Titania Inglis, winner of this year’s Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award in Sustainable Design, gets street cred with her first New York Fashion Week show.
The show started early for Titania Inglis. Bedecked in black – lots of stylized black – guests waited upbeat, mingling behind black curtains. It was Inglis’ inaugural New York Fashion Week show, made possible by her recently announced 2012 win of the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award in Sustainable Design. It was clear that something award winning was about to take place. And, it felt as if we were part of Inglis’ cheerfully somber production. So, like good cast members we waited in the entryway of the Eyebeam Art & Technology Center, a non-profit enterprise and one of the country’s leading media art centers.
The stage was set for Inglis’ own shade of black, uplifted and far from bleak – a seamless blend of preppy plaid and gothic darkness. It was as if two, vastly separate, high school cliques instantly merged into one, very cool and non-cliquey band of fashion mavens. So, it came as no surprise when I overhead Inglis characterize her collection as “My So Called Life all grown up.”
Street-tough models bedecked in vegetable tanned leather from a farm in France, (where they guarantee the entire cow has been used, from food to fashion), in herringbone, recycled cotton plaids, asymmetrical skirts and soft fabrics like raw Japanese silk and Cupro glided by effortlessly.
For the complete article and snapshots from the show, please visit my post on Ecosalon…
(Photos by Jennifer Barckley of Organic Girly.)
Sustainable Fashion has come so far. Case in point, today’ presentation of The Green Shows at New York’s Mercedes Benz fashion week. A line reminiscent of last year’s Alexander McQueen exhibit at the MET snaked around the corridor—camera crews and curious fashion mavens awaiting the show, all aglow with the green buzz.
And buzz-worthy it was, not just for it’s “greenness” but equally for its fashion. Julia Ragolia, Ready to Wear stylist for the show, told me, “To me it was about showing that eco fashion is fashionable. It’s like mainstream fashion.” Just what our fashion hungry and eco-needing world has been craving.
Here are a few of my favorite looks, from some of my favorite eco fashion designers:
(In future posts, we’ll share the stories behind the pieces and the designers themselves—exploring their approach to sustainable design and the craft they call their own).
Study New York: Cream combo sweater tee made of Fair Trade, artisanal Peruvian alpaca and 100% dead stock wool pants
H. Fredriksson: 100% organic alpaca cable knit sweater and digitally printed cupro lava print dress
Ajna: organic wool hand knit turtleneck and organic wool draped skirt
Luis Valenzuela: Hand woven, hand dyed organic silk dress
(All photos by Organic Girly.)
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. For the complete article, please visit ecosalon.com. Many thanks to Amy & Sara @ ecosalon!
