ColumnConscious life, hear me roar.

It could have been when I listened to Nick Hahn, former CEO and co-founder of Cotton, Inc., a keynote speaker at a recent sustainable fashion event at FIT. It might have been when he told the audience that Monsanto may have made his company better and that the use of organic cotton wasn’t all that favorable. After all, regular cotton uses less water and with the impending water crisis well…we all have to pick our battles.

I had to determine which statement was more absurd. I looked around at the women I was surrounded by which included Ecouterre Managing Editor, Jasmin Malik Chua, EcoSalon writers Jessica Marati and Jennifer Barckley, Greta Eagan of GretaGuide, Rona Berg, Editor-in-Chief of Organic Spa magazine, representatives from Eileen Fisher, sustainability professors from FIT, Parsons and Pratt, not to mention a bevy of sustainable designers and fabric suppliers and I cringed.

Who could he be trying to sell his idea too and did he really think this platform was the proper place? We muttered under our breaths “What about the pesticides?,” “What about contaminating the water?,” and most popular, “What a bunch of horseshit.”

Still, people were listening and he might have planted his own genetically modified seed into the brains of some of the audience there. Later in the day, watching him sleepily nodding off in a corner, head on his chest, I had to ask myself again, who are these people running the show?

The next day I literally ran from a breakfast with the Eileen Fisher sustainability team – where we’d just talked about how eco fashion is very political – to meet Erica Wolf of Save the Garment Center who is also designer Nanette Lepore’s assistant.

“I am so slammed,” she said over the phone as I picked up my pace nearing Midtown. “Have you heard what’s going on?”

“Nope. What have I missed?”

By the time I pushed the elevator button to bring me up to Nanette Lepore’s 5th floor studio, I had already passed ABC News outside on the street. Sweat covered and trying to fix myself in the elevator, I was greeted by a Fox News camera man and reporter who were just leaving the studio.

“Sit down there,” Erica whispered pointing to a corner chair and covering the phone.

Here is where I learned of the Olympic uniforms being made in China. As a major supporter of Save the Garment Center, Lepore was on tap to tell the world just how possible it would have been to make that entire uniform in the U.S. After all, it’s the American team so why wouldn’t Ralph Lauren have thought of maybe just this once, taking his American inspirational brand and made it, well, truly American not faux American?

Still, there’s an issue that looms large and it’s this: why now. Why do so many Americans care about U.S. made clothing now? Because it’s the Olympics? Because it’s election year? What about all the other weeks of the year when U.S. consumers are shopping China-cheap buys at Walmart, Forever21 and H&M stores nationwide? Do YOU ever flip the label to see where your clothes are from? Let’s not get all righteous now unless we want to keep walking the talk.

With the Olympics starting in just 10 days, the entire Olympic committee, the athletes, and the entire United States of America now need to get their minds off of why weren’t those tacky Lauren-logo-emblazoned uniforms made here (really? That polo logo passed the committee?) and start backing all the athletes looking for a shot at their personal best. Those men and women waiting for their chance at a glory they have been waiting for since they were little kids swimming in public pools and racing their friends up and down the street.

“I’m so upset. I think the Olympic Committee should be ashamed of themselves,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told Fox News reporters when asked about an ABC News report on the origin of the Ralph Lauren-designed uniforms.

“I think they should take all the uniforms, put them in a big pile and burn them,” Reid added.

Between the Lines is a weekly column navigating the sometimes-sharp, sometimes-blurred lines of conscious life and culture between city and country, between inner worlds and outer.

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The pullover with a high collared neck still has a powerful allure that communicates, “I’m different.”

The Gap revived this imagery in their 2006 “Keep It Simple” Campaign.

More familiar to the British as a polo neck, English polo players first wore turtlenecks in the 1860s. Their adoption by Noel Coward in the 1920s turned turtlenecks into a middle-class fashion trend, and early feminists made them into a unisex item. Since the middle of the 20th century black polo necks have been identified as the uniform of radical academics, philosophers, artists and intellectuals.

Stone memorably paired a gray mock turtleneck from the Gap with a Valentino skirt and Armani jacket for the 1996 Oscars.

As an anti-tie, smart form of dress for those who reject formal wear, the turtleneck – also available in a simpler variant as a mock turtle neck – was surely a deliberate fashion choice made by Apple visionary, Steve Jobs. Communicating a desire to stand apart from others, his ubiquitous black turtleneck became an essential part of his uniform as the leader of those who think different.

Jil Sander Turtleneck Sweater, Céline Leather Strap Bag

Enjoying a revival this season, the winter staple was seen anchoring looks on the runways of Ralph Lauren, Celine and Jil Sander. A fantastic layering piece for when you want to wear dresses year round. They’re at their best worn with skinny jeans, slim fit trousers or a pencil skirt. In this age of so-called fashion democratization, the pullover with a high collared neck still has a powerful allure that communicates, “I’m different.”

ALSO READ:

Now & Then: The History Of The Cocktail Dress

Now & Then: The Trench Coat

Now & Then: The History of the Cuff

Now & Then: The History of Tights

Now & Then: The History of Skinny Jeans

Now & Then: The History of the Chevron Stripe

Now & Then: The History of Penny Loafers

Now & Then: The History of Go-Go Boots

Now & Then: The History of the Poet Blouse

Now & Then: The History of Ladylike Gloves

The post Now & Then: The History of Turtlenecks appeared first on EcoSalon.

Our guide to this year’s best fashion exhibits.

Did you miss the magical Savage Beauty exhibit at the MET last year?  Take comfort by buying the book – a showstopper in itself – and vow not to miss another this year. Curatorial staff are realizing the particular appeal of fashion exhibits and the increased ticket sales potential. If an article in WWD on how museums are “getting fashionable” is any indication, they’ve cottoned on. “There’s a loyal following — besides the fact that fashion is fashionable,” Pamela Golbin, chief curator at Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris was quoted, “There’s something very intimate about clothes.” More and more new fashion exhibits are popping up here in the United States all over the world. Several exciting ones are due to debut this year.

Here are our top 10 don’t-miss fashion exhibits of 2012.

1.  Elsa Schiaparelli and Miuccia Prada: On Fashion, opens May 10 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. Featuring over 80 designs by Schiaparelli and an installation that will give the effect of the two designers being in conversation with one another on subjects such as art, politics and the role of women now and then. With director Baz Luhrman serving as the exhibition’s creative consultant this show promises to follow up on the success of last year’s groundbreaking Alexander McQueen exhibit.

2. FIT NY and the CFDA collaborate to celebrate Impact: Fifty Years of the CFDA at the FIT museum from the 10th of February through until the 17th of April. The leading trade organization of fashion designers presents a tribute to the creativity of American talent and will showcase designs from Halston, Norman Norell, Pauline Trigère, Geoffrey Beene, Bill Blass, Rudi Gernreich, Bob Mackie, James Galanos, Diane von Furstenberg, Oscar de la Renta, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Tom Ford, Michael Kors, Isabel Toledo, Rodarte, and Proenza Schouler.

3. Chanel: Designs for the Modern Woman at the Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte, North Carolina continues thru February 26. Pioneering clothing that was comfortable, casual and enduring in its construction and style, Coco Chanel (1883-1971) remains a pivotal figure responsible for much of what is still considered modern in women’s fashion in the 21st century.

4. A retrospective of designer Christian Louboutin at London’s Design Museum opens March 28 – July 1 and promises to be as red-hot as his signature soles. The exhibition coincides with the publication of a coffee table book documenting Lobuoutin’s work. Mulholland Drive director David Lynch photographed some of the designer’s most fantastical creations and John Malkovich wrote the foreword.

5. If you are in London, you must check out Fifty Years of James Bond Style at the Barbican, opening in April. In addition to Mr. Bond’s Savile Row tailoring, expect to see  lavish Bond-girl finery by Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Roberto Cavalli, Thierry Mugler, Miuccia Prada, Oscar de la Renta, Emanuel Ungaro and Donatella Versace.

6. Also opening in the 2012 Olympic Games host city is the sure-to-impress Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 exhibit at the Victoria and Albert Museum 
running May 19, thru January 26, 2013. Featuring evening wear from the V&A’s vast collection of British designers, the exhibit will show a selection of royal ballgowns including a Norman Hartnell gown designed for Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Princess Diana’s “Elvis Dress” designed by Catherine Walker and gowns worn by today’s young royals.

7. Paying tribute to the legendary French designer Yves Saint Laurent — The Retrospective opens March 25 at the Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colarado. Organized thematically, the presentation showcases over 200 pieces that explore the full arc of Saint Laurent’s developing style and turbulent inner life.

8. If you didn’t catch The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier: From the Sidewalk to the Catwalk at the Dallas Museum of Art, Texas (runs thru February 12) head to San Francisco’s Deyoung Museum where it will run from March 24  – August 19. Dubbed fashion’s enfant terrible, his often provocative messages are enhanced by the sublime construction of his clothing.

9. Set to open on the last night of Paris Fashion Week, March 9, and run until September 16 at the famous Museé des Arts Decoratifs in Paris, the Louis Vuitton – Marc Jacobs exhibit weighs the careers of both designers. The show aims to compare their bodies of work and offers a potential explanation as to why Jacobs and his ready-to-wear approach could never replace Galliano at Dior.

10. Azzedine Alaïa in the 21st Century currently at the Groninger Museum in Holland and running thru May 6, celebrates the body-con creations of the great Tunisian-born couturier. Now in his 70’s, the designer recently became an outspoken proponent of slow fashion, saying “Four collections for women, four collections for men, another four collections to sell, and everything needs do be done within four, five months—it’s a one-way course towards emptiness. It’s inhuman.”

Top Image: Alexander McQueen’s Savage Beauty

The post From Azzedine Alaïa to Yves Saint Laurent: The Fashion Exhibits of 2012 appeared first on EcoSalon.

It’s up and it’s down. It’s the hemline.

Hemlines are the litmus test of fashion history as a cultural study. Economist George Taylor coined the term “hemline index” to explain how skirts got shorter or longer depending on either a “roaring” or Depression-era economy. But what does today’s style say about our current economic situation?

First seen on designer runways last season, longer-length skirts are now hot on street style blogs, with women everywhere working the new silhouette. They’re calculating how to look slim in this look (cinch the waist), what shoes suit it best (flats and wedges), and why the proportions require a complete rethink of what to wear on top (sleeveless tees and fitted vintage denim jackets feel right).

I’ve been working my own take on this trend with a thrift shop find: A Ralph Lauren, double-layered jersey knit dress that hits at the calf. It’s a look that recalls the minimalism of the 90’s with its emphasis on sleek American sportswear. No one symbolized that era of elegant “throwaway chic” like Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy (so we shouldn’t be surprised that her name keeps popping up in fashion blogs and magazines).

At the time, a Newsweek article cited designer Michael Kors praising Bessette-Kennedy’s eye for “proportion,” for her skirts were always just the right length. “That is unusual in someone so young,” he says, as if speaking of a child prodigy. It’s funny how random lines from magazines inexplicably stay with you. Fifteen years on, the idea of a “right length” skirt space as observed by a theatrically directorial fashion designer seems so quaint.

Because here’s the thing. Blowing Mr. George Taylor’s theory out of the water is the emergence this spring of the flirty flared shorter skirt. Just as we’re all getting our heads wrapped around long skirts, here comes a fresh mini. Not any mini, mind you, but a bubble hemmed, brightly patterned, ruffled and twisted thigh-baring one.

Perhaps it’s time for a new theory. If there’s a “hemline index” anymore, it seems to be indicating that it’s just fine to wear any length without having to ask if it’s in keeping with the times.

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Metallic Glam has been identified and secured by Style.com and WWD as a significant category for this fall. Designers such as Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karen all offered up their renditions for this eye-catching trend! Fortunately, eco-designers were equally ambitious and attuned.

Linda Loudermilk included a sleek and sexy silver dress in her Fall collection. Sara Shepherd’s silver dress crosses over from office attire to a sophisticated evening look. And if you are preparing for a night at the Opera, attending an evening wedding this fall or a charity black-tie event Leanne Marshall has just the dress for you in a full length charcoal grey gown.

Style tip: If you are fair skinned, opt for the silver toned dresses, while darker skinned femmes should sport golden hues.

Regardless of the occasion, give your standby black beauty a rest and go for a metallic number that will catch everyone’s attention and hold it!

The post Metallic Glam: The Gold and Silver Standard Gowns appeared first on EcoSalon.

For good reason, Ralph Lauren is distancing himself  from this extremely altered photo of model Filippa Hamilton, who at 5’10” and 120 pounds was allegedly fired for being too fat to wear the designer’s Town and Country fashions.

Last week, the website BoingBoing posted the image online, upsetting the Lauren team for the bad p.r. which suggests the fashion house likes its models emaciated. According to Shine, public interest prodded the company to offer an apology for the “poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body.” They said they would take every precaution to prevent such sloppy Photoshop gaffes in the future.

Lauren had threatened to sue BoingBoing over copyright infringement. To this, the website suggested, that instead:

“Copyright law doesn’t give you the right to threaten your critics for pointing out the problems with your offerings. You should know better. And every time you threaten to sue us over stuff like this, we will:

a) Reproduce the original criticism, making damned sure that all our readers get a good, long look at it, and;

b) Publish your spurious legal threat along with copious mockery, so that it becomes highly ranked in search engines where other people you threaten can find it and take heart; and

c) Offer nourishing soup and sandwiches to your models.”

Lauren won’t admit to firing Hamilton, a size 4 beauty who has been modeling for the brand since she was 15. She was reportedly let go “as a result of her inability to meet the obligations under contract,” but Hamilton argues it’s all a ruse.

“They fired me because they said I was overweight and I couldn’t fit in their clothes anymore,” she said. “I was shocked to see that super skinny girl with my face..It’s very sad, I think, that Ralph Lauren could do something like that.” Meantime, the model says she hasn’t gained weight, but sample sizes are getting smaller.

Hamilton isn’t the only victim of Photoshop manipulation. Singer Kelly Clarkson saw her shape drastically altered for the August cover of Self Magazine.

I’ve noticed, too, the svelte Twiggy look is back, despite all the groundwork by health advocates to change the unrealistic body images of women perpetrated on women by those who rule the industry – Anna Wintour and her cronies. Smaller models are once again in Vogue, sending the wrong messages to our daughters and all women.

According to Examiner, Cosmopolitan editor Kate White has offered Phillipa an 8-page spread in her magazine after hearing about the travesty.

Images: BoingBoing, Shine, People

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