NYFW: Titania Inglis Spring/Summer 2012

Bias Tank + Half Kilt + Pleat Short / Titania Inglis S/S12

Dip-dyed Peak Dress / Titania Inglis S/S12

Colorblock U-neck Tee + Mini Pencil Skirt/Titania Inglis S/S12

Collarless Jacket + Pleat Short/Titania Inglis S/S12

Flyaway Top + Two-Tone Pant/Titania Inglis S/S12

Brooklyn based designer Titania Inglis has yet again demonstrated that sustainable fashion is all about killer style that dovetails seamlessly with the ethical use of organic and dead stock fabrics as well as local production resources such as NYC's Garment Center and the talents of natural dye expert Isa Rodrigues at the Textile Arts Center.

Titania's latest Spring/Summer 2012 collection speaks for itself in terms of bold versatility, exquisite patterns and asymmetrical draping, and the cool permutations that this graphically rich line offers. I love the addition of Bliss Lau jewelry as a means to highlight the edges and seams of the garments.

You can follow updates on Titania Inglis clothing via her blog and Facebook page.

Photography: Evan Browning
Jewelry: Bliss Lau
Model: Vanessa Lee/Muse
Makeup: Kumi Hosoda
Styling assistance: Erin Lee
Dyeing: Isa Rodrigues/Textile Arts Center

NYFW Preview: (Sustainable) Fashion's Night Out

I will not be in NYC for this upcoming fashion week but rather on the road working on new art and fiber outreach initiatives here in Europe. I will miss seeing dear friends and celebrating all of the hard work that they have put into new collections, handmade accessories, and valiant efforts on the sustainable/ethical fashion frontier.

Handcrafted fiber jewelry by Erin Considine

One event that is particularly exciting this week is (Sustainable) Fashion's Night Out, co-hosted by EcoSalon at the Textile Art Center's gorgeous new Manhattan space. Amy DuFault, Managing Editor and Fashion Editor for EcoSalon describes the event as the following:

"(Sustainable) Fashion’s Night Out, (will be) a unique collective at the Textile Arts Center in Manhattan co-sponsored by Of Rags and the New York City Fair Trade Coalition – featuring fair trade and sustainable designers and shops carefully curated to tempt the tastes of all. The collaborative event takes place on September 8th, from 6 to 10 p.m. at TAC’s new location, 26 West 8th Street, and will gather sustainable and mainstream style purveyors under one roof."

Feral Childe F/W 2011 'Orchestra' collection

Goodie bag/sustainable product totes will be given out to the first 30 guests and will include this visually inspiring World Textiles issue of HAND/EYE magazine.

Learn more on EcoSalon's preview – top scarf/textile image via Shabd.

The Ready-To-Wear-Away Dress Collaboration with Sylvia Heisel & Paper No. 9

Fashion designer Sylvia Heisel might be best known for her clean modern lines and ultra chic sensibility when it comes to creating luxurious pieces, but this New-York based veteran of the industry has recently teamed up with industrial designer, Rebecca Cole Marshall of Paper No. 9, to craft a whole new story. Her latest 'Ready-To-Wear-Away Dress' is primed to shape itself with the shifting nature of your life and personal narrative. Exquisitely constructed out of Paper No. 9's leather-like, recycled kraft paper, Heisel artfully demonstrates yet again her total staying power and adaptive resourcefulness with this poetic sheath creation.

As some one who understands the appeal of clever re-invention, Heisel has paired herself with Paper No. 9 in a concerted effort to implement wearable sustainable design strategies into future projects and collections. The cool factor with the 'Ready-To-Wear- Away Dress' is that body heat and natural movement cause the outer skin to break down, revealing a series of hand-drawn inspirational quotes from writers, philosophers and artists – from Truman Capote to Ghandi to Tupac Shakur.

Front side of the Ready-To-Wear-Away Dress

Paper No. 9 was developed by Industrial Designer Rebecca Cole Marshall as an exploration of three emerging concepts prevailing in contemporary design: the ephemeral, the authentic, and the mundane. Rebecca's goal is to elevate the mundane (brown paper) to become precious, while exploiting its inherent ephemeral nature to create objects that become increasingly beautiful and personal as the wearer discovers the hidden layers beneath. 

Seems like a beautiful fusion of sustainable thinking, natural materials, and construction expertise – and what's not to love about a journey through time with some of the great voices and visionaries in history. Sylvia Heisel is just getting started on a whole new chapter in cutting-edge, contemporary fashion. I love that this new design slips the sustainability message in like a secret verse or lyrical prose. Total transparency of the intelligent variety.

* above photographs by Deborah Feingold

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 

Blogger Style Now: 'Fashion That Gives Back' with Jessica Minkoff

There is an impressive new blogger on the block and her aim is to openly demonstrate that fashion and philanthropy are a tailor-made match. Jessica Minkoff's blog, Fashion That Gives Back, is proof that a one-chick operation can effectively reshape some of our ingrained ideas about fashion and the future of sustainable style. Even better? Jessica does all of this looking totally chic and fresh-faced as a full-time university student and intern for Vogue.com. 

It is inspiring to see the next wave of sustainable style writers and bloggers hitting the pavement, stirring up the cobwebs of publishing houses, and attending local eco-events as advocates for change. Jessica has already conducted some very interesting interviews on her blog and has not missed a beat with breaking fashion news stories, textile sourcing advancements, and environmental topics related to ethical practice.

Greg Lauren design reported on Fashion Gives Back

As a double journalism and sociology major at NYU, Jessica seems to be gearing up for a career of fashion scrutiny and philanthropic reporting. Her love for sustainable fashion and giving back as a blogger definitely looks amazing on her. The future is bright with young minds like this on the scene.

Jessica walking the runway at NYU in 2007

visit Fashion That Gives Back to learn more

Blogger Style Now: 'Past Fashion Future' with Writer Emma Grady

Writer Emma Grady looking sustainably stylish and happy

(photo by Tom Olesnevich)

This new feature on Ecco*Eco is something that I have been meaning to initiate for quite some time. I have so many wonderful friends in the sustainable design, art, and fashion blogging community, that I wanted to take a moment to highlight the work that they do and allow them to describe a bit about their blog's name, mission, and overall focus. 

First up on this front is the talented green-girl-about-town, Emma Grady. Her new blog, Past Fashion Future, is a stunning cross section and round up of her writings on 'ethical fashion musings', sustainable style, and exclusive eco-celebrity interviews. Here is a bit of what Emma had to say about the 'past and future of fashion' as we experience it and aim to advance it:

Screen shot from the very informative and chic, Past Fashion Future

The name of my website came from throwing around ideas in my head--thinking about fast fashion, the fashion industry's seasonal cycle, and the future of fashion--and then it clicked: Past Fashion Future. Fashion is at an interesting point right now; it's an exciting time.

I am fascinated with history, and clothing that communicates a story whether it be personal, like an heirloom jewelry piece, or otherwise. I grew up shopping at second-hand stores and, to this day, I value vintage clothing because it is made to last, has great detailing and it is well tailored. It has been great to see mainstream fashion trends like heritage become popular; it is an example of consumers desiring more of a connection with the garments they choose to adorn their bodies.

Emma Grady rocks the vintage trench and heirloom jewels 

(photo by Tom Olesnevich)

The recession and the green movement have both--as current events do--made their mark on the fashion industry. Consumers simply aren't buying like they used to and fashion houses are reconsidering their materials, designs and supply chains. The green movement is really about slowing down and consuming less; to make this possible, products need to be more functional, more efficient, and simply designed better.

From sustainable to mainstream fashion, the past has and will influence the present and future--after all, how can you know where to go if you don't know where you've been? When it comes to seasonal trends, what was popular fifteen, twenty, or one-hundred years can make a comeback at any time--and it does.

 Emma gearing up for some investigative reporting

(photo by Tom Olesnevich)

In terms of sustainable fashion, designers are looking to the past by utilizing ancient weaving techniques, natural dyeing processes--with vegetables, roots, and fruits--and by using their hands; suppliers are looking to plants, like Nepal's nettle plants, to make sustainable fibers; and finally, designers are coming up with innovative ways to consume less, like with AirDye fabrics which use significantly less water than traditional dyes, and do more with wearable tech, i.e., a pair of bio-sensing briefs that track your vitals ) or a little black dress that functions as your cell phone, too. We will continue to have innovations in these areas: where science meets fashion and fashion meets technology. My hope is that the future of fashion will continue to incorporate traditions of the past. 


*photos courtesy of Emma Grady and Tom Olesnevich

Eco Chic: Sustainable Fashion Swedish Style

(all images by Heidi Kristin courtesy of Anja Hynynen)

I love these Anja Hynynen hand-crafted pieces, some of which are featured in the current group exhibition, Eco-Chic: Towards Sustainable Fashion, at the Scandinavia House in NYC.

You can read more about my coverage of Eco-Chic here and view a few extra photos here.

(image by Heidi Kristin courtesy of Anja Hynynen)

Eko-Lab: Living Life in True Color

I had a lovely visit with Melissa and Xing-Zhen of Eko-Lab yesterday at their Lower East Side studio and design shop.



We chatted about details for the installation of their art/fashion project for (Re)Fashioning Fiber opening Thursday, May 20th at Green Spaces NY in Tribeca.



In addition to the textural delights of their hand-crafted accessories and latest sustainable fashion designs, we also sipped aromatic tea, ate delicious Chinese yams, and mused on the the organic realm and spun web structures.


All I can say is that my senses were tingling in a way that they never do when I visit a traditional fashion venue.

Do not miss Eko-Lab's participation in the upcoming 'Sustainable Exchange Workshops With Local Eco-Designers', May 6-9 in NYC. Eko-Lab will offer beginner crochet demonstrations in conjunction with the natural dye workshop on May 6.

*Eko-Lab

NOW Fall 2010 Showcase This Weekend

Snoflake Fashion: Contemporary Urban Clothing

The always fabulous NOW Showcase for locally-produced, progressively hip fashion, accessories, and lifestyle products will be keeping the New York Fashion Week party rolling this upcoming weekend in Chelsea.

Chulette

NOW's Fall 2010 Showcase will highlight the best of fashion-forward accessories, womenswear, menswear, and eco-lingerie. Spring/Summer 2010 fashion collections will also be viewable - for those of us who are pining for warmer and sunnier climes, right about NOW.

Ryann's Spring 2009 Collection

Featured designers include: SDN, naturevsfuture, JAI, Feral Childe, Ryann, Creem, AngelRox, Turk + Taylor, Snoflake, Rebe, She-Bible, Sust, Chulette, EcoSkin, Kelly Lane, c. marchuska, Linda Loudermilk, ECOWRIST, Kimberlin Brown, Rebecka Fröberg, Origin 23.

Turk + Taylor (image via Ecouterre)

NOW Showcase at ICO Gallery
606 W 26th Street New York, NY
Saturday, February 20 - Monday, February 22
Collection viewing from 10am - 8pm
Cocktail Reception on Sunday, Feb. 21 from 6pm - 8 pm

Snoflake Fashion: Contemporary Urban Clothing

*There will also be a special brunch from 10am -11am on Sunday morning hosted by the Sustainable Style Foundation with a Q&A on "How to Sell Sustainability", geared for buyers and the press.