Meiling Chen at Leaf // Cloud Trunk Show Tonight

'Stitched Lights' beaded textile collar by Meiling Chen

'Planet Bracelet' handcrafted out of vintage materials by Meiling Chen

'Stitched Handkerchief Shoulderlet' by Meiling Chen

Artist/designer friend Meiling Chen will be showcasing her new handmade, recycled vintage accessories at the Leaf // Cloud trunk show this evening at Fair Folks and a Goat in NYC. Meiling's latest work is rooted in her slow fashion and art meets fashion crafting philosophy. Tonight's showcase is curated by Kate McGregor of Kaight NYC, and all of the artists participating address sustainability through their innovative use of textiles, handwork, and the natural dye process. 

Participants include Abigail Doan, Sono Kuwayama, Fr. Andrew O'Connor, Meiling Chen, Kizzy Jai Knight, Marcus Hicks, Melissa Kirgan and XZ of Eko-Lab, and Ceca Georgieva.

Leaf // Cloud slow fashion trunk show

Tuesday, June 14 from 6pm to 9pm

at Fair Folks and a Goat

7 East 88th Street, New York, NY

Read more in my article on EcoSalon and on Treehugger

(above photos by Amanda Coen)

Fashioning Self and the Environment for Earth Day

Mosstika's installation of live succulents (Edina Tokodi/József Vályi-Tóth)

I am excited that things are coming together so organically for the Earth Day open house that I am organizing at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn. This evening event will take place from 6pm to 9pm on Friday, April 22, 2011, and the range of projects and activities to be shared will include a spectrum of ideas related to fashioning self, fiber, textiles, and craft in environmental outreach. Refreshments and organic treats will also be provided.

Eko-Lab's A/W 2011 Collection

The current list of artist/designer participants is as follows: 

Susan Benarcik, Meiling Chen (Fearless Dreamer), Abigail Doan, Daria Dorosh, Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard and Melissa Kirgan of Eko-Lab, Ceca Georgieva,Titania Inglis, Anjelika Krishna (a.d.o. clothing), Renata Mann, Rachel Miller, Eve Mosher, Shannon South (reMade USA), Study NY with Awamaki Lab, Edina Tokodi (Mosstika), Tali Weinberg, and Zoe Sheehan Saldana.

Please RSVP at rsvp@textileartscenter.com 

'Life Jackets' filled with boyant milkweed fiber 

(image courtesy of Zoe Sheehan Saldana)

NYFW: Eko-Lab AW 2011 Collection

Eko-Lab AW 2011

New York Fashion Week / Fall 2011 might officially have come to a close, but sustainable fashion in the NYC region will be continuing on a course of slow fashion goodness for the remainder of the year. My talented designer friends at Eko-Lab, Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard and Melissa Kirgan are just getting started on an amazing initiative for locally-inspired  production and community outreach projects aimed at connecting us with our environs.

I wanted to spotlight these beautiful images from Eko-Lab's AW 2011 collection, as they really speak to the local texture and regenerative spirit that is seeping into NYC's sustainable fashion scene. Created as a free-spirited collaboration with Emmy Award winning artist, Jennifer Wen Ma, 'The Lady on White Flees Across the Navy Yard and the Ink Follows', incorporates unique fashion artistry, 100% organic materials, and natural vegetable dyes that work so amazingly with the haunting industrial textures of Brooklyn's dockside and warehouse interiors.

Eko-Lab has currently set up residency in the Brooklyn Navy Yard as part of the Pratt Design Incubator for Sustainable Innovation program. They also participated in Re-made in America at the American Folk Art Museum in NYC on February 10, as part of the official kick-off to New York Fashion Week. Their recently re-designed website will soon feature an online shop as well as a blog that will highlight events and textile outreach efforts. Stay tuned for more information regarding their project for 'Fashioning Self and the Environment' at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn for Earth Day 2011.

To learn more visit Eko-Lab / images courtesy of the designers

Photographer: Kristin Kirgan 

Assistant: Joerg Kuehnelt 

Models: Katie LaFleur / Danita Chantel 

Makeup artist: Jennifer Nam 

Hair artist: Kanako Ito 

'Re-made In America' Kicks Off NY Fashion Week

Congratulations to Daria Dorosh for the organizing of 

'Re-made in America' which takes place today as part of the official opening 

of New York Fashion Week (image courtesy of Daria Dorosh)

In the context of the Year of the Quilt and the exhibition Super Stars: Quilts from the American Folk Art Museum, Fashion Lab in Process honors the spirit of re-invention with Re-made in America.  This roundtable discussion will be held at the American Folk Art Museum's Branch Location at 2 Lincoln Square, Columbus Avenue at 66th St., on Thursday, February 10th, 4 -7 p.m.

As New York Fashion Week begins at Lincoln Center, different sectors of the design community will come together at AFAM to discuss how fashion is being changed by social consciousness, sustainability, and the fusion of fashion with technology.

What will be the next evolution for fashion? Is sustainability compatible with technology?  Meet the professionals who will discuss these important fashion trends and demonstrate them with examples of their work.

The discussion will take place from 4:30 - 6 p.m., followed by an opportunity to meet the speakers and see their work from 6 - 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Daria Dorosh, PhD, Director of Fashion Lab in Process, is an artist and adjunct faculty member at the Fashion Institute of Technology, NY, and SMARTlab, Digital Media Institute, University of East London, UK.. She will lead the discussion on sustainability and wearable technology.  

Other esteemed participants include Shima Seiki, Eileen Fisher, Sarah Scaturro, Gayil Nalls, PhD, Jose Marinez, Despina Papadopoulos, Meiling Chen, EKO-LAB (Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard and Melissa Kirgan), and Sabine Seymour, PhD.

  

For more information, contact Daria Dorosh at info@fashionlabinprocess.com

The Power of Transformation: XZ of Eko-Lab Does The Project Runway Remake Challenge

You might recall this uber-chic dress created by Xing-Zhen Chung Hilyard of Eko-Lab at The GreenShows' opening night celebration. Crafted from a thrift shop shirt rescued from the depths of a Bushwick clothing bin, it is a great testament to the power of transformation and creative-couture resourcefulness.


You can now vote for XZ's fashion upcycling project on Project Runway's Remake Challenge featured on the popular sewing site, BurdaStyle. Winning this project will allow XZ and her partner, Melissa Kirgan of Eko-Lab, to acquire an industrial iron and steamer for their eco-conscious design lab on the Lower East Side in NYC. 


Vote via this link and share the spirit of yesterday's cast-offs becoming tomorrow's eco-style essentials.

* all images courtesy of Abigail Doan and Xing-Zhen Chung Hilyard of Eko-Lab

FNO: Fiber, Textile, and Slow Fashion Rules

Titania Inglis F/W 2010

There is no doubt that Fashion’s Night Out (FNO) is an occasion to celebrate fashion as we know, love, and covet it – up close and from afar. With a globe-spanning agenda aimed at rattling the timbers of gilt fashion houses and retail venues, FNO is also great way of celebrating the very fiber of what inspires us as unique style makers and shoppers. 

Whether you are in NYC, LA, Rio, or Reno, there is something for everyone this Friday, September 10. Given my passion for all things fiber, textile, and eco-related, here are a few of my picks for FNO happenings in NYC’s environs and beyond.

KRELWear 2 Go and Trunkshow at Kaight NYC (Sept 9 -10)

A two-day event at Kaight NYC where visitors can custom design their own ‘quickie couture creations’ with KRELWear’s talented knit designer, Karelle Levy. KRELwear’s philosophy is based in the simplicity and beauty of "toobular" knit design. Their stunning collections include sweaters, dresses, skirts and tanks, as well as colorful hats, scarves, leg warmers and cuffs. This will be a totally unique way to fashion a one-of-a-kind FNO couture creation, suitable for fashion week parties and fall fêtes to come.

Clothing Map (2007) by Daria Dorosh

Fashion Lab in Process (FliP™) at the American Folk Art Museum


Do not miss the launch of Fashion Lab in Process (FliP™), a one-of-a-kind fashion house created by designer and Project Director Daria Dorosh, PhD, with a social, economic and environmental agenda to carve a new sustainable niche in the fashion industry and support local young designers. FliP™ will show its first collection of garments and accessories in a 'fashion theater' installation at the American Folk Art Museum, 2 Columbus Avenue, between 65th and 66th Streets on Friday September 10th, from 5 – 7pm.

Daria Dorosh's recycled textile 'Wrist Loops'

Current participants include: Dorosh’s line of ‘Wrist Loops’ (jeweled textile accessories for both women and men) and fashions by eco-conscious designers, among them Meiling Chen of Fearless Dreamer, Phaedra Elizabeth, Laura Bond, and the local sustainable design collective Eko-Lab by Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard. A special fashion performance by artist Meghann Snow will be ongoing in the AFAM window.

'Slow Fashion' at The Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn

Titania Inglis F/W 2010

Come celebrate the official kick off of the fall season at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn with an evening of slow fashion and design discussion, hands-on workshops, and local sustainable designers presentations. 

Recycled rubber band necklaces by Margarita Mileva of M2 Jewelry

6 – 7 pm 'Hack Sustainable Fashion' workshop with Giana Gonzalez
7 – 8:30pm Ecouterre eco-fashion panel and Q&A moderated by Jill Fehrenbacher of Inhabitat and Ecouterre. Invited panelists include Greta Eagan (FashionMeGreen), Caroline Priebe (Uluru), Sarah Scaturro (Fashion Projects/Cooper-Hewitt Museum), Titania Inglis, Shabd Simon-Alexander, and Laura “London” Shirreff (Waste Not Want Not)
8:30 – 11pm Shopping hours with local designers (reMade USA, Wiksten, Shabd, Titania Inglis, and M2 Jewelry), free DIY workshops, food, drinks, live DJ 


Visit The Textile Arts Center's website for more details

Ikou Tschuss Store Opening at 8 Centre Market Place, New York City

Ikou Tschuss unique knitwear designs are all hand-crafted and "the process of doing the work is vital to the form the design takes. Their production is staffed exclusively by grandmothers, who retain the old crafts-womanly approach to handwork—skills that owners Guya Marini and Carmen D'Apollonio feel are disappearing today."


You can weave together your own rockin' itinerary for the evening of September 10 via Fashion's Night Out.

(Re)Fashioning Fiber Friends

Kaori Yamazaki, her partner, and Renata Mann installing their suspended fiber and mixed media work (photo by Abigail Doan)

Renata Mann working on her knit rope floor piece prior to the opening. Works by Michelle Vitale Loughlin, Meiling Chen, Kaori Yamazaki, Brece Honeycutt, Abigail Doan, and Sibyll Kalff also in this view (photo by Michelle Vitale Loughlin)

I am resting a bit today after several months of passionate work surrounding the curation of (Re)Fashioning Fiber. Lovely feedback and exquisite photos are fluttering into my inbox. Thank you everyone for these thoughtful gifts. Prior to sharing images from the final installation and opening night celebration, I wanted to post a few photos from the behind-the scenes magic that was so much a part of this collaborative effort.

I loved working with the artists, designers, and Green Spaces NY staff on this exhibit. For me, it was the best of a barn-raising experience surrounding what is possible with natural (eco) materials in an urban setting. Somehow, I think that this is just the beginning of something even more beautiful and sustainable.

Artist, writer, and curator Kathy Bruce visits the exhibit prior to the opening (photo by Michelle Vitale Loughlin)

Sibyll Kalff's 'Little Books' being unpacked from a storyteller's suitcase

Final details for fiber vignette 1. Works by Brece Honeycutt, Ceca Georgieva, Meiling Chen, and Renata Mann (photo by Abigail Doan)

Final details for fiber vignette 2. Works by Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Abigail McEnroe, Renata Mann and Abigail Doan (photo by Abigail Doan)

Stay tuned for more images of work by Eko-Lab, Mackenzie Frere, Meiling Chen, and Tara St. James as well as all of the other artists and designers above.

House of Organic & Eko-Lab in Black and White

Mika Machida: totally original screen print dress

Meiling Chen': beautifully draped black wool coat

Eko-Lab and Jennifer Wen Ma art/fashion collaboration

Eko-Lab: wool ensemble (love the belt)

Eko-Lab: adorable black hemp coat with recycled glass

Several of my favorite picks from the House of Organic/Eko-Lab runway presentation at The GreenShows last week. The community-based, collaborative design collective is as strong and bold as the black and white pieces pictured here.