Ahkun Summer Pop Up In NYC This Weekend

Afia 'Gem Gown' with artisan-made textiles sourced from Ghana

Detail of a textile from Ghana featured in the Afia Collection

Ahkun, a New York City nonprofit, wants to prove that socially responsible style can be both fashionable and affordable. On July 30 and 31, Ahkun will host a pop-up sale event in NYC featuring carefully curated clothing and accessories from independent designers, sustainable brands, and fair trade organizations. Ten percent of sales will be contributed to artisans abroad through the micro-lending website Kiva.

No-waste, hand-woven silk ikat skirt from Study NY

Sustainably produced in New York City

Participants include: Afia by Meghan Sebold, a sustainable women's apparel line that utilizes textiles from Ghana; Study NY by Tara St. James, winner of the 2011 Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award for Sustainable Design; Indego Africa, a social enterprise that partners with women artisans in Rwanda on products for brands like Nicole Miller and Anthropologie; and Made by Survivors, a nonprofit that provides survivors of sex trafficking with employment and education.

Zero-waste 'Chavela Bag' by Viva La Vida NY

Other pop-up vendors include: Auralis Studio, Holstee, Lolafalk, Lynore Routte, Simply Nu, Tompkins Point Apparel and Viva La Vida NY.

You can RSVP for the event via Ahkun's Facebook page or simply stop by from 11am to 6pm at the Lower East Side Girls Club at 56 East 1st Street in Lower Manhattan.

NYFW Picks: High Contrast Autumn Hues

Zero + Maria Cornejo Fall 2011 (photo: Monica Feudi / Feudiguaineri.com)

Zero + Maria Cornejo Fall 2011 (photo: Monica Feudi / Feudiguaineri.com)

Creatures of the Wind Fall 2011 (photo: Amanda De Simone / GoRunway.com)

Tara St. James/STUDY NY Fall 2011 (photo: Daniele Guidetti/VOGUE Italia)

Tara St. James/STUDY NY Fall 2011 (photo: Daniele Guidetti/VOGUE Italia)

Suzanne Rae Fall 2011 (via Eco-Chick/Starre Vartan)

Suzanne Rae Fall 2011 (via Eco-Chick/Starre Vartan)

images also via Style.com

(Re) Fashioning Fiber at Green Spaces NY

Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard and Melissa Kirgan of Eko-Lab's 'Trees In The Dark, Dresses In The Light' mixed media fiber drawings/sustainable fashion installation and Abigail Doan's 'Fiber Flotsam Colony' on table (photo by Abigail Doan)

Kaori Yamazaki's eco-fiber jewelry installation (photo by Emma Grady)

Sibyll Kalff's 'Little Books' along wall baseboard and Abigail Doan's recycled flotsam fiber forms on wall and floor (photo by Abigail Doan)

Gorgeously green and colorful Eko-Lab models Dina Liss (on left) and Danielle Bowen (on right) looking fresh in make up by Masae Satouchi (photo courtesy of Eko-Lab)

Eko-Lab designers Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard with models Dina and Danielle looking sustainably gorgeous

Fiber/textile installations by Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Renata Mann, Michelle Vitale Loughlin (with soundscape by Matt Pass), Kaori Yamazaki, Meiling Chen, Brece Honeycutt and Abigail Doan in this view (photo by Abigail Doan)

Fiber/textile installations by Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Renata Mann, Meiling Chen and Kaori Yamazaki in this view (photo by Abigail Doan)

Fiber/textile installations by Tara St. James, Atefeh Khas, Tara Goodarzy, Renata Mann, Michelle Vitale Loughlin (with soundscape by Matt Pass), and Meiling Chen in this view (photo by Abigail Doan)

Tara St. James' paired-ensemble, 'Skyline Skirt and Cobweb Bolero' (Study NY S/S 2010 Collection) created from (re)fashioned twill tape and design studio 'waste textiles'. Love her signature recycled zipper necklaces (photo by Emma Grady)

Michelle Vitale Loughlin's 'Towers 1-3' crafted out of recycled tomato stands, natural fiber knitted on the artist’s first knitting machine with an accompanying sound component entitled, ‘Tower Strings’ by Matt Pass in which three twelve-foot piano strings were strung and then played with wineglasses, mini fans piano hammers, and a French horn piece (photo by Abigail Doan)

Meiling Chen's Clothes Make the Man/’Coat of Many Colours’ embroidered garment crafted out of a vintage shirt donated by a friend, flea market threads, and recycled hanger from the laundromat - installed with Renata Mann Jewlery (photo by Meiling Chen)

Mixed media drawings/collages by Meiling Chen installed with Renata Mann Jewelry (photo by Meiling Chen)

Meiling Chen's Clothes Make the Man/‘Wear Your Heart on your Sleeve’ embroidered garment crafted out of a vintage shirt donated by a friend, flea market threads, and recycled hanger from the laundromat - installed with Renata Mann Jewlery (photo by Meiling Chen)

Mackenzie Frere's 'Study for Breathing 3' (detail). A gossamer-like net hand-crafted out of silk, safflower petals, and madder root

More photos viewable on Eko-Lab's flickr page. Detailed views and profiles of specific works to come. Coverage of (Re)Fashioning Fiber also appears on Treehugger and PLANET mag online.

This group exhibit will be on view at Green Spaces NY through August 13, 2010 with special gallery hours on Wednesdays between 4 -7pm throughout the summer.

Eko-Lab Holiday Event This Weekend

There will be a *fun & festive* eko-sale this weekend at The House of Organic (123 Ludlow Street) featuring original designs by Eko-Lab ladies, Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung, Tara St. James, Renata Mann Jewelry, Dirty Librarian Chains, and eco media pieces by artist and writer, Abigail Doan.

Hours for the openhouse are 1pm-8pm Saturday & Sunday with free crochet lessons offered on-site by the very eko-crafty 'XZ'. Join us for the beauty of sustainability and the cheer of community building ~ all in one cozy, nest-like setting.

Double zipper cuff by Tara St. James

Mixed media panel (detail) with vintage gold thread, laces, shells, beeswax, lace bobbin, and natural fiber (Abigail Doan, 2009)

Dirty Librarian Chains by Susan Domelsmith

Tara St. James Democratizes NYFW

'Gold Fringe Zipper Necklace' by Tara St. James

'Striped Jersey Fringe Necklace' by Tara St. James


'Ruffled Pearl Necklace' by Tara St. James

Eco Fashion designer Tara St. James of The Square Project and the new collective Study NY will be showing her latest sustainable creations as part of The GreenShows at New York Fashion Week today. The professed math nerd and totally innovative designer did not get to the shows by simply hobnobbing, though. Her resourceful spin on the discarded bits of the fashion industry have found new life in her latest collection with its wink to the 'beauty in numbers' method of her designs.

Determined entrepreneur that she is, Tara also rallied community support by asking friends, neighbors, and like-minded 'sustainalistas' to contribute to the fee for showing at NYFW. It seems as if fashion week has not only been cleaned up and greened up this year, but democratized a bit for the masses who are hungry to take part and implement change. Good luck to Tara and all of the other GreenShows designers, who I will be highlighting over the next week. Stay tuned also for a fresh green surprise from the sustainable style team over at Inhabitat, who have a bit of fashion democratizing going on as well.

The Square Project from Jesse Benjamin on Vimeo.