The Ethical Fashion Frontier and The Genius of Place

Indian fashion label, Ela, as featured on Sass Brown's Eco Fashion Talk

Today marks the seven year anniversary of the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris, and to celebrate  the inroads made and phenonmenal efforts on the fashion horizon, I wrote the following piece for Eco Salon, 'Upping the Ante on the Ethical Fashion Frontier'. 

Isabelle Quéhé and Abigail Doan at EcoChic Geneva in 2010

"I met the founder of the Ethical Fashion Show, Isabelle Quéhé, at EcoChic Geneva in January of 2010, and if ever there was a woman who understood why and how global fashion needed to change, it was Isabelle. She spoke of a new dawn in the industry and the heart that needed to permeate all that we consider to be fashionable and sustainable. Now that the Ethical Fashion Show is seven years old, the inroads made are impressive in a world that is stubbornly waking up from the deep slumber of consumption and globalization – but we still have a long way to go. With organizations like the Ethical Fashion Show and their current partners, we just might get there, slowly but surely."


My heartfelt thanks to all of the contributors to this article as well as EcoSalon for offering me a platform to share these ideas.

EcoChic Geneva 2010 Takes Flight

EcoChic Geneva runway finale at the Palais des Nations/United Nations Geneva Headquarters on 21 January, 2010 (photo: Abigail Doan)

Dr. Christina Dean, founder of Green2greener, introduces the evening's exquisitely curated runway show at EcoChic Geneva. Dr. Dean highlighted the importance of honoring biodiversity in contemporary textile and global fashion endeavors (photo: Abigail Doan)

Model and environmental spokesperson Summer Rayne Oakes walks the runway at the Palais des Nations. Summer was also an invited speaker in the U.N. biodiversity seminar on 20 January, 2010 (photo: Abigail Doan)

Bulgarian model, Julia Urevich, and Sofia-based fashion designer, Evgeni Petkov, showcase Evgeni's handknit, natural fibre eco-couture wedding gown, crafted with my sustainable textile mentorship (photo: Abigail Doan)

Long-time advocate and trailblazer for ethical fashion, Isabelle Quéhé founder of the Ethical Fashion Show, and myself at the opening of the EcoChic sustainable fashion exhibition at the United Nations/Geneva. Isabelle looks exquisite in my favorite new designer, Royah Afghanistan

The EcoChic sustainable fashion exhibtion showcasing Anggy Haif, Alexandre Herchcovitch, and Jose Castro (photo: Abigail Doan)

The Andean Collection's indigenous seed-based, artisan crafted jewelry. One of the event's best examples of marrying sustainability, collaborative enterprise, and affordable eco-chic design (photo: Abigail Doan)

Peter Ingwersen of NOIR's Danish folkloric organic cotton couture garment and Oliver Tolentino's absolutely stunning handcrafted piña gown with capiz shell embellishments (photo: Abigail Doan)