Last week’s TheGreenShows 2-day event in NYC was the place to be during fashion week. Amidst the usual fashion runway buzz, a cool vibe permeated the King of Greene Street space.
Brooklyn-based designer Bahar Shahpar was edgy and sharp, we loved those fetching hair adornments and Cri de Coeur shoes.
Russell Simmons popped in, apparently to show support for new BFF Ashley Dupre (of Eliot Spitzer fame), who strutted her stuff down the runway in a tight-fitting number. When Ashley (pictured at left), appeared on the runway, I didn’t recognize her but I was struck by her physique, (unlike the other models, she was voluptuous and not quite as tall). When her photo appeared the next day in The New York Post, all became clear.
House of Organic (Ekovaruhuset) is headed up by the sweet and talented, Stockholm-born, Johanna Hofring. Her line is eco fashioned from all organic materials, fair trade made, naturally. Accompanied by a very groovy live band, this catwalk show was totally hip. I slipped into her little shop on Ludlow Street the next day, (that’s Johanna, above).
STUDY is a creative collective run by designer, Tara St James. Crafted from cutting-room scraps, Tara upcycles fabric and transforms pieces into totally wearable fashion, (above). more @ 4equalsides.com
I also loved Chicago-based Lara Miller’s line, created from certified organic cotton, wild-harvested bamboo, raw silk and recycled cotton fibers. (Related: peek at our runway video, Lara Miller and Cri de Coeur)
Although I didn’t catch the live show, Mr. Larkin is by San Francisco based designer, Ms. Casey Larkin. Her perky collection is made with biodegradable milk fiber fabric, hemp, bamboo, peace silk, organic cotton, and handmade plant dyes from berries, mint, cabbage and maple leaves. Eco savvy to the max.
Eviana Hartman’s Bodkin line is created from materials as varied as Tencel, (created from eucalyptus), organic cotton, hemp, recycled denim and recycled polyester.
And from across the pond, designer Isobel Davies’ ethical luxury brand, Izzy Lane is crazy for wool. But not any wool. She rescued 600 rare breed sheep that were set to be put out to pasture, and ethically raises them on her Sheep Sanctuary. This fine Shetland wool is spun into a light, cashmere-like material, and forms the basis of her 40’s inspired collection.
It was great to have all the eco fashion forward designers of TheGreenShow under one roof. Is it spring yet?
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Sounds fun. Check out ecoSkin too.
thanks for sharing, nice photos
These days everybody seems to be trying to do something good for the environment and my family is no exception. So I shouldn’t have been surprised when my wife started talking about green fashion lately. While I care about the environment as much as the next guy, that seemed a bit extreme. In my mind, words green fashion conjured up images of potato sack like clothes made of hemp or some such material. I am beginning to see that I was wrong. It is great that such famous designers are creating clothes that are beautiful and good for the environment. But unfortunately not everyone can afford to buy clothes that models just wore during fashion week, so I am glad that my wife was able to find a site, luxgreenliving.com, that sells beautiful, fashionable, modern looking clothing made from organic cotton at very reasonable prices.