Fashion for everyone

The presentation for this year's Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation winner, Study NY, was one of my favorite shows of NYFW. I tend to prefer presentations to runway shows, as it gives you the opportunity to get a prolonged look at the clothes, rather than having them whirl past you before you can properly register exactly what you're seeing. Designer Tara St. James transformed the Standard Hotel Highline Room into an old fashioned school house, complete with chalkboards, school desks, and bright red apples, although the clothes shown were anything but your average back-to-school getups. In fact, the garments gave me plenty to ponder over, or study, I should say.

The line is entirely green, and has adopted some incredibly innovative techniques for remaining eco-friendly. In addition to using standard eco-materials like organic cotton and hemp, St. James also made several gorgeous patchwork jackets out of scraps as a waste recycling project, and created multiple zero-waste garments (no scraps are left behind). Some of the most gorgeous showstoppers were a selection of wrap coats, ponchos, and capes, which were all made from overstock wool. I also loved the chunky hand-knit alpaca cardigans and skirts made by women's knitting co-op Madres & Artesanas, which specializes in handmade production processes. In my opinion, all the thoughtful processes and techniques involved in producing the clothes adds infinite appeal to the gorgeous and earthy designs, and will hopefully set an example for other designers, demonstrating they myriad ways they can make their collections more eco-friendly.

For Fall, Suzanne Rae went with a Victorian gone grunge theme, picking up on the love for the 90's that has rallied on ever since it got far-enough-away to become nostalgic. It always makes me feel rather old catching the references to a past era that I lived through and still remember quite well, and I can't help get a little sentimental. Many of the looks felt like fresh takes on the styles of my youth, mixing the maxi-skirts and beanies of before, with more contemporary billowing draping and asymmetrical cuts. Another development from 90's fashion: Suzanne's eco-friendly use of dead stock fabrics mixed with sustainable hemp and natural silks, innovations that we weren't very concerned with fifteen years ago. There was definitely a lot to love about the collection, and I would wear the pieces without ever feeling like I was stuck in the past. Take a peek, and listen to the clip from Mother Feather, who performed during the presentation, for the full effect!















Mother Feather- Trampoline

The original LBD, styled very creatively. Photo courtesy of Elisa Hyman.

This season, The Green Shows provided a welcome respite from New York Fashion Week's completely spread out and harried show schedule. While most of the other venues were loud, over-crowded, and often a complete hassle to get into (cough, Milk Studios), I genuinely commend all the people behind the scenes of the Green Shows, as they put together a gorgeous and welcoming venue. Among the designers presenting were two of my friends, Eliza Starbuck who designs the line Bright Young Things, and Lopeti Etu, who showed with the Milliners Guild.

For Spring 2011, Eliza is launching her first multi-piece collection to complement her original (and now very famous) little black dress, which she created for The Uniform Project a little over a year ago. The Bright Young Things collection will feature eight items that give new life to wardrobe basics. The garments can be worn forwards, backwards, and inside out, giving the wearer the opportunity to style it hundreds of different ways. As Eliza's LBD demonstrated, with a few key accessories and styling creativity, you can wear the same piece everyday and make it look completely different. The pieces really encourage you to shop your closet and embrace the versatility of one great item rather than buying twelve different versions of it (a truly green notion that I need to learn to live by). Another great aspect of the show? The gorgeous cast of models came in all ages, races, shapes, and sizes, really showing off how real women wear the clothes, and demonstrating how exciting diversity on the runway can be when it does happen.

Another way to style the same LBD with the pleat side in the front. Photo courtesy of Elisa Hyman.

Olive coat dress worn as a jacket. Photo courtesy of Elisa Hyman.

The mini skort worn as a button front skirt. Photo courtesy of Elisa Hyman.

Ivory LBD. Photo courtesy of Elisa Hyman.

And the most fashionable way to accessorize your LBD is with a stone and pearl encrusted space helmet, of course!

I met Lopeti Etu a little while back when he was still working as a designer for Selima. He's since gone on to launch his own eponymous line, and each new hat he makes is increasingly outrageous. He presented two gigantic hats at the Milliners Guild Show, and they were certainly the showstoppers of the presentation. The seaweed and raffia hat with a bee-keeper style veil was an outfit unto itself, and his canvas hat had a five-foot diameter and was trimmed with lamp parts sourced at Ikea. I tip my hat (har har) to Lopeti for bringing back all the drama and daring associated with millinery.

Raffia and seaweed straw hat.

Canvas hat with lace trim and Ikea lamp parts at the crown

Brooklyn-based designer Samantha Pleet has been a local favorite since her debut in 2006. Known for her sweet, vintage inspired dresses and rompers, she's become a favorite of indie rock chanteuses from Au Revoir Simone and Beach House, as well as Caroline Polachek from Chairlift, who helped select the music for the show. Her collections are always full of retro charm, but this time it was infused with a little bit more of a Brooklyn edge. The collection had a woodsy/tribal feeling, part of a trend that's been sweeping through the city for the past year or so, giving New York a distinctly Portlandia makeover. On the wrong side of the trend, men who've never chopped wood buy expensive designer axes that they will probably never use outside of decoration. On the right side of the trend is a greater consciousness towards the environment, and a renewed love for natural motifs. Pleet is definitely on the right side of the trend, using as much organic material as she can, and presenting prints that include gorgeous painted feathers, and geometric patterns. I know I want one of everything in the feather print.

EDIT: I forgot to mention that all of the incredible braided horsehair and cutout leather jewelry was designed by Black Sheep & Prodigal Sons.

Vivienne Westwood Crochet Yasmine Bag

As eco-friendly design becomes a greater imperative, it's been incredible to see how many designers are becoming more green, in whatever ways they can. It is not surprising then that Dame Vivienne Westwood, well known for her political activism, has taken on the green cause within her work. This week she launches a capsule collection, Ethical Fashion Africa, with Yoox.com's eco-friendly initiative, YOOXYGEN, of handbags and accessories crafted from recycled materials. The collection takes several classic Vivienne Westwood bags, and refashions them out of recycled electric wiring, plastic bags, roadside advertisement banners, safari tents, and aluminum cans. In addition to taking these waste products out of our landfills, the initiative went one step further, partnering with the International Trade Commission to base production in Nairobi, employing and empowering local craftspeople and manufacturers in impoverished communities. Even though the bags are crafted with compassion, they are still designed in Westwood's tongue-in-cheek, clearly subversive style, coming in spectacular colors and graffiti prints. I got a peek of the Fall collection during the Starworks press day, and as you can see, they fit in perfectly with the entire collection which, to my knowledge, isn't eco-conscious, but is still great.



Vivienne Westwood iPad case
Vivienne Westwood clutch

Vivienne Westwood multicolor crochet shopper