ExclusiveBright Young Things launches a sustainable capsule collection at Urban Outfitters.

The Bright Young Things first season collection is debuting at Urban Outfitters with a four-piece capsule collection. The versatile collection can be worn in multiple ways and includes: The Converter Pant, The Everything Halter, The Wrap Skirt-Dress, and The Coat-Dress. Designer Eliza Starbuck says the collection was inspired by the idea of updating American classics in an effort to offer basics that are multifunctional.

“If I were to pinpoint the icons that are behind the style inspiration I’d say they’re a mix of Laurence of Arabia, Katherine Hepburn, and Carmen Miranda, although I certainly hope they don’t come off that way,” says Starbuck. “I wanted them to be for today’s versions of these characters.”

The New York-based line debuted at The GreenShows in September at the 2010 New York Fashion Week with just one little black dress. The dress itself has encouraged thrifty, creative dressers everywhere to embrace the fact that less is more and no better was that celebrated than through Starbuck’s creation of the first LBD for Sheena Matheiken’s The Uniform Project.

As for the Urban Outfitter collection, expect to see a pant with fun twists like a basic trouser with side entry that allows the wearer to wear it at three different levels on the waist (high-waisted, a slouchy-cuffed slack, or a drop crotch harem style pant), and an Everything Halter which was designed to be twisted and wrapped into different looks or flipped upside down and worn as a sexy skirt or beach cover up.

Producing the line in Manhattan’s Chinatown allowed Starbuck to closely monitor production and make adjustments to the production if necessary.

“It was really cool to get to know the factory workers,” says Starbuck. “There were days when I was in there working side by side with them.”

When asked if she thinks more women are getting creative with their clothes, Starbuck says it really depends on the individual.

“I know some amazingly creative dressers, women who inspire me to get dressed in the morning,” says Starbuck. “Then there are so many women who don’t have the confidence to stand out and assert their own sense of style, who tend to imitate the style they see on celebrities or that they see on TV or in magazines.”

There’s also the matter of personal priorities.

“Of course there are those women out there who really can’t or don’t care about fashion and have other things they focus on,” says Starbuck. “I try to design clothes that would work for any of these types, but I think the women who like to experiment will have the most fun with it.”

The Bright Young Things capsule collection can be seen now at Urban Outfitters, with pieces priced from $89-$240. Materials include tencel and hemp blends.

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Attending The Green Shows during New York Fashion Week feels like a departure from the haughty attitudes as well as the not-so-sustainable practices of the mainstream fashion industry.

Backstage, models sit easily while natural products are applied to their skin and hair. The front of house is mingling and chatting sociably without a halo of status hanging over each person. In other words, the eco-scene is… well, good.

“Showing at the Green Shows is so wonderful because it is such an intimate setting,” says featured eco-designer Krystal Hoffacker of Dress Reform.

(Looks above from the Dress Reform show. Photo credit: Greta Eagan)

The Green Shows may be intimate with only a couple hundred attendees up against the vast numbers squeezing into the tents at Lincoln Center for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, but one thing is certain – sustainable fashion is on the map and catching the interest of new designers as well as the public and press.

(Looks above from the Bright Young Things show. Photo credit: Greta Eagan)

A packed house for Day Two at the Metropolitan Pavilion, where the Green Shows was hosted this year, turned out to see versatile pieces from Dress Reform, a live exhibit of the Uniform Project in conjunction with the new Bright Young Things line, and topped the day off with an evening presentation and party for New York’s little sustainable star, Samantha Pleet.

Watch our EcoSalon Exclusives NYFW Spring 2011 Highlights Day 2 at The Green Shows video for an inside look at the green scene that is quietly and confidently making its presence known!

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Eliza Starbuck and Sheena Matheiken

Over the past year we got to hear a lot about Sheena Matheiken and The Uniform Project, a mission that led Matheiken to wear the same dress for one year in as many ways as she creatively could.

The project’s intent was to be a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement revolutionizing education in India. At the end of Matheiken’s 365 day roll with the LBD, all contributions went toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.

Not only did The Uniform Project make money, it also inspired many women to rethink fashion and how they clothe themselves and how one could really work the hell out of one piece.

Personally, I don’t think I heard enough about Eliza Starbuck, the designer of Matheiken’s dress (sorry Sheena). Really though, without her dress there was no campaign.

On her site, Starbuck explains how The Uniform Project came about:

“I was leaving the fashion industry – weary of its wastefulness and the hyper-consumerism it engenders, but still fascinated by original style and looking for a way to inspire myself. Sheena was bored at her office job; she wanted to give herself a creative and philanthropic challenge. When we met, neither of us knew that we were starting on a great adventure that would take us around the world; along the way, we met many bright young things who helped advance our cause in so many important and unforeseen ways.”

Starbuck’s referral to the “Bright Young Things,” are her fashion dandies with 37 on her site alone sporting the LBD she created for Matheiken (god knows how many more are out there). Three of them (including Starbuck) are actually doing their own “Wear-a-Thons” similar to The Uniform Project but are unsure as to how long it will last.

Eliza Starbuck, Day Three

Starbuck herself has said a month to a year (she’s on Day eight).

Kristin Arzt, Day One

Bright Young Thing Kristin Arzt is on day 21.

Kathleen Scully, Day 14

Kathleen Scully is on day 15.

Keep track of all their inspired looks at the Bright Young Things site or buy one for yourself and take on your own challenge!

The post The Wear-a-Thon Continues with the Bright Young Things appeared first on EcoSalon.

Sheena Matheiken, founder of The Uniform Project, has challenged herself to wear the same dress for 365 days as an exercise in sustainable fashion.

To prove her point, she had seven of the exact same dresses created for her (to avoid any stinkiness), that she can accessorize any way she wants – but she has to wear the same dress all year and says at her website she’d like to “think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade’s boudoir.”

So far, so intriguing.

This exercise is also a worthy fundraiser and all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for slum children in India, where Matheiken was raised and schooled.

Please visit Matheiken’s site to see how you can participate or donate to her cause. At the very least, how you can help the poor girl accessorize enough to put her through a full year of wearing (gulp) the same old, same old.

In the meantime, I wrangled my own posse of designers to answer the question:

In light of The Uniform Project, do you think you could design a dress that could multi-task for a woman for a whole year?

Bahar Shahpar:

I could and I would. Very excitedly so. Repurposing and reimagining beyond a normally acceptable level is right up my alley. In fact, I was just approached by a forward-thinking friend to do just that. But I wouldn’t do a dress. I’m just going to put it out there: Long Live the Onesie.

LAEKEN:

LAEKEN’s vision could absolutely be translated into developing a dress versatile enough to be worn 365 ways, as seen in the Uniform Project. We love the idea of multi-functional pieces. For example: a zipper in the back of a dress so that it may be worn tighter or looser (seen in our fall 2009 collection) or a jacket with removable sleeves so that it may also be a vest (seen in fall 2008) or the Osaka dress from spring 2009 that has two different ways that it can be worn. We would create something very unique, true to LAEKEN’s edgy spirit but simple enough to be accessorized, dressed up or dressed down, comfortable and perfect for the transition from day to night.

Alabama Chanin:

We have been striving to make multitask dresses and clothing since the beginning of the company. I love a dress that can be used as a night gown, for gardening, to go to work, dinner and a party – perhaps with a washing in between.

MothLove:

I believe MothLove dresses are meant to be worn under the same constructs as the Uniform Project. I had no intentions of putting boundaries around my line, as I think that can stunt its potential! What is important to me is that MothLove creates pieces intended to be worn however the wearer chooses, interpreting the “artists” creation in their own way…and even that has cause for constant “re-interpretation.” When that happens the real magic happens and a new spirit evolves…your spirit evolves.

MothLove is highly adaptable, designed in grey scale for wearability and relevance beyond a season or a trend; meant to be the favorite piece you pull out of your closet routinely.  The dresses stand alone, yet are easy to layer and accessorize, keeping the focus on conscious consumption and creativity. I really only meant to make something that allows a woman to feel natural, pure and pretty. I don’t think we allow ourselves that privilege enough. And in that, I hope the wearer can feel the love and devotion I have in making each piece.

cmarchuska:

I think designers will have to view design with more functionality instead of creativity since this one dress uniform will have to last a whole year. In general, I think this is the direction fashion is headed during these tough economic times because consumers want pieces that are classic, affordable and can be worn to various occasions. This also speaks directly to the sustainable fashion movement, which focuses on classic pieces that the customer will want to hold on to for years instead of tossing out trendy clothing each season and contributing to more waste and less sustainability.

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