Sustainable fashion gets a spotlight at New York City’s Green Festival.

Last weekend, New York City’s cavernous Javits Center was overtaken by the Green Festival, an annual touring trade show filled with eco-enthusiasts promoting the latest in green living. On the Saturday of the show, behind booths promoting dairy-free cheese nibs, eco-friendly dog beds, and ElectroYoga, festival-goers had the chance to check out a selection of rising eco-fashion designers during T.H.R.E.A.D.S, a fashion show produced by Conscious Living TV.

The featured designers – including A.D.O., Allison Parris New York, Artists and Revolutionaries, Heart, and Vaute Couture, with shoes by Cri de Coeur – were connected by their uses of sustainable fabrics, fair trade practices, and cutting-edge design. Despite the less-than-ideal convention center setting, the inventiveness of the garments was evident. Highlights at the jump.

Vaute Couture

With a mission to “create more reasons to not wear animals,” Vaute Couture has developed a following in the vegan fashion community, including celebrities like Alicia Silverstone and Emily Deschanel, with its collection of animal-friendly garments. In addition to being a fashion pioneer, designer Leanne Mai-Ly Hilgart is also an ardent animal and environmental activist.

A.D.O.

Using GOTS-certified fabrics and natural Ayurvedic herb dye, A.D.O. designer Anjelika Krishna creates comfortable ready-to-wear clothing with a modern, feminine aesthetic. Most of A.D.O.’s fabrics are inspired by and sourced from India, and garments are produced locally in the New York garment district.

Allison Parris

Allison Parris’s background in bridal design certainly had an influence on her latest collection of party dresses, made with fabrics like raw organic silk and recycled PET. Flirty and feminine, they’re perfect for wedding season.

Artists and Revolutionaries

Based out of Brooklyn, Artists and Revolutionaries creates edgy separates using repurposed leather, cashmere, washed wool, and organic cottons. Designer John-Michael infuses his pieces with more edge than most are used to seeing in sustainable-collections, with amazing results.

Heart

Each of Heart’s garments utilizes or takes inspiration from original photography, resulting in unique pieces like the Bali Ball Gown (pictured above). Chicago-area designer Jenny Greco, photographer Christina Noël, and painter Lisa Selby describe their line as “wearable art meets clothing with a conscience.”

Images: Jessica Marati

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Sustainable style news from EcoSalon’s West Coast Fashion Correspondent.

Rebel Without A Pause Fashion’s indomitable “Godmother of Punk, ” Vivienne Westwood, celebrated the opening of her first flagship store in Los Angeles last week. The 10, 000 square foot space on Melrose Avenue makes available all of the Westwood labels including jewelry and accessories to discerning West Coast clients.  An unlikely eco-hero, Westwood has recently revealed she doesn’t wash her clothes very often and thinks that talcum powder makes the best deodorant, adding “I think it is a good thing to buy less and choose well – it’s good for the environment and to be fair it’s also good for me because my clothes are quite expensive.”  In these times of shifting patterns in fashion consumption and use, her down to earth approach reminds us of George Bernard Shaw’s line “Common sense is instinct. Enough of it is genius.”

Pick Up Stitches – The Thread show is coming to the Metreon in San Francisco this Sunday and promises to pretty-up the green scene this weekend.  Held in tandem with the Green Festival on Saturday, the show features the latest items from emerging eco-friendly designers such as COATT, Grammatique, Form & Fauna, and Free Hand Fashion.  If that’s not enough to get you down to SOMA from 11 a.m.– 6 p.m., attendees can enjoy new features like the DIY Lounge, Pop-Up Nail Salon, Live Blogger Style-Off Series, a THREAD Wellness Lounge and a Man Cave for the guys.

A League Of Our Own – With so much discussion about the relentless pace of the garment industry, it’s time to celebrate one fashion event that’s been going strong for 85 years. The Junior League of San Francisco is hosting their annual fashion show A Fashionable Legacy on Friday, April 8th at the Fairmont Hotel. The Bay Area’s most fashionable faces have their calendars annually marked and their dancing shoes ready for this glamorous evening. The event produced by the lovely Junior League ladies and long-time show partner, Macys and local company, Viasyn (who is offsetting the carbon impact this year), is one of the most successful fundraising events in San Francisco and has raised millions of dollars for various charities.

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