Organic Girly

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.)

Soccer-style kicks. Little hops on sidewalks. The resounding sound of “Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.” For many of us, this is our experience with the broken fragments of glass that oft line our curbs, our parks and our natural homes. And for most of us, these pieces of green, brown, blue, amber and more, are castaways—swept up by a street cleaner or slowly buried under a pile of leaves. 

Connecting the Past to the Future

Yet, it’s the little things that can go far—in sharing beauty, in being of use, in telling a story of something larger than itself. For Laura Bergman, a reclaim artist and Founder of Bottled Up Designs, these abandoned remnants are gems for the rescue. Earrings. Necklaces. Artifacts of beauty. As much of a historian as she is a designer, Bergman crafts her eco friendly jewelry with a deep love and appreciation for the story behind it. “It’s a truly unique way to preserve the past while helping the future,” says Bergman. 

For the complete article, please visit my column on EcoPlum…

(Photos courtesy of Sybren A. Stüvel—thank you!)

a sophisticated techie gave to you…

a pad stash for toting your iPad and more

I love an iPad as much as the next, and I also miss the classic austere style of a simple day planner.  The beauty of this pad stash from the sustainable, Portland-based company Nau, is the way in which it brings the two together.  Old world meets new with room enough for passports, some cash and the puritan essentials.  Made from recycled wool and cared for with just the sweep of a damp cloth, we love that style meets sustainability in this tech toy for non-techies. 

Available online via Nau, $75 U.S.

(Photos compliments of Nau.)

These days, I have new joy.  Let’s call it the Art of Eye Candy.  Here’s how it goes: I walk into a clothing shop like a kid in a candy story and flee the scene an hour later still gleeful and, here’s the kicker, shopping bag free.  If you had asked me 150-days ago, given the right shop, like the slow fashion boutique, Kaight, or like my new love, Treasure & Bond (pictured above and below), I would have guiltily murmured, “Impossible!” 

Now don’t get me wrong—I LOVE the rush of finding the perfect pair of upcycled, recycled, someday biodegradable booties or the organic jeans in just the right wash of indigo, and that will never change.  But, I also have to say that since I’ve been on a 150-day no shopping spree, I’m gaining healthy perspective and creativity that comes from browsing my closet each morning like a department store and walking into a shop and seeing it like a fine art gallery.  The way the light bounces off the shiny metal cuff; the stitch of the alpaca knit hat; the razor straight inseam of the high-waisted pants.  These are what I see now.  I’ve always felt that true quality fashion is art—masterpieces woven from a designer’s life story that I proudly hang in my closet and wear like totem poles standing for something monumental.  Now, I also just breathe it in for the simple love of the art, the craft and its beauty. 

Thanks to Treasure & Bond for its refreshing inspiration.  Owned by Nordstrom, where this Organic Girly spent her teenage years dressing customers head-to-toe, all of this shop’s profits go to local New York City children’s charities in exchange for the market research insights they are gaining through their new Soho store.  Imagine that—a retail store that says “Thank you” first!  Stop by and take a look.  While not solely dedicated to the sustainable realm, their selection and simple design and displays are captivating—nothing short of eye candy. 

(Photos compliments of 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!