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.)

“What makes fashion ‘eco’?”, I’m often asked, which is exactly what happened over dinner last night with a fashion-maven friend.  Good question!  In fact, I love this question, because to even consider, for a moment, where our clothes come from and how they land on our backs, our bottoms or our feet is exactly where change—even a little shift—begins.

To answer (or attempt to answer) this question, I’ve dug deeper and deeper, and I’m still digging through all the buzz, the marketing claims and every designer’s unique interpretation on the matter.  So, this question & conversation is just the beginning.  And to be honest, there isn’t a straight-shooting answer.  Although, one thing is for sure—it must begin with true integrity and consciousness.  

Take an inspiring brand like Tara St. James and her line Study NY (see the short video interview with her, below, featuring her zero waste designs).  Talk about a fashion-forward woman with an outstanding commitment to beautiful design that, by the way, is eco- and ethical- through and through!  While her admirable pursuits include sourcing Alpaca knits from an artisanal women’s cooperative in Bolivia, to employing organic cotton, to sewing many of her garments locally in New York City, she has put a particularly special stake in the ground with her zero-waste designs.  

Which, naturally, leads to the next question.  How can design be zero waste?  According to St. James, Zero Waste design is all about “reducing waste and excess.”  An astonishing “15-17 percent of fabric (on average) is simply wasted [when cutting a pattern that will become the final garment], which has enormous economic and environmental impacts.”  ”Avoiding waste in this process is,” as St. James describes, “like creating a jigsaw puzzle.  The process must begin before you lay out and mark the patterns for cutting.  It must begin in the design phase.”  For St. James, she often creates her famous 4-square pieces, minimizing waste by the simplicity and universality of the designs’ one-size-fits-all approach.  

And that’s simply the beauty of eco- and ethical- fashion.  It’s not a bucket.  It’s not a niche.  It’s for all—although it still comes in different shapes and sizes.  

Interested in learning more about Zero Waste Design?  Check out this informative article on Ecouterre.  

* Stay tuned for more on Tara St. James & the Sustainable Design class I just attended at Guilded State, a school she is starting with business partner Bahar Shahpar to help fashion dabblers and die-hards like myself rethink the industry from the inside out.  To support their grand plans, help fund them (like I just did) via Indiegogo—there’s just 3 DAYS left to help them reach their goal!  

Here’s to the fortuitous future of fashion… !

(Image: Courtesy of Study NY, Spring/Summer 2011 Collection)