Fashioning self and the environment goes to wild fiber extremes.

It has been a wild and woolly spring for me. Despite the endless rain in NYC, there has fortunately been non-stop sunshine in the form of inspiring collaborations with fiber artist and designer friends. This past Earth Day I organized an art/fashion open house called, ‘Fashioning Self and the Environment’ at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn, New York. Earlier this week, I also had the opportunity to discuss these ideas in a talk for the Fashion Institute of Technology’s Face and Places in Fashion lecture series. Both occasions brought together the design work and images of some of my favorite fiber artists and accessories designers. Here is a sampling of what the wilder side of fashioning self and the environment looks like.

CECA GEORGIEVA

Handcrafted necklace from gathered native lichen, dried pods, and recycled wire

I was excited that there was such a fantastic response at both of my events to the work of Bulgarian textile artist, Ceca Georgieva. As an artist who has been using green materials and textiles in her sculpture and environmental installation work for decades, Ceca’s more recent experiments with vegetation in  jewelry has received impressive global coverage on reputable art, fashion, and design sites.

Inspirational images from Ceca Georgieva’s blog

A resident of Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia, Ceca maintains a rustic art studio at the base of Mount Vitosha, and it is here that she spends her days en plein air crafting with natural materials, pruning trees in the family orchard, and gardening galore. For the event at the Textile Arts Center in April, I created a textile installation of Ceca’s new fiber cord cuffs in conjunction with my recycled fiber forms and examples of traditional Bulgarian embroidery from my personal collection. It was our intention to show how traditional fiber and exquisite handwork techniques can be adapted for contemporary styling and chic fashion accessorizing.

Recycled cotton cord cuff embroidered with cotton thread / wood toggle

Ceca’s new handmade cotton cuffs are recycled from military parachute cord and reference the traditional detailing of Bulgarian costuming. She has also been experimenting with pods and lichen for one-of-a-kind collars and necklaces that serve as reminders of sylvan outings and hikes in the mountains.

WIETEKE OPMEER

Vegetation and seeds suggest ethereal and dreamy possibilities for the fashioning of harvested natural materials in the designs of Wieteke Opmeer. I first learned about this celebrated Dutch product designer from sustainable design trend forecaster, Annouk Post at Hiphonest. As described on Annouk’s must-follow blog, “Her work has more to do with positive thinking than with ethics. People like Wieteke play with our conscience. And if you do that, as she does, with so much passion, feeling for form and love of life, it gives you the happy feeling that everything will be okay.” Wieteke’s accessories are temporary in nature and delicately crafted out of wildflower seeds that are meant to slowly dissolve over time or disperse with movement or the wind.

The artist/designer recently exhibited in the exhibition, “The Future That Never Was Alter Nature,” at the Museum of Hasselt in Belgium.

LITEN BLOMMA by Jessica Lennertz

Handcrafted resin rye flower bangle by Liten Blomma

The preservation of natural materials is a primary focal point in the jewelry designs of Jessica Lennertz at Liten Blomma. Her  handmade resin bangles are a new favorite of mine. I asked the designer a bit about her process and her dedication to work with “liten blomma” or “tiny flowers” in Swedish, and the small steps that she has taken to green her latest collection.

“The flowers that I feature in the resin are grown in the US on organic farms and are dried naturally. I also dry my own flowers from local gardens. I have been using rye, flax, lavender, larkspur, pansies, and English daisies, to name a few. I am in the process of looking for an eco friendly resin; it is a challenge to find.

I use metal filigree beads and recycled glass pieces made by the Ashanti and Krobo Tribe of Ghana. Many of my spherical paper beads are from OutreachUganda.org, which supports women bead makers from several parts of Uganda. I also use pebbles, moss, mulberry paper, raw gems (some I mined myself in North Carolina), and as well as vintage treasures collected from around the world.

I am always looking for more ways to be green.” – Jessica Lennertz of Liten Blomma

I learned of Liten Blomma’s floral-inspired wearables via the Afia collection‘s recent photo shoot for their Summer 2011 collection.

VILTE  by Vilte Kazlauskaite

On the next frontier of wild fibers and fashioning self, Vilte Kazlauskaite is a total art fashion pioneer in applying the ancient and eco-friendly crafting technique of Nuno felting to couture collaborations for fashion week collections and the runway. Vilte’s handmade felted pieces combine raw wool and natural fabrics to create a primordial and highly feminine expression of sending fleecy tendrils deep into the soil.

Vilte’s February 2011 collaboration with designer Josephus Thimester for his AW2011 collection during Paris Fashion Week  put a new spin on wilder interpretations of couture and the possibilities for sustainably farmed wool for the latest new wave of felting chic.

As I shared with the FIT community at my talk this past Monday, I feel that it is important to highlight the innovative work of fiber and textile artists when discussing the history and future of sustainable fashion, as many of these individuals have been asking important questions about self in relation to the environment before terms like eco-art, eco-fashion, or green fashion came into vogue. Fiber and textile artists also create a direct life line to the soil, as the materials that they use often mirror the methods and intense labor that goes into the cultivation, farming, harvesting, and processing of our textiles and garments. Crafting the future is in our hands and embracing style begins with a celebration of self as the best model and script for positive change. Time to roll up our sleeves and dig in.

image(s): Style.com, all others courtesy of the designers and their respective blogs

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Fair trade fashion that sets new standards for sustainable style and joy.

Spring/Summer 2011 appears to be a bold and beautiful season for celebrating fair trade fashion’s undeniable momentum, and yet another bright young star has been added to the growing list of change makers in the fair trade design sphere. Meghan Sebold, the principal designer for Afia collection, will debut her new Summer 2011 collection at Guilded’s “Beautiful Future” Sustainable Fashion Pop-Up in NYC on May 5th. Created out of traditional West African textiles by pattern makers in Chicago and NYC in partnership with the fair trade Dzidefo Women’s Cooperative in the village of Kpando, Ghana, Afia’s new capsule collection is a perfect example of  why textiles that demonstrate the genius of place are totally universal wherever you may roam.

Bold traditional textiles from Ghana inspire Afia’s ‘sheath chic’ style

Fair trade sewing production by the Dzidefo Women’s Cooperative, Ghana

All of Afia’s stunningly bold fabrics are sourced from small vendors in Ghana, and as part of urban indigenous chic and sustainable production storytelling, create a bridge to “history, proverbs, moral values, and social codes,” with their classicly traditional, though contemporary, motifs.

In a recent interview with EcoSalon, designer Meghan Sebold shared these inspiring thoughts:

“My role (as a designer), is to translate traditional prints from a region of the spirited and often misconceived African continent into styles that resonate with American pop culture. The Ghanaian fabric makes my job as a designer easy: I choose simple, sheath patterns to pay respect to the animated colors and prints.”

Afia’s designs look incredibly gorgeous on model Fardosa Mohamed, and with the accessorizing of J.M.V. Jewelry and Liten Blomma by Jessica, urban style is fresh again.

Meghan also shared that she was understandably drawn to Ghana as a student in 2006 for the possibilities to do both textile and economic research in a country with a long legacy of textile production.

“I met with people on every level and in every facet of the industry, and despite the artistry, ambition, and business aptitude, there was a struggle to expand their business models beyond the local market. Five years later, I have created Afia to help bridge their craft for our consumer market.  We use fashion as a tool to involve people in social progress in a light-hearted, accessible way.”

The debut of Afia at Guilded in NYC, seems supremely fitting as this hot new agency, created by sustainable style pioneer Bahar Shahpar and award-winning fashion designer Tara St. James of Study NY, is all about providing opportunities where “Artists access information and industry perfects its craft.”

With Guilded’s mantra of, “We define WHAT sustainability is, we teach WHY sustainability is important, and we show HOW to achieve sustainability in practical ways,” there is no doubt that designers and fashion lovers will be making their way to their downtown headquarters for some genuine insight on fashioning the vibrant future with both a local and global twist.

For more information on the upcoming May 5th event, and a line up of other designers who will be participating, visit Guilded’s event page.

Images courtesy of Afia:Design: Meghan Sebold; Photography: James de Leon; Model: Fardosa Mohamed; Editing: Evan Felts; Styling: Julianna Vezzetti; Assisting: Elizabeth Cloyd and Jackson Tonti; Jewelry: Liten Blomma by Jessica and J.M.V.

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