February 1st 2008
FutureFashion Launches Fashion Week In Sustainable Style
Filed under: events: nyc, fashion — michael @ 10:49 am
Last night at the Gotham Hall in Manhattan, a swarm of forward-thinking fashionistas witnessed the latest in sustainable fashion and eco-conscious designs. The event was the annual Earth Pledge FutureFashion show, which “invites top American and European designers to create fashions using natural and sustainable materials.” Designers included Marc Jacobs, Michael Kors, Yves Saint Laurent, Stella McCartney, Versace and Bottega Venetta to name a few. 28 in total hit the catwalk.
Drop any ideas that this was a fringe event — early verdicts from around the fashion globe called the designs presented as gorgeous and ‘to die for’. If there’s one thing eco-friendly collections are proving, it’s that sexy and stunning can come from materials that are also earth-friendly. Said Barneys’ New York fashion director Julie Gilhart,
“It’s just the way it should be. It should be more luxurious. It’s more luxurious to really think about where your fabric comes from, about the impact of it on the environment, and about fair trade and labour issues. All of that is super important!”
And another great quote from Calvin Klein’s Francisco Costa,
“The awareness is always there, but with things like this show, I feel like we’ll be doing that more. The customer has to be educated, especially if it’s global. But I think everybody will catch on - and who doesn’t want to be a part of it? You can make an amazing, beautifully tailored piece that looks super expensive. And it’s great for the textile industry also, because they’re natural fibers so it’s better for the health of the farmers. So it’s just very positive - and it really makes a huge difference!”
Materials on display included hemp, bio-silk, organic cotton, bamboo — and even some corn. Designer Giambattista Valli specifically asked for Ingeo — a company that creates biodegradable synthetic fabric from fermented corn. While we may not see any of these styles on clothing racks anytime soon, we’re positive that a trickle-down effect in the textile industry is coming. Said designer Rogan Gregory, “People understand that this is the way of the future. And why not? That’s my point: Why wouldn’t you do this?”
via Vogue
