NOW Showcase AW 2011 Opens This Weekend

A classic ensemble by Titania Inglis for F/W 2011

(made in New York of organic and deadstock fabrics)

'Nature Speaks' volumes by Andy Lifschutz Jewelry

NatureVsFuture Wool Double Collar Sweater

(designed in Brooklyn, made in New York City)

JoAnn Berman's 'Real Housewives of Bushwick' Collection

olsen Haus super glam, pure vegan heels

a.d.o. clothing's herb-dyed, organic Tanya Dress

Just a few of the talented designers who will be presenting their collections at the NOW Showcase in NYC this weekend. There will be a special cocktail reception on Saturday, February 19 and Sunday, February 20 from 4 to 6:30pm. My sustainably-savvy colleagues from EcoSalon, Gretchen Jones and Amy DuFault, will be on hand to chat and share their latest findings for market week February 2011. Read the scheduling details here.

NOW Showcase at the Terminal Building
FEB. 19, 20, 21 – 2011 / 10AM – 6:30PM
651 West 27th St. (@ 12th Ave), NYC 10001

JoAnn Berman's 'Ultra-Imaginative' New Shop

Speaking of innovative digital printing and a transporting S/S 2011 collection, do not miss JoAnn Berman's new online shop. Hint hint, girls: the one-of-a-kind platform shoes and boots are radically out of this world. JoJo is an artist through and through. Love this woman.

images courtesy of JoAnn Berman

NYFW: JoAnn Berman's Spring 2011 Electric Ikats

If you had to slow designer JoAnn Berman down frame by frame, the sequence might look something like this, at least texturally. Don't be fooled though, these designs are not for the lazy or unimaginative fashionista. These looks are going places, here and now.

"JoJo" boldly revved up the runway at The GreenShows on Monday afternoon right around that time when most editors and fashion week attendees are beginning to experience an excruciating low blood sugar plunge. Maybe it was the hip, retro-recycled get-ups or the electric ikat prints (all generated in a low-impact but creatively explosive manner), that kept the audience perky and alert? Whatever the method, it is evident that JoAnn Berman is more than grounded with her latest Spring 2011 collection. The designer has created the illusion of easy to don flights of fancy in a cool and empowering mix-and-match manner. Mod never looked to alchemically chic.

I have spoken to JoAnn a few times on the phone, and each time she is contagiously enthusiastic about everything that comes her way. Sure she has a unique street style cultivated by decades of living the life punk-tastic, but if ever there was a woman who gets what might bridge the last few decades of our globally gritty existence with the next chapter of sustainable fashion, it would be the very resourceful Berman.

This was a genuinely inspired collection and one that transported us to Goa, Ghana, and the Gowanus, all in one brushstroke of what is JoAnn Berman, the artist, the musician, and the fashion designer. We could not be giddier when cool people take us along for the ride that promises fashion magic for all.


*all photos taken by Nina Berman for JoAnn Berman

Rock the New Year with Joann Berman

Good riddance faded palette of 2009, hello bold and groovy textiles of 2010. Joann Berman rocks the house with these recycled textile creations. Word is, she might even be making a showing at The Green Shows this February.

*The designs featured above are available via her online store.