into a set of fringed short shorts and a sexy crop top. Taking the best of vintage and turning it into wearable, ethical fashion isn’t a simple task, but Bridgett makes it look easy.

Designer – Born Again Fashion by Bridgett Artise

Next on my most adored list was L-L-B by Lisbeth Lovbak from Norway, offering more upcycled designs with a twist — most of these looks can be worn in multiple ways — like a wearable version of a Swedish Army Knife. This summer collection played on the idea construction/deconstruction, offering a lot of pretty denim vests in different configurations. This was ethical fashion at its cutest.

Finally, I loved the quirky, zero-waste designs from Iliana Quander from her Amparo 3 collection. The Bob Marley dress (top) looked light, airy, whimsical and delicious.

Designer- High School of Fashion Industries

Stefanie Iris Weiss is the author of “Eco-Sex: Go Green Between the Sheets and Make Your Love Life Sustainable”  (Ten Speed Press/Crown Publishing, 2010) and eight other books. Stefanie keeps her carbon footprint small in New York City, where she writes about sustainability, sexuality, reproductive rights, dating and relationships, politics, fashion, beauty, and more for many publications. Follow Stefanie @ecosexuality.

Related on EcoSalon

Where is Sustainable Fashion Headed in 2014?

Feminist Art In Brooklyn

Fashion Stylist to the Rescue: Break Your Fast Fashion Addiction With A Well-Coiffed Closet

All Images via (c) Shawn Punch 2014.

Top image:  Designer – Iliana Quander from her Amparo 3 collection

The post Sweet, Sustainable Looks From an Ethical Fashion Week in Brooklyn appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Southern Hemisphere is certainly stepping up in the sustainable style stakes! First, New Zealand announced their very first ethical fashion week, and now the countdown is on for Australia’s inaugural Indigenous Fashion Week (AIFW), being held in April 2014. AIFW is all about showcasing the best of aboriginal Australian design from across the continent, celebrating the world’s oldest surviving continuous culture—on the catwalk. Fronted by well-known Australian model Samantha Harris, the week is going to be one of Sydney’s most stylish.

The goals of AIFW are not just about what’s on the runway. It’s equally about ideals beyond fashion like a focus on fair trade, supporting the economic development of Indigenous artists and highlighting ethical practice.

Here, we take a look at three of the emerging designers who will get the chance to showcase down under in 2014.

Lilla Gagliano

Lilla Gagliano is the creative force behind Kaninda, a stylish label from Australia’s western state. Lilla has both Indigenous and Italian heritage and her designs reflect her passion for both her cultural heritage and the world of fashion. She also draws inspiration from living in the beautiful Pilbara country. A textile and batik designer, she produces her own fabrics (including hand painted silks!). Even though Kaninda was born in 2004, Lilla’s debut collection didn’t show until Perth Fashion Week 2012, but received positive reviews.

Natalie Cunningham

Hailing from Australia’s aptly named Sunshine Coast, Natalie’s Indigenous and Greek heritage influence her unique design. Initially, she started out as a model, but it wasn’t long before she turned her hand to design, launching her eponymous label in 2006 at just 24. Famous for her love of eccentric fabrics and her homage to the 80s through the use of pops of exciting color, Natalie certainly does things differently. She is also committed to supporting positive images of women in fashion, particularly given her experience as a model. Rumor has it this talented designer is set to release an Indigenous swimwear and resort wear line in early 2014.

Caressa Sengstock

Caressa is the edgy, unique fashion label from Caressa Sengstock. Caressa began working in the fashion industry in 2009, around the same time as she started to take art classes, which tapped into her creative flair. All of her fashion pieces have been inspired by her own paintings, depicting ancient Dreamtime stories. Her skills really got noticed when a Rainbow Serpent dress that she designed turned heads at the Indigenous Awards night in Sydney. Following this, she was then asked to design a dress for an Australian music awards night and from there, she really took off. One of her recent collections, Spirit Tree, depicts a Dreamtime story about the journey from death to heaven, in which the use of sequins represent the dots in the roots of the tree, as souls traveling into the trunk. The way she pays tribute to ancient stories through contemporary design is just one way this designer stands out.

Images: Caressa, Natalie Cunningham, Kaninda, AIFW

Related on Ecosalon: 

 Synthetic Fabrics Worse Than You Think: Fiber Watch

ALAS: Sustainable Cotton Sleepwear from Australia 

The post 3 Aboriginal Australian Designers (plus Indigenous Fashion Week Coming in 2014) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Berlin Fashion Week has a reputation for being one of the greenest around, with a strong, ongoing commitment to eco and sustainable fashion. In fact, it is often regarded as the major European platform for fairly produced fashions. Each Fashion Week, there are a number of dedicated eco fashion events as part of the program. We look at some of the highlights from this year’s event, which was held from 2-7 July.

1. Showfloor Berlin

Showfloor Berlin has taken place every six months since 2009. This year, it returned to its traditional summer location, KOSMOS BERLIN at Karl-Marx-Alle, a historically preserved cinema in East Berlin. The event itself played host to 16 collections with a range of individually designed shows, with each label bringing its own unique approach to responsible production methods. Interestingly, on 3 July, the showroom runway showcased innovative avant-garde designs from Portugal, as part of a partnership arrangement with the Portuguese Embassy. It proudly presented the well known avant-garde fashion labels Dino Alves, V!tor, and “Os Burgueses” from Lisbon. Some of the big local names which were part of the showcase included ANSOHO, Ellen Eisemann and AUGUST. Showfloor Berlin is particularly unique as it is open to the public and extremely accessible to fashion lovers.

2. GREENShowroom

The GREENShowroom is traditionally a very unconventional trade fair and this time proved to be no different, as it presented the high-end trends for 2014 in quirky and unusual ways. Approaching its 10th season, Berlin’s Adlon Hotel was the backdrop for the event which caters mainly to trade and business professionals. This July, the focus was very much on avant-garde with innovative German labels Aleks Kurkowski, Cocccon and Katharina Kaiser, among the selections. This year, the event also welcomed French label Johanna Riplinger, which is known for turning high-end fabrics into modern business styles. Also debuting at GreenShowroom this year were the three finalists from the Humanity in Fashion Award. To start the show, a Salonshow event was held on 2 July, showing 54 looks from 20 of the participating brands. Some of the trends predicted for next summer include bright, beautiful pops and relaxed knitwear.

3. Ethical Fashion Show

The Ethical Fashion Show is a highlight of Berlin Fashion Week and showcases international labels, which presented spring/summer 2014 collections across innovative street and casual wear. The fashion show itself is complemented by panel discussions and educational seminars to highlight the ethics behind the designs. This year, the focus was firmly on social standards in the manufacturing process and transparency of the supply chain. After a successful start at Berlin Fashion Week in January 2013, the Knowledge Lounge initiative continued this season, which is a seminar series on eco fashion issues. This time around, the Fair Wear Foundation invited people to attend the premiere of its WellMade seminar series, where they threw a spotlight on the clothing industry’s social standards and provided hands on expertise and solutions for improvement of related working conditions. The Ethical Fashion Show Berlin also hosted a Create Green Breakfast with a focus on Innovative Sales Concepts, which featured keynote speakers Orsola de Castro and Filippo Ricci.

Images: Ethical Fashion Show Berlin, dpa, Schroder and Schombs PR , GreenShowroom

The post Berlin Fashion Week 2013: 3 Eco Fashion Highlights appeared first on EcoSalon.

The big international fashion weeks in Paris, London and New York, have a history of supporting sustainability as part of their programs. Whether it’s through showcasing eco designers on the runway, or hosting a raft of activities around fashion week itself, international catwalks are fast embracing eco chic.

Following suit, a whole range of new eco fashion events are popping up around the world, including in some unexpected places. Outside of the usual eco fashion events, here are some emerging events that are set to keep the trend alive.

1. GREENShowroom

Someone once described this event as Berlin Fashion Week’s “green cousin.” It bills itself as an unconventional showroom, with a refreshingly new approach. Designed to be a showcase of green design, the exhibition itself takes place in luxurious hotels or lofts, which means the designers can get creative with the space, showing their pieces in cupboards, drawers, beds and tables. In short, it facilitates a luxury experience, turning the visitor into a fashion explorer. With strict eligibility criteria, brands must prove that they are at least 60 percent sustainable to participate.

2. Russian Eco Fashion Week

Russia hasn’t traditionally been considered an eco fashion hub, but they are bursting onto the green scene, having held their very first eco fashion week in Moscow in 2012. The week itself had elements of a trade fair and offered sewing classes, plaiting and beading classes, along with the more traditional green fashion shows. The week springboards from a series of successful green fashion weekends launched by Russian environmental movement ECA. It hopes to become a platform for emerging designers from the region like Ekaterina Shchukina and Alina Belousova.

3. Eco Design Fair Shanghai

In and around the Asia Pacific, Shanghai is known as “the new New York” with its growing reputation as a style capital of the world. Interestingly, it also hosts an eco design fair, the next of which is coming up this month. Although it is not strictly limited to fashion, it includes a strong style element, as well as touching on food, energy and eco art. This year’s theme is focused on waste reduction. The event itself started in 2008 and has fast become a premier eco consumer event, attracting crowds of 15,000 or more.

4. Australian Indigenous Fashion Week

One to mark down in the diary for April 2014 is Australia’s inaugural Indigenous Fashion Week. With the primary aim of the week being to provide a platform for promoting authentic Australian indigenous design, it is also committed to enhancing ethical standards within the industry, with a focus on Fair Trade links between indigenous artists and buyers. A number of indigenous designers such as Lucy Simpson of Gaawa Miyay, are already successfully weaving sustainable practice into Indigenous design.

Images: Moscow Fashion Week, GREENShowroom, Australian Indigenous Fashion Week

The post The Green Scene: The World’s 4 Best Green Fashion Events appeared first on EcoSalon.

 Partying (sustainably) for New York City’s Fashion Week.

Put a handful of amazing designers, a community of savvy and conscious-minded individuals, good wine and eco-friendly shopping all in a cool space and what do you get? An EcoSalon fête of course.

To kick off Fashion Week we partnered with the Textile Arts Center to throw a party celebrating conscious fashion and designers. Elizabeth Cline, author of Overdressed, The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, was on hand signing copies of her new book, and Francisca Pineda told many about her ethical fashion abroad program working with indigenous artisans from the Talamanca region near Puerto Viejo.

We talked shop with over a dozen designers and got to connect with some of our readers from around the world.

Thanks to all of the amazing brands that kept our party goers hydrated and energized, Conway Family Winery, The Naked Grape, Zhena’s Gypsy Tea and Equal Exchange chocolate, and our eco-beauty gifts from La Bella Figura, Kahina Giving Beauty and Olie Biologique.

(Did we happen to mention there were live rabbits there too?)

Missed out? That’s alright, we took some fun party pictures so you could see what fun we had and why YOU should be there next time!

EcoSalon writer Jennifer Barckley with goodie bag products from Kahina Giving Beauty, La Bella Figura and Olie Biologique

(Left)Designer Eliza Starbuck and (Right) EcoSalon food writer Johanna Kindvall and friend

Designer Eliza Starbuck

Artists Michael Linton Simpson and Derek Weisberg

Treehugger’s Chris Tackett and EcoSalon Marketing Manager and Foodie Underground columnist Anna Brones

Eco-Chick founder/author Starre Vartan and designer Ambika Conroy

Australian fashion writer and proud EcoSalon reader Yatu Hunt (in NYC for her honeymoon!)

Textile Arts Center co-founder Owyn Ruck, designer Nimet Deg of Soham Dave and Becky Bavinger of the New York City Fair Trade Coalition

Meghan Sebold, founder/designer of Afia clothing

Celeste Lilore, Anthony Lilore, Carmen Artigas, Owyn Ruck and friends

UK fashion student, writer and our most beloved wine pourer of the evening, Kathryn Bell

EcoSalon Editor-in-Chief Amy DuFault, Jam Media Collective founder Julie Atherton and EcoSalon Marketing Manager and Foodie Underground Columnist Anna Brones

Handbag designer and InStyle Magazine/Handbag Designer 101 finalist, Jess Rizzuti

Overdressed, The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion, author Elizabeth Cline and Organic Spa magazine editor, Rona Berg

Brooklyn artists Michael Linton Simpson, Derek Weisberg and EcoSalon EIC, Amy DuFault

Conscious Living TV’s Bianca and Michael Alexander

Author Elizabeth Cline

EcoSalon’s Anna Brones, Eileen Fisher social media maven Casey Jones, EcoSalon fashion and food writer Jennifer Barckley and Eileen Fisher consultant/superstar, Chris Oh

Designer Carrie Parry

Fashion professor and sustainable fashion multi-tasker Carmen Artigas and Eko-Lab designers Xing-Zhen and Melissa Kirgan

Ambika designer, Ambika Conroy and her two fluffy angora rabbits

Thanks to Naked Grape for wine and Equal Exchange for delicious dark chocolate!

The post EcoSalon Throws a Fashion Week Bash (And We’ve Got Pictures to Prove It) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Clean lines, menswear inspired and conscious of the body’s every movement.

John Patrick debuted his Unplugged, Authentic Spring/Summer 2013 Collection during New York Fashion Week beneath vaulted glass ceilings. The bright sun from above filled the crisp white space and set a tone of purity for this ORGANIC collection.

In a press release, Patrick explained that his collection was all about using textiles to explore the original brand DNA. This became immediately apparent as models walked the minimalistic space in garments that were strikingly simplistic and deliberate celebrations of the sustainable fabrics from which they were cut. Patrick used recycled nylon and gauze, organic cotton, linen, and artisanal guipure lace, all within a color palette that ranged from nude to off-white with a sprinkling of navies and blacks.

The combination of clean colors and textiles was characteristically simple of ORGANIC and put the focus on the silhouette of each garment, which Patrick described generally as “not body conscious but conscious of the body.”

Truly, each garment – from the boxier jackets to the long, flowing dresses – supported this theme. The pieces didn’t hug the body tightly so much as create a unique silhouette around it with the intent to flatter women in an interesting way.

Patrick took into account both the masculine and feminine shapes for spring. While some garments embraced femininity with extremely sheer fabric, ultra short skirts, plunging necklines, and lacy dresses, others seemed to ignore it altogether.

Though Patrick blurred the lines of gender-specific fashion and used only basic shapes and colors, the real focus was on the fabrics used in the collection. Ultimately, any woman, whether a yogi or a buttoned-up businesswoman, can enjoy the versatility of his line, which is primed for spring layering and clean, sophisticated style.

Here are some quintessential looks from his collection.

The post NYFW: John Patrick ORGANIC Keeps Clean Lines in Focus appeared first on EcoSalon.

A long wait to view the M.Patmos Fall/Winter 2012 collection, but well worth it.

On Thursday night outside Milk Studios, it looked like a scene from the Occupy movement’s Fashion Week spin-off. A long line snaked down 15th Street, filled with high-heeled fashion girls and thick-spectacled fashion boys waiting upwards of an hour in 30-degree weather for entry to the five presentations taking place on the 8th floor: Libertine, John Bartlett, Erickson Beamon, Tim Hamilton Redux, and M.Patmos. From the top of the line, you could hear the rough shouts of security guards yelling at the hordes of people who dared think they could surpass the line. One of the guards, hauling a metal security barrier to block the crowds, shook his head and muttered, “Who are these people?”

I was there for the M.Patmos presentation, and by the time the guards finally let my block in, the show was nearly over. I had a hot second to ogle Marcia Patmos’ artfully crafted collection of knitwear, though, and it left me wanting more.

For Fall/Winter 2012, Patmos was inspired by Edward S. Curtis’s The Women, a book featuring portraits of Native American women at the turn of the 20th century. Patmos incorporated Native American-inspired graphic patterns and traditional Indian trading blankets into a small collection with a mostly black-and-white palette, with pops of red, orange, hot pink, and camel. The luxe materials included eco-friendly merino wool and alpaca, faux fur made from wool and alpaca, and vegetable tanned leather.

In designing the collection, Patmos emphasized a slow fashion approach with multifunctional garments and layering that transcends seasons. Her pieces incorporated handwork techniques from women’s artisan collectives in Nepal and Bolivia, as well as zero-waste seamless knitting technology from Japan. In this line and moving forward, Patmos recognizes the importance of working locally, and has committed herself to producing a larger portion of her garments in the United States and sourcing materials closer to her factories.

Also showcased in the presentation were vegetable tanned leather booties produced in collaboration with Manolo Blahnik and reclaimed wooden jewelry made by TENTHOUSANDTHINGS for M. Patmos, which perfectly complemented the infinitely wearable knits. Below, some of our favorite looks.

Images: Jessica Marati

The post EcoSalon at NYFW: M.Patmos appeared first on EcoSalon.

We love you, New York.

EcoSalon is here for New York Fashion Week (NYFW), covering the latest looks from eco fashion designers. See our coverage so far on beloved independents like Gretchen Jones and John Patrick, and check back daily as we’re discovering new lines while we’re at it.

With NYFW in full swing, the streets are packed with style, and we’ll be bringing you exclusive news and pictures all weekend. To stay up to date on both the latest runway looks and street style, follow the tag NYFW here at EcoSalon. Tonight we’ll be checking out Ivana Helsinki’s show, then heading to the Yield Exhibit at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn. Stay tuned, and hope to see you there!

Sundresses we love. Shorts: the same cannot always be said. The right pair of shorts on the right frame can be cute, chic and fashion forward. But then there are the pairs best left in the dark. (That’s not the only thing we’re seeing all over the place: what’s with everyone in New York smoking again? We even found ciggy butt litter at our event room last night!) In other words: Please, Anything But Shorts. There, we said it.

This weekend marks an event we will never forget: 9/11, a decade ago. In honor of one of the world’s greatest cities and the dynamic and resilient spirit of its people, we look back on one 9/11 survivor’s touching tale of healing from the trauma of that day.

Sailed Manhattan lately? It is an island, after all. Our volcano-hunting travel writer and NYC dweller Shira Levine does just that, and finds a new appreciation for her home, New York City.

The post Friday 5: We Heart NY Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

A fashion industry insider reports.

Charles Frederick Worth was one of the world’s first noted fashion designers (See his Court Dress, above). In 1845, a fashion designer was an artist, highly regarded and sought after by the society of the royal court to advise on their wardrobe choices. Worth’s main concern, as a designer, was to design and handmake one of a kind haute couture that would distinguish each of his customers. Associated with class, distinction, style, and influence, people like Worth have been labeled taste-makers for well over a century. Relics aside, today, the role of a fashion designer is far more complicated, competitive, and multifaceted than ever before.

Well known designers, such as Stella McCartney, have been known to express a desire to run away from the industry after a season. When she received harsh criticism after her debut collection from the press in 2001, McCartney told NY Magazine, “People think I’m strong, but actually I wanted to crawl away. I thought, I’m going to live in the country with my horse and I’ll get a nine-to-five; I don’t need this.”

However, with hundreds of new designers emerging to show at fashion weeks around the world each season, even negative press is better than the alternative of no press. Minor complaints aside, in the past few years, incidents suggest that there are more serious issues afoot plaguing designers than insults from the press. From John Galliano’s drunken Nazi rantings, to Marc Jacob’s repeated drug problems, and the most tragic being Alexander McQueen’s suicide last year, designers seem to be experiencing something beyond the usual industry stress. With all of these melt downs, one has to ask: Might these outbreaks just be symptoms of a larger system failure?

To understand the current circumstances, one must first understand the role of a designer. Today, the designer actually functions as a Creative Director, overseeing many different pieces of the company’s product design, execution, brand imaging and positioning, and much of the marketing and press. Another key part of the role is being accountable to the Financial Officer, also known as the “Money” of the business. Which means a designer really has to understand every step, cost and stage of their business to be able to make well informed decisions on how to steer the business. Below is a diagram to illustrate everything that must be managed and considered in order to produce and sell fashion on a mass market level. The arrows describe the tiers of power throughout the system.

In a cascade system, such as in a fashion house, each part of the system is dependent on the other. Therefore, if one part of the system fails, the entire system collapses. And yet, somehow, up until recently, this system has been quite efficient across the board for most well known fashion houses. This system has been able to maintain because the least powerful and the lowest paid group within the system, the laborers, farmers, and factory workers, make up the largest part of the system’s labor pool, keeping the costs and product prices low. Ironically, these links just happen to be what keeps the whole system going.

The other factor that the fashion system relies heavily upon, but also pays little for, are materials. However, if the costs of labor go up because, for instance, a country like China decides to enforce and increase their labor standards (which is currently happening), the standards raise across the board in other countries. Over time, the price of the product must go up as well. If cotton crops fail repeatedly due to climate changes, the cost of materials increase across the board due to shortages, and the price of the product goes up again. If the price offered to customers goes up dramatically, amidst all the cheep and cheerful overstock product flooding the market from last year, customers simply won’t buy it. After all, most people already have enough stuff. The brand will only sell items on sale, which results in job instability of everyone in the cascade system.

The Designer and the “Money” must take the issue seriously and find a solution before the system can continue on a healthy level. However, limited resources and rising labor costs are not an easy problems to solve, especially when you have an extremely competitive market and are running a complex system already set up to work only one way. Unfortunately, there are only a few options within the fashion industry to stay afloat:

The Iron Fist Solution, á la H&M: Make the customers temporarily happy by making and selling enormous amounts of low price-tag products of cheap quality. In this case, the cost of business operations is covered through the slivers of profit on each item sold, and multiplied by the tens and hundreds of thousands of items that are produced. With this solution, the brand needs to be able to sell directly through their own stores and the designer must have some kind of monopoly over materials and labor to keep the prices of the goods exceptionally low. This technique will destroy the competition, as long as the designer can continue running the business on minimum costs. However in the current environment, this is not a long term solution. The costs of materials and labor will go up as resources continue to run low, which is caused by the mass production of poor quality goods in the first place. At this point, the company is chasing its own tail, and even if  the company using the Iron Fist Strategy can hold out long enough to put the competition out of business, eventually they’ll put themselves out of business if they don’t innovate their process at some point so that they find a solution to materials shortages.

The Velvet Glove Solution a.k.a. the Luxury Market Method: Invest in maintaining the appearance and allure of a “luxury brand” while selling a lot (although maybe not as much as an H&M) of lower cost product at “luxury” prices. Examples of this would be the Diors and Chanels of the world. This is the Iron Fist Solution seasoned with a little better quality and taste, and disguised by marketing that allows the brand to make a much higher mark-up on the sale of each item. Therefore, even if the brand is selling less items across the board, they make more for the operations budget on each item. So while we, the customers, equate Chanel with haute couture dresses and iconic tweed jackets, they’re making their money on selling patent leather (a.k.a. vinyl) shoes, handbags and perfume at exorbitant prices. This also destroys the competition, who can’t compete with the marketed “luxury” brand allure and history. While this solution may last for some time, provided consumers don’t get wise to the marketing schemes or lose their taste for “luxury,”  it again does not address the materials and labor cost increase issue, which eventually will cut into the marketing budget and over time might cause detriment to the brand.

The Performance Solution: They keep the costs of products proportionate to the costs of materials and labor. This solution invests in manufacturing technology, textile engineering, and science to keep ahead of the curb. This would be the Patagonia’s of the world. In this solution, there is almost no competition, you create your own niche market, and through innovations, you gain customer loyalty. Be the only one to know where to get materials that are made of recycled or renewable resources, thus removing the dependency on natural materials costs and you have created a more sustainable future for your company.

The Innovator’s Solution: There are always new designers and businesses springing up with a new way to do things. Whether it’s tackling marketing, design, or materials in new ways, this group of oddball fashion designers and indie-houses are thinking outside the box to drive consumer culture and the market out of the old ways. With the current media and market focusing on all things “green” and “socially responsible,” this new crop of innovative businesses are popping up to fill the hole in the market through the use of unthinkable techniques, collaborations, and technologies. Examples of these designers might be BioCouture, who creates leather jackets from tea film, Christopher Raeburn, who’s been known to use left over parachute material from the military to make windbreakers, or perhaps, Bright Young Things, whose marketing tactics appear to aim to convince people to buy less. While this growing “innovator” circle has not fully matured into well known designers in the mainstream, perhaps the mass market is not an innovative place to be if a designer is trying to plan for a future with fewer resources and fairly paid labor. However, these designers might just be the ones who ultimately find long term solutions to the current fashion crisis.

With all that is going on in the world’s environment, markets, and economies, it is easy to despair. From the standpoint of a designer, who oversees enough of the business to understand how things work (or how things don’t work), it’s like watching the ship going down in slow motion.

From their mast heads, some of the biggest designers of our times seem to be doing just that. Perhaps they’re just on their way to becoming relics themselves, without enough knowledge to change the way that their industry works altogether. Well, not all of them.

Karl Lagerfeld

Karl Lagerfeld is living in his ivory tower which he’s built so high that he might be the only one left with his head just above the water in the end. Recently he was quoted by Vogue as saying, “I have a lot more sympathy for people who have to take the train to work every day. What a load of nonsense.”

Sympathy, eh? “Designers are artisans who are extremely privileged to have a poetic profession. They are not artists. We have to stop saying that they are,”  Lagerfeld adds.

He makes the job look easy. Meanwhile those designers who feel all of the responsibilities behind the job, have panic attacks or worse. But let us remember back in 1975, in the thick of building his career to the empire he now owns, he mentioned to The Observer Magazine his philosophy on his own work practices, “I am a sort of vampire, taking the blood of other people.” With this work ethic he has gone very far, leading some of the most powerful and influential fashion houses in the industry, producing billions of dollars worth of product, and making people on all corners of the planet thirst for a wide range of products on an unprecedented level. Perhaps he actually is the bug that bites.  But then again, according to him, he doesn’t even take himself seriously. It’s a wonder that the rest of the world considers him a fashion guru.

Editor’s Note: Due to sensitive circumstances, the author has asked us to use a pseudonym. We have honored the request in this case.

Image: Joe Paczkowski

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