An interview and visit with Kelly Drennan, founder of Fashion Takes Action.

I recently headed north to Toronto and had the opportunity to meet up with Fashion Takes Action’s Kelly Drennan who is hands down, the most connected women in Canadian sustainable fashion. From her Distillery District showroom, Drennan runs part education/retail for the public and base operations for the eco fashion industry grooming designers to be better at what they do, and raising public awareness for the benefits of sustainable fashion and responsible consumerism.

Busy as she may be, we nailed Drennan to her seat to ask her some questions. Here’s what she had to say.

FTA seems to do everything for designers including helping them be more sustainable to selling from your showroom. Are there many places in Canada doing what you’re doing?
FTA is the only organization that does this kind of work in Canada – both from working with designers and retailers in helping them along their sustainability journey, and also with respect to raising consumer awareness. We provide our members with the tools and resources to help them become more successful. To us, this means helping them gain a genuine understanding of sustainability and how it relates to their business, being transparent with their branding and messaging, accessing eco friendly fabric, certifications and other services, as well as getting their product in front of the media and general public.

Sole Rebels footwear

Tell us how the showroom came to be.
We poll our members regularly to ensure that we are on the right track and are delivering the kind of services that they need – that are both timely and that will help them achieve more success. We would continually hear, from our more established members, that they needed help with sales. These are, for the most part, the designers who already had a solid grasp on their sustainability plan, and who had a credible product on the market, but who needed help reaching the media and the consumer.

As a non profit organization, finding the most affordable space was a bit tricky, until the opportunity to move into the Distillery District came about. We share the space with one of our members, Lara Bazant which has enabled us to deliver even further on our mission to support our members. The showroom is currently focused on retail sales, however we have plans to grow our relationship with buyers. Our goal is to soon be supporting our members on the wholesale side of their business as well.

Miik founder and designer Michael Gaughan

How hard is it for designers today to produce sustainably? Do they need to pick a niche within the eco-fashion realm or can they do it all?
We realize perfection doesn’t exist, but that even the smallest steps can make a huge difference. We encourage our members to do whatever they can. In order to help out with their increasing costs, we provide various discounts with preferred suppliers ranging from eco friendly fabric to FSC certified business cards. We are seeing more creativity and diversity with emerging designers who are taking the term “sustainable” and making it their own. The past year or so has seen a boom in reclaimed, rescued and upcycled collections and some more established designers who were using only organics or closed loop fabrics, are now also adding in reclaimed pieces. We love to see experimentation as this movement is constantly growing and changing. What was considered to be sustainable 5 years ago is quite different today. Certification is also one of the biggest challenges that our members face, and we hope to address this in the coming 12-18 months by making it both more accessible and more affordable.

Anne Pringle of Local Buttons and Fashion Takes Action founder, Kelly Drennan

Can fashion be a portal for people to think differently about how they consume?
Absolutely. Our tagline is “Changing the way we create and consume fashion,” so we spend a great deal of our time trying to make this shift happen. It has to be about more than just the fashion alone. We rely heavily on the support of the media to continue to spread the word. We also believe that designers also have a responsibility to provide more information to their customers about why sustainable is better. It isn’t good enough to just say that it is organic or recycled, but why that is important. What are the conventional alternatives, and how are they negatively impacting our planet and its people.

When consumers are empowered with the knowledge that something fashionable was made from something else and thus saved from its otherwise destined landfill, or that a stylish dress was made from quality eco friendly fabric and not mass produced in a sweatshop, then it is that very knowledge that can help people change the way they consume. I at least like to think this is true.

Monica Mei of AIME and Melanie Ferrara of Device

What is the #1 bit of advice you’d give a designer just getting out of design school?
It’s hard to think of just one bit of advice, but I do think that if a young designer can secure an internship with a small independent designer, then they will learn so much from that experience. It will provide a huge learning opportunity, and with a the right kind of leadership and mentoring, can prove to be invaluable.

Another very important bit of advice would be to focus. I see too many young designers who lack focus – their collections are not cohesive and they are clearly still experimenting. I have also seen collections drastically change form season to season so that they in no way appear to be made by the same brand (but they are). Finally I think young designers need to just slow it down and take the time to really understand who their demographic is and thus how to properly price their work. Research and testing is one way to do it. It will save time and money in the long run, instead of learning through trial and error, which is not only expensive but often results in an excess of dead stock – this is a problem both financially and environmentally!

Images: Amy DuFault

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Canada’s sustainable fashion growth is a healthy sign of the times.

With easily more than 50 Canadian designers now working various sustainable practices into their collections, it was difficult to highlight just these five. Canada has seen tremendous growth in the number of eco fashion designers over the past few years. The following designers represent both those who have been leading the movement in Canada, and also some up-and-comers that you should be watching. Their A/W 2011 collections are sure to impress even the most discerning.

Nicole Bridger, Vancouver

Nicole was the first winner of Canada’s Fashion Takes Action award, Design Forward. Her A/W ’11 collection is entitled “Safe to Love,” aptly named after a personal experience she recently had. “Every season I reflect on life lessons that I’m learning”, Bridger says of coming out of a painful relationship. In addition to earth tones, we can expect to see passionate colours from Bridger this fall including reds, purples, and blush pink.

Thieves, by Sonja den Elzen, Toronto

Continuing on the theme of consciousness, Thieves’ A/W 2011 is entitled “Reflection,” which according to designer den Elzen is the embodiment of seasons layered and loved.  “It is about the seasons and years blending together, erasing the lines of time and offering genuine lifelong pieces that become the foundation of a wardrobe for those who are reflective and conscientious of their surroundings.”

This fall, we can expect to see more of the highly tailored look den Elzen achieves with beeswaxed organic cotton and hemp/wool/tencel suiting blends, combined with soft draped jerseys, organic wool knits, and lush, hand-knit wear.

Adhesif, by Melissa Ferreira, Vancouver

Newer to the scene but becoming known for their use of reclaimed and recycled materials, Adhesif recently rocked the runways at Vancouver Eco Fashion Week . For A/W 2011, we can expect to see more vintage tweed, wool suiting and printed cotton twill.

“The colour palette reminds me of a sunset on an open field in the Prairies,” states designer Melissa Ferreira. “Many pieces have a draped feel to them but I have added in some pieces that have a ‘sack’ or box-cut look as well”.

 Harricana by Mariouche, Montreal

For more than two decades, luxury fur designer Mariouche Gagné has been ethically recycling fur made in Canada. She claims to have recycled over 50,000 coats, saving 400 metric tons from landfill. The Harricana A/W 2011 collection features three themes: Femme Fatale, giving rise to elegance and femininity; Military, urban, unisex and streamlined; and Timeless, evoking the wild and untamed nature of the great Canadian outdoors.

Device by Melanie Ferrara, Toronto

Since 2008, designer Melanie Ferrara has produced a series of vintage-inspired modern classics, made in Toronto using tencel, organic wool and organic cotton. For inspiration for her A/W ’11 collection, she looked to the period of the 1940s. “Fashion at that time was influenced by wartime austerity measures, and was characterized by tailored silhouettes with an emphasis on the waist and shoulders,” says Ferrara who adds she used a neutral color palette of navy and black as the base, paired with greys, cream, plum and plaid.  “The result is a collection of timeless, wearable pieces which range in style from modern casual to sophisticated elegance.”

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Sometimes one Foodie Underground a week just isn’t enough. In fact, we couldn’t keep this one on ice until Monday, so we’re bringing you an Extra Fresh Edition to feature Foodprint.

The partnership between food and cities is a no-brainer; travel itineraries are often created around the food of a certain place. And Foodprint is an initiative that takes a look at just that concept. An “exploration of the ways food and cities give shape to one another,” Foodprint is the brainchild of two digitally savvy, foodie obsessed women who put these series of international conversation together to get people talking about urban foodscapes.

The inaugural Foodprint was held in New York in February, and this weekend marks the next one, being held in Canadian metropolis, Toronto.

If you’re in the area, this is shaping up to be a great event. Held on Saturday July 31 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., the schedule includes interesting topics like Culinary Cartography and Edible Archeology. For the full list of programming and speakers, go here.

Fortunately, because Foodprint is all about creating an international conversation, you don’t actually have to be in Toronto to take part; tune in here to watch the event live.

What’s interesting about Foodprint is that it’s diving much deeper into the issues of urbanity and food than most of us even dare venture. Think way above and beyond food carts; the potential for the conversations and conclusions that this initiative can create is exciting and we’re looking forward to see where it goes.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground. Each week, Anna will be taking a look at something new and different that’s taking place in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to culinary avant garde.

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Badgley Mischka Red Carpet (2008)

As an international icon, Barbie has been lucky enough to have designers like Anna Sui, Diane Von Furstenberg and Derek Lam custom-create both lavish ball gowns and wardrobe essentials. I can only hope that of these hip designers, there will be one or two visionaries helping the immortalized Barbie evolve into something more substantial – if she has to be part of our toy line-up, at all.

In April 2010, Barbie will get another marketing stroke of genius (if not another revenue boost) when designers from the Toronto Fashion Incubator take part in the TFI New Labels Fashion Design Competition. Canadian’s women’s wear designers with less than three years experience will be given the task of creating and presenting 15 fashion looks in which three of them will be Barbie-inspired, little black dresses taken to new extremes.

Adriana Gut, Barbie Brand Manager of Mattel Canada says in a press release: “Our partnership with the Toronto Fashion Incubator further solidifies Barbie’s place in fashion. Her role within the program will celebrate the launch of Barbie Basics, a new line of dolls that invite girls of all ages to customize, personalize, and play based on the timeless fashion classic – the Little Black Dress!”

Judged by some of the most influential people in the fashion industry today, the winner will be presented with a $10,000 cash prize provided by Mattel Canada as well as a prize package valued at over $25,000 provided by ELLE Canada.

As iconic as the LBD is, how about making Barbie symbolize more than excess clothing and unattainable beauty, Mattel?

Why not commission the same TFI designers to create sustainable garb for the almost 51-years-old Babs?

Some might say eco just isn’t in line with who Barbie is, with her made-in-China ideals. Maybe Barbie is too old for green, stuck in her baby boomer ways.

According to the Toronto Fashion Incubator’s site, TFI New Labels® is a national design competition for apparel designers looking to make it in Canada’s fashion industry.

“We are tickled pink to partner with the makers of the most iconic fashion doll in history,” says Susan Langdon, Executive Director of TFI.

Image: Toronto Fashion Incubator

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