New York Fashion Week's GreenShows: The Future of Our Clothing?
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09/14/2010
“Hey, that’s a nice burlap sack she’s wearing.”
If you’re new to eco-fashion, you might expect to hear that phrase whispered among audience members aligning catwalks at New York Fashion Week’s GreenShows, which took place Sunday through today. But if the work of designers such as the shows' 10 "green" participants is any indication, the fibrous blob look seems to be off the trendsetting radar.
For Luis Valenzuela, other shapes fit within eco-mindful parameters. Driven by “a desire to reappropriate existing materials into brand-new masterpieces,” according to Ecouterre, Valenzuela turns disposables into wearable art. Chandelier crystals ornament a corset, menswear becomes a dress, and—my favorite from this slideshow—a draping, mermaid-esque gown metamorphoses from plastic and recycled casement fabrics.
Of course, if you’re wearing Valenzuela's “lampshade-derived” shoes (suddenly I’m reminded of A Christmas Story), you may not want to go with an Edison-inspired ensemble on top. Instead, ogle at other GreenShow designers' collections. Take Aurelis for example. After years working in the fashion industry, the Puerto Rico-born designer launched her eponymous line in order to concentrate on sustainability and resource conservation. Her fabrics are made in New York and Puerto Rico from renewable and fast-growing hemp and bamboo, as well as organic cotton, and she refrains from relying on chemical processes that jeans-makers have used to get that “destroyed” look. Though I didn’t attend her show, judging by the selections on her website, her look is hardly reminiscent of a sack; rather, it's more fitting, yet airy—like something I’d wear on, say, an island near Florida, perhaps.
That the GreenShows have appeared as part of Fashion Week a second time seems to be a good sign that eco-couture itself is growing in popularity. Yet, dubbing the series as “GreenShows” suggests that we still have a ways to go until all fashion is eco by routine. Of course, demand plays a role. "I talked to an analyst who told me that consumers are interested in eco-friendly and socially-responsible clothing, but they really don't want to pay much of a premium for them," said reporter Adriene Hill yesterday on the Marketplace Morning Report. "And that will be tough, considering how cheap the clothes we buy at Target and H&M are. It can be more expensive to make eco-, socially-friendly garments if you're paying people a fair-trade wage or using cotton that costs more to grow. In other case, retailers might just be jacking up the prices because they think they can away with it," Hill added.
If we want to avoid getting greenwashed, the onus is on us consumers to learn what makes a garment Earth-friendly. “There are some steps you can take to make sure that you’re choosing, treating, and disposing of your duds with minimal impact on the planet,” writes Susan Cosier in “How Green Is Your Garment,” such as checking the ingredients on labels and cutting down on the time you take to dry your clothes in a machine.
Of course, in the end, “one of the greenest fashion choices you can make is also one of the oldest: hand-me-downs and thrift shop finds,” writes Gretel Schueller in "From Hippie to Hip,” [November-December 2009]. “In a sea of discount clothing and cheap designer knockoffs, low prices mean that consumers are buying—and throwing away—more clothes than ever before.” As a former thrift store worker, I can attest to what sartorial treasure troves some vintage retailers can be. (Of course, getting first dibs helps.) Unfortunately, I couldn’t get tickets to Jezebel’s clothing swap, held tonight and designed to encourage clothes horses to purge their closet contents in exchange for another's rejects. Perhaps I’ll find a same-size friend to trade goods with. I’ll make sure to bring a burlap sack…to carry home the loot.
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Eco by Routine
This is indeed a far off yet distinctly more achievable goal. We have far to go until it is routine, but as you hint toward, we may yet see eco becoming a more common place and sustainable trend across the catwalks of the world. Let's hope so anyway.
James McAloon
nowadays it is very
nowadays it is very important to wear eco-friendly clothes like dámska móda. Otherwise you may suffer from unpleasant feeling on your skin.
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