Images: D&H Sustainable Jewelers. Stylish Valentines gift ideas for the start of  a timeless love affair.

Beyond the insidiously overdone sales pitches, Valentine’s Day is a day our modern culture has designated to exchange gifts to celebrate the values of love and caring. Whether you’re part of a couple or not, it’s a good opportunity to take the time and examine the most intimate relationship you have – the one you have with yourself. Like the airplane takeoff instruction to put your own oxygen mask on first before you assist others, until we really learn to love ourselves we can’t truly love another.

So, if you’re looking for true love this Valentine’s, take a look in the mirror and ask yourself: how do you really want your life to feel? If things need a little adjustment, take the opportunity to make the necessary changes. A certain amount of growth just comes down to intention and repetition. So get ready to experience self-love this Valentine’s by being open, willing and ready to show up for yourself in a big way. Forget about the cute and the chintzy this holiday, and opt for swoon-worthy gifts of love that say forever. As Oscar Wilde famously declared, “To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.”

Above: OXOX Black And White Diamond Stud Earrings. Reach out and touch someone with the simplest expression of love in these reclaimed 14k white gold stud earrings feature ethically sourced black and white diamonds. Available from D&H Sustainable Jewelers.

Images: Mina + Olya

Mina + Olya’s Claire Dress. Invest in the quintessential LBD. Made in California from 100% Organic Denim Cotton, this cap-sleeved peplum dress is a universally flattering and enduring design that will never let you down.

Images: Persephenie

Persephenie’s Neroli Infusion Body Oil.  Whether its just for you or to share, this luxury oil is handmade in Los Angeles and is said to have a soothing effect on the nervous system while acting as a natural aphrodisiac.

Images: Beklina

John Patrick Organic’s Cashmere Slim Sleeve Sweater. As soft as a caress, this luxurious throw-on anytime sweater is destined to become your favorite. Available at Beklina.

Images: Convert

Jeffrey Campbell for Convert’s In Love Strappy Flat. When a shoe is this good looking and comfortable, you can’t help but be in the mood for love. Vegan Leather, shown in Tan.

Images: ILIA

ILIA’s Wild Child Red Lipstick. Set your deepest desires free with this organic lipstick that nourishes, protects and has amazing staying power.

The post Remember to Love Yourself this Valentine’s Day (These Gifts for You can Help!) 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.

Will Anthropologie’s new online platform inspire the kind of innovation the fashion industry desperately needs?

Anthropologie debuts an intriguing new website today, called Made in Kind, to showcase its take on the popular trend for designer collaborations. In a release, Anthropologie states the new online platform will function as a gallery “housing multiple exhibitions per month, each dedicated to a single designer or concept.”  Presenting editorial content to go along with the eleven new lines – priced in the $120-$300 range – the collaborations will be available in some stores, online and via the catalog.

Despite featuring small, emerging designers and sustainable brands, including British bohemian brand Place Nationale – makers of one-off garments using European antique fabrics – Brooklyn-based eco fashion designer, Samantha Pleet and John Patrick of Organic, the launch is ambiguous on the subject of it’s sustainability.

Treasure by Samantha Pleet

The eco credentials of the designer’s collaborations with the brand are yet unclear, the decision to avoid tagging the new venture, “ethical,” “conscious” or “sustainable” by Urban Outfitter Inc. owned Anthropologie is interesting.

In contrast, other chain stores are loudly launching eco lines left, right and center. H&M’s exclusive Glamour Conscious Collection – which will be available April 12 in around 100 H&M stores across the globe – has been widely promoted, coming across as an act of contrition for its past year offenses that saw the mega chain accused of not performing proper clothing disposal practices, destroying damaged or unsold clothes that could easily be used elsewhere or recycled for other items.

Place Nationale

Why would a company not shout its eco-friendliness from the rooftops? It happens more than you might think. Because of the difficulty in greening every part of the supply chain, the inability to guarantee every factory involved or fabric used (a small amount of bias tape required, for example) along with ethical fashion’s former “granola” reputation – many brands have been shy of admitting their behind-the-scenes green involvement.

Marketing is often accused of selling something people don’t need but the reverse can also be true. Smart companies restructure their offerings to suit customer demand. Hopefully it is only a matter of time before all businesses are competing to be the most ethical. By tapping into the “zeitgeist” that supporting independent designers keeps America’s workers working, Anthropologie is focusing on the growing preference and appreciation for smaller brands.

In her recent article, Could Small be the New Big for the fashion Industry?, Ilaria Pasquinelli explains the recent shift and how “the era of big” has come to an end.” She writes, “Small organisations are often led by visionary product specialists or designers, particularly in the fashion industry. The small scale allows companies to be flexible, this is crucial in order to adapt to very diverse market conditions and economic turbulence.”

Pasquinelli documents case studies where large corporations have successfully collaborated with small fashion businesses as pioneers in sustainability, such as British supermarket Tesco’s in-house brand F&F, which partnered with the pioneering upcycle fashion brand From Somewhere; Levi’s campaign to refit vintage Levi’s 501 in collaboration with Reformation, a fashion brand that repurposes vintage clothing and materials in their studios in New York and Los Angeles; and Worn Again, a tiny company that successfully worked with large corporations such as Virgin, Royal Mail and Eurostar to help them re-use textiles, such as disused uniforms, they would otherwise discard.

Small companies have proven themselves to be leaders in innovation – something desperately needed in order to green the monolithic fashion industry – Made In Kind may well bring a whole new meaning to the popular concept of “designer collaboration.”

The post Anthropologie Debuts Made In Kind appeared first on EcoSalon.

A list of the top sustainable designers currently on the fashion scene.

Sustainable fashion has come a long way since its humble beginnings with more and more designers taking chances with fabrics, silhouettes and collaborations. Here we offer you an extensive list of what we consider to be the top designers in the sustainable fashion field.

A.D.O. Organics, New York, NY: GOTS (global organic trade standard) certified fabrics, chemical-free herbal dyes, Fair Trade.

Afia, New York, NY: Sustainable women’s clothing line sourced and sewn in Ghana, West Africa.

Ajna, New York, NY: Certified organic and sustainable textiles, collaborates with indigenous textile artisans.

Alabama Chanin, Florence, Alabama: Slow design, organic fabrics, recycled materials, minimal waste, made by local artisans in Florence, Alabama.

Alder, New York, NY: Part of the Pratt Design Incubator, all made in the U.S., materials sourced locally.

Allison Parris, New York, NY: Recycled materials, end run fabrics, organic silks, made in Manhattan.

Ambika, Catskills, NY: Made from shorn and brushed Angora rabbits on Ambika Conroy’s own rabbit farm in upstate New York.

Auralis Herrero, New York/Puerto Rico: Organic fabrics, promotes sustainable economies in the U.S. and Puerto Rico.

Avery by Wang, Vancouver, Canada: Recently launched, organic cotton, hemp.

Awamaki Lab, New York and Ollantaytambo, Peru: A Peruvian non-profit working with impoverished Quechua women weavers.

Carrie Parry, New York, NY Produced ethically and locally in the New York Garment District, sourcing environmentally conscious materials and textiles supporting artisanal communities worldwide.

Christopher Raeburn, London: Christopher Ræburn has become known for his utilization of re-appropriated military fabrics to create garments that are functional, intelligent and meticulously crafted.

Clary Sage Organics, San Francisco, CA: Clary Sage Organics is committed to using 100% organic or ecologically sustainable products.

Costello Tagliapietra, New York, NY: Uses AirDye waterless technology to create all their prints, made in New York City’s Garment District.

Crop by David Peck, Houston, TX: Manufactured with textiles dyed in the United States and select fabrics imported from fair trade co-operatives in India.

Curator, San Francisco, CA: Made in San Francisco, organic cottons, hemp, minimal waste.

EcoSkin, Los Angeles, CA: EcoSkin uses only environmentally sustainable luxury fabrics woven, dyed and sewn in the U.S.

Eko-Lab, New York, NY: 100% organic materials, natural vegetable dyes, all made locally by New York City artisans.

Elroy, Vancouver, BC: Uses organic cotton, bamboo, tencel, linen, hemp, wild silk, pineapple, wool and upcycled fabrics, manufactured by a small, family-run cottage industry in Indonesia, designed in Canada.

Eva Zingoni, Paris, France: Made in France from recycled materials, limited edition, surplus fabrics from Parisian fashion houses.

Feral Childe, New York City/Oakland, California: Organic textiles, recycled textiles and accessories, made in New York City.

Frei, Chicago: Organic cottons, natural dyes, and locally manufactured textiles.

Gretchen Jones, New York: Sustainable fabrics, made in New York City’s Garment District.

Harricana by Mariouche, Montreal, Canada: Recycled fur, recycled materials.

H Fredriksson, New York, NY: Silk, made in New York City.

Honest By, Antwerp, Belgium: 100% transparent company from production to sales, organic fabric, certified organic wools.

Indigenous, Santa Rosa, CA: organic fabrics, Fair Trade, low impact dyes, free range alpaca.

IOU Project, Tamil Nadu, India: The IOU Project makes unique, handmade, traceable apparel, Fair Trade.

Isoude, Newport, Rhode Island: Made in the U.S.A., silks, hand dyeing.

Juleselin, San Francisco, CA: Created from organic cotton and recycled fabrications, sweatshop free.

Kelly Lane, Pittsburgh, PA: Created from sustainable fabrics, made in New York City’s Garment District.

Koch, Dallas, TX: Sustainable fabrics, made in Dallas and LA.

Lara Miller, Chicago, IL: Multi-functional clothing, organic cottons, hand-loomed bamboo, hemp and vegan silk, made in Chicago.

Lavuk, Los Angeles, CA: Sweatshop free and made locally in Los Angeles with sustainable materials such as organic cotton, tencel, hemp and dead stock silks, multi-functional clothing.

Lina Rennell, Northern California: The Rennell line is an art brand with a heavy focus on original print work, U.S. production, sustainable textiles, craft and high-end tailoring.

Loomstate, New York, NY: Organic cotton, tencel, reduced water consumption, reduced waste, pursuing a closed loop product life cycle.

Loup Charmant, New York, NY: Organic cotton, natural dyes, silks, made in New York City’s Garment District.

Made By, Peruvian Highlands: Eco-friendly Alpaca yarns, hand knit by the local highland Artisans of Peru, Fair Trade, organic colorants.

modaspia, Placerville, CA: Organic fabrics, end run fabrics, made in San Francisco.

Nau, Portland, Oregon: Organic cottons, silks, tencel, recycled materials, cruelty-free wool, partners for change with Ashoka, Ecotrust, Kiva and Mercy Corps.

100% NY, New York, NY: Organic, recycled, and ethical materials, produced entirely in New York.

Organic by John Patrick, New York, NY: Handmade metallic lace, sustainable recycled wool, organic cotton, biodegradable cotton cupro, vegetable-tanned leather, hand-loomed Angora, digitally printed silks,

M. Patmos, New York, NY: Eco-friendly merino wool and alpaca, faux fur made from wool and alpaca, and vegetable tanned leather, handwork techniques from women’s artisan collectives in Nepal and Bolivia, as well as zero-waste seamless knitting technology from Japan.

Portland Pendleton Collection: Portland, Oregon: Pendleton fabrics are woven exclusively in Pendleton’s Northwest Mills and all of the apparel is sourced and produced in the U.S.

Partimi, London: Digitally-printed silks, organic wools, modals, milk fibers, and luxurious cashmere.

Piece x Piece, San Francisco, CA: The fabric used in each piece is selected from a changing stock of luxury discards.

The Podolls, San Francisco, CA: 100% organic Supima Cotton, made in the U.S.

Popomomo, Los Angeles, CA: Organic cottons, Cupro, recycled materials, made in Los Angeles.

Prairie Underground, Seattle, Washington: Organic cotton, hemp, designed and manufactured in the U.S.

Raleigh Denim, Raleigh, NC: Handcrafted denim on vintage machines from the 1920s, sustainable cotton, organic cotton for Fall 12.

RESTORE Clothing, New York, NY: Repreve® Recycled Nylon, made in the New York City Garment District.

Rogan, New York, NY: Silks, organic cotton, alpaca, wool, bamboo, made in the U.S.

Samantha Pleet, New York, NY: Organic cottons, silks, Made in the U.S.

Soham Dave, New York, NY: Soham Dave focuses primarily on using biodegradable fabrics, recycled materials, and hand embroideries.
 

Stewart+Brown, Los Angeles, CA: Organic cotton, organic pima cotton, hemp, surplus fabrics, Mongolian Cashmere produced through a sustainable supply chain, Fair Trade.

Study NY, New York, NY: Organic cotton, linen, recycled materials, zero waste, made in New York.

Suzanne Rae, New York, NY: Silks, organic cottons, other sustainable materials when possible, made in New York City’s Garment District.

Thieves, Toronto, Canada: Soy, hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, Tussah Silk, organic wool, Seacell, tencel.

Titania Inglis, New York, NY: Japanese organic cotton, French vegetable-tanned leather, and dead stock wool from New York’s garment industry, made in New York.

Vaute Couture, New York, NY: Vegan, fair trade.

Did we miss someone? Email amy@ecosalon.com with your tip!

The post The Ultimate List of Sustainable Fashion Designers (From A-Z) appeared first on EcoSalon.

ORGANIC by John Patrick gives us his “beautiful vision” of sustainable fashion.

To the toe-tapping tunes of The Beatles, designer John Patrick debuted his Fall 2012 ORGANIC collection at a boutique event space in the Garment District for New York’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

Under the heading “A Beautiful Vision,” the show featured a romantic collection inspired by a Julia Margaret Cameron photograph called A Beautiful Vision, Julia Duckworth, taken of Cameron’s niece (and future mother of painter Vanessa Bell and writer Virginia Woolf) in 1872.

Using the photograph as a starting point, collaborator and illustrator Mike Ellis interpreted his own “beautiful vision” in graphics for the invitation and show set. “When the illustration came I was stunned at how magically he captured what I was thinking and feeling,” Patrick said in a press release.

The fall line itself was heavy on textures and textiles, with a dizzying array of eco materials parading down the runway, including handmade metallic lace, sustainable recycled wool, biodegradable cotton cupro, vegetable-tanned leather, hand-loomed Angora, and a kaleidoscope of digitally printed silk from London. Patrick also worked with North Carolina-based Raleigh Denim on a handful of jeans in the collection.

The event marked the first New York Fashion Week runway show for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist – he had previously hosted presentations – and featured environmentally conscious model/actress (and long-time John Patrick fan) Shalom Harlow in the front row.

Here, some of our favorite looks and snapshots from after the show.

Images: Jessica Marati, Hans P. Kraus Jr. Fine Photographs

The post EcoSalon at NYFW: ORGANIC by John Patrick 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.

John Patrick Organic’s optimistic presentation for spring ’12 makes way for an aesthetically-pleasing collection.

John Patrick showed his 19-piece, spring 2012 collection on a rainy New York morning just steps from the Hudson River. With a diverse troop of models looking relaxed and even happy, Patrick’s presentation was in stark contrast to what one usually identifies with New York Fashion Week shows.

Patrick says, “I don’t do trends,” allowing him to take the idea of sustainability to his own metropolis where other designers want to emulate him and where in fact, he becomes the trend setter. Patrick says this collection comes from his personal quests: “It’s about going on a journey, but you don’t know where you’re going. It’s where I am in life.” If not by intent, his designs nonetheless feel very relevant – light, ethereal and make for an effortless and natural life.

Freedom, as we know, comes in many forms. Pieces like the Khaki Strapless Dress (below), an all-weather hat and cozy flats channel Patrick’s wilderness-seeking independence.

His white, off-shoulder dress, coupled with a recycled nylon Camel Catskill Rucksack (below) – “A bag that people can use!” proclaims Patrick – takes lightweight travel to a more cosmopolitan place.

Following his pursuit of the organic life, Patrick’s blend of simple luxury with sustainability is clear in designs like his featherweight Tie Silk Shorts and Raw-Edge Shirts.

True to name, the bottoms are made from recycled men’s ties sourced from New York, California and France.  “Recycled materials are so important given the state of the world,” I overheard Patrick telling the buyer from Barney’s New York. A part of me wished I could have seen her face better when she digested that.

As the non-linear, runway-free show came to a close, the models danced around hugging and still smiling. More fodder for the aforementioned show optimism.

If Patrick’s designs point a compass toward the future, this writer thinks we should all join the journey.

Here are more shots from the show:

The post EcoSalon at NYFW: John Patrick Organic appeared first on EcoSalon.

Art, fashion, and design join forces to create a transcendent solution.

The lazy days of summer have officially arrived along with fashion staged in leafy gardens and endless beaches with drifting clouds overhead. Writer and curator Alicia Lubowski-Jahn has tapped into our summer reveries with her latest endeavor, LEAF // CLOUD: Nature Tangible and Transcendent at the NYC townhouse art space, Fair Folks & a Goat, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Part indie showcase, part voyeuristic glimpse into how to really live with art, design, and fashion, this extremely thoughtful exhibition pairs eco-conscious art with designs that celebrate creative upcycling, recyclables, and renewable materials in an innovative and fashionable manner.

LEAF // CLOUD opened with a stunning turnout on June 1st, and for the next installment, the curator has joined forces with sustainable fashion expert, Kate McGregor of Kaight boutique, to host an eco fashion trunk show that will be custom-tailored to the Fair Folks & a Goat gallery space. This trunk show will take place on Tuesday, June 14, from 6pm to 9pm, and promises to highlight impressive names in handcrafting, fiber work, and heirloom fashion design.

Writer and curator Alicia Lubowski-Jahn at the opening of Leaf//Cloud in NYC

As Alicia Lubowski-Jahn so eloquently outlines in her reasons for curating an exhibition in a setting like Fair Folks & a Goat, this contemporary art venue that mimics a private home creates an intimate dialogue for ideas about craft, sustainable production, and layered expressions of environmental awareness.

Leaf//Cloud art and design mix at Fair Folks & a Goat’s apartment style gallery

The opening of Leaf//Cloud on June 1 at Fair Folks & a Goat

“One of my curatorial goals for Leaf//Cloud: Nature Tangible and Transcendent was to showcase amazing artists reflecting on the environment in an array of media. You’ll see in the exhibit artists working in a variety of materials, including recycled cork, sustainably-harvested or salvaged wood, and recycled plastics as well as repurposed computer and electronic parts. With regard to the exhibition’s title, the contrasting physical quality of a tangible “leaf” and a transcendent “cloud” very much captures my interest in exploring materiality.

The Fair Folks & a Goat townhouse offers a unique salon setting that allowed me to combine fine arts and design pieces on and off the walls. I am delighted that the fashion and accessories collection curated by Kate McGregor will add another category of design that broadens our nature-inspired and earth-friendly design spectrum. The fact that Kate has specially commissioned unique pieces from such talented designers makes this a rare treat.

The show’s title is actually a reference to a passage by the nineteenth-century English aesthetic critic John Ruskin. Several of the fine arts pieces in the exhibition, including those by Dana Matthews, John Patrick, and Patrick Winfield, are informed by pre-industrial 19th-century nature aesthetics and design techniques. I think these historical references help us to understand the present age in which our relationship to materials is drastically changing and our ideas about what is beautiful are also in flux.” – Alicia Lubowski-Jahn

Cyanotypes by Dana Matthews (above) and indigo painting by John Patrick (below)

Designer John Patrick creating an indigo painting as featured in the NYTimes T Magazine’s blog

This highlighting of the work of designers and artists who demonstrate a genuine passion for and knowledge of natural materials seems fitting in a climate that is in need of slowing down fashion cycles as well as grounding inflated art world strategies. I love that John Patrick of the sustainable fashion label John Patrick Organic is exhibiting his paintings along side botanical cyanotypes by artist Dana Matthews. Again, the curator explains this elemental pairing:

“Dana Matthews’ documentation of organic farming in Delaware County, in New York’s Catskill Mountains, suggests the pastoral idyll of French Barbizon landscape painting. Her impressions of plants in the chemical-free cyanotype process recall the work of English botanist and photographer Anna Atkins (1799–1871), who made some of the earliest and most beautiful cyanotypes of plant specimens.

John Patrick … created an indigo painting, which is part of his wider exploration of historical natural and handmade pigments including honey, cochineal, and china ink.” – Alicia Lubowski-Jahn

Trey Speegle’s ‘You Are The One’ painting at Leaf//Cloud

Felt ‘wall brooch’ by Liz Burow in situ

Other standouts from the exhibition are the paint-by-number paintings of Trey Speegle, sculpture by Susan Benarcik, and a felt wall brooch by Liz Burow.

I asked Alicia what the trunk show will add to the pieces that are already on view at the gallery space, and she had this to say about the expanded view of sustainable fashion and production in conjunction with Leaf//Cloud’s overall message:

“When I approached Kate (McGregor of Kaight) to curate the eco fashion trunk show, we also talked about the relationship of ‘sustainable design’ to ‘craft’ and ‘heirloom’ manufacturing and values. The fact that the collection explores hand-made and natural dye techniques has a heritage component that fits the historical outlook of Leaf//Cloud.”

Eco fashion trunk show exhibitors include: Abigail Doan, Ceca Georgieva, Fr. Andrew O’Connor of Goods of Conscience, Kizzy Jai Knight, Marcus Hicks, Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard of Eko-Lab, and Sono Kuwayama to name a few. Further details can be found on Kaight’s blog.

LEAF // CLOUD: Nature Tangible and Transcendent” is on view through June 27 by appointment. Participating artists include Trey Speegle and Dana Matthews together with Susan Benarcik, Liz Burow, Lilian Cooper, Clemens Kois, John Patrick, and Patrick Winfield. Participating designers include Fernando and Humberto Campana, Kevin Cunningham, Emiliano Godoy, Stewart Webb, and Brooklyn-based designers Stéphane Hubert, Daniel Michalik, and Colleen and Eric Whiteley.

Images: ‘Natural Pattern’ by Susan Benarcik, Trey Speegle, gallery photos by Abigail Doan

The post Leaf//Cloud Exhibition and Eco Fashion Trunk Show in NYC appeared first on EcoSalon.

Spring’s little white dresses will take you softly into summer.

A clean canvas to build from.

A youthful embrace.

A sexy something to spend a summer day in.

Can you hear it? Your Little White Dress is calling you.

We agree with Lucky Magazine: white dresses are right on trend and really, what don’t they go with? Here are some of our favorites this season:

Kelly B’s Cedar Voile Dress, 100% Organic Cotton Voile, $165

Elroy’s Larkspur Dress, 95% Modal, 5% Spandex, $73.50

Rogan’s Electra Dress, 100% Space-Dyed Jersey, (optional black, 100% silk slip included), $375

Loomstate’s Nautilus Dress, 100% Organic Heavy Gauze Cotton, $295

Feral Childe Loopy Pleated Dress, 100% Organic Cotton, $145

Loup Charmant’s Raglan Touring Dress, 100% Organic Cotton, $312

Linda Loudermilk Lounge Dress, 100% Seacell, $192.50

Main image: John Patrick Organic

The post The Little White Dress Comes Out to Play appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sustainable fashion forgoes the runway this fashion week season.

Whether you subscribe to the increasingly popular slow fashion diet, it’s likely that the adrenaline-pumping rush of runway fashion shows still whet your appetite for some saucy people-watching and a sprinkling of sartorial novelty. Front-row celebs and A-list models tottering on impossible heels are quite possibly the Bread and Circuses of our time, but with fashion weeks coming to a conclusion here in Europe, it is welcome news that everyone can finally return home and reflect inwardly on future fashion ‘needs.’

New York, London, Milan, and now Paris this week, are indisputably about high-octane performances staged on the catwalk, with a few designer tantrums thrown in for added controversy. Thankfully, one redeeming trend gaining momentum during the recent Fall 2011 shows was the increase in fashion installations and collaborative art films. Sustainable fashion has particularly embraced this strategy, perhaps because of the strong narrative component and the possibility to literally slow things down for editors, retailers, and fashion lovers who want to fully inspect and comprehend new concepts in the pipeline.

Christopher Raeburn Fall 2011 presentation in London’s Aldwych tube station

During London Fashion Week both Christopher Raeburn and Ada Zanditon created quite a stir with their creative alternatives to the catwalk spectacle. Raeburn, who has been generating a steady stream of in-store fashion installation projects during the past year, positioned his street-savvy models in niches of the abandoned Aldwych tube station, suggesting that upcycling in fashion might now need to incorporate dead-stock urban zones as well.

Ada Zanditon Fall 2011 Cryoflux presentation and film showing at On/Off in London

Ethical fashion superstar Ada Zanditon similarly opted for a posse of sustainably clad mannequins and the multi-media debut of her Cryoflux art film at the Mercer Street Studios On/Off venue during London Fashion Week.  Co-directed by Andrew and William Ho, the film’s narrative  portrays ”a beautiful alien who evolves under the ice of Europa (one of Jupiter’s moons) and then comes to earth to visit Antarctica in the middle of the dark barren winter, “ as Ada decoded for Vogue.com UK.

Ada Zanditon’s Cryoflux installation with her own design preserved in ice

This is not the first time that Zanditon has artfully melded themes of extreme landscapes and fragile climatic states into her collections. A two-meter high ice sculpture was a focal point of the Cryoflux installation with one of her latest designs preserved in the frozen matter. This standing room only fashion event allowed the designer to tell her complex story in a manner that the runway just does not afford. She was even seen toting her iPad around so that editors and buyers might see the Cryoflux film in more detail while Zanditon added her own personal commentary and sartorial spin.

Attendees get a hands-on look at London Fashion Week in 1926

Perhaps it is no surprise that sustainable fashion designers are leading this campaign to provide more engaging and interactive formats for fashion week presentations. The history of the runway is a bit sketchy, although we know that Parisians hosted ‘fashion parades’ in 19^th century France, a phenomenon that was adopted in the early part of the 20^th century in America by department stores like Wanamaker’s who needed to more enticingly feature designs for women. Is it possible that we have come full circle now as designers seek to better engage their audience in a dialogue regarding fashion concerns of the moment and the process behind and the impact of our clothes?

John Patrick makes adjustments at his ORGANIC Fall 2011 presentation

Flashback to New York Fashion Week in early February where John Patrick ORGANIC breaks new ground by showing his ‘Organic source map’ film that demonstrates how select garments for his Fall 2011 collection were sourced and sustainably and locally made. It was pure poetry to see a film like this during a high profile fashion week presentation, as well as proving that we could actually handle the real substance of ORGANIC’s collection so beautifully presented on his fresh-faced and ethnically diverse models. The lesson learned? Educating editors, buyers, and  fashion followers can be engaging in ways that are multi-faceted and not as linear and cryptic as the catwalk.

STUDY NY Fall 2011 presentation in the High Line Room of the Standard Hotel, NYC

Tara St. James of STUDY NY also gave us a nourishing lesson in chic though approachable fashion during her Fall 2011 schoolroom presentation in the High Line Room at the Standard Hotel in NYC. An apple a day keeps things organic in theory, but it was this designer’s focus on zero-waste methods, artisanal collaborative production, and experimentation with the latest sustainable fabrics, that schooled viewers about sustainability in a transparent though seductive manner.

km/a’s installation at WHITE ‘s concept space, Via Tortona in Milan

One of my favorite art fashion installations from Milan Fashion Week’s WHITE trade show was km/a studio’s latest textile wearables displayed in the concept basement at Via Tortona. Devoid of models but all about the surface design and topography of textile recycling and the beauty of fashion as sculpture, km/a’s Fall 2011 collection advocates cool minimalism while also providing us with a good story to get wrapped up in. Perhaps it is this underground deviation from protocol and the inherent message that the clothes themselves convey that will define the future of fashion week shows and collections. Models as hangers is evidently no longer enough to go on as a barometer for how we want to parade or fashion ourselves, sustainably or otherwise.

Lead image courtesy of km/a studio; Ada Zanditon images via Vogue.com UK; John Patrick ORGANIC via SkylightTalk; STUDY NY photo via Gretchen Jones; all km/a images courtesy of the designers

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