Olivia Zaleski · Eco-Chick

Browsing all posts by Olivia Zaleski

Olivia Zaleski is CNNmoney's environmental correspondent and a journalist focused on environmentalism as it relates to business, corporate best practice and executive thinking.

This author has contributed 32 posts.

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US Green Builders Praise and Celebrate

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05/01/07

What do you get when you mix green engineers, architects, and contractors with alcohol, awards, and a massive Samba band? Building-savants dancing the Brazilian tango and a fantastically good time.

Image by Christopher Auger-Domínguez, Studio 4b.

Saturday night, I attended the USGBC’s (United States Green Building Council) first annual LEEDers Awards Dinner. The event, sponsored by Green Depot, praised those individuals, who actively promote the design, construction and operation of “energy efficient, healthy, productive and environmentally responsible building in New York City.” In a large open loft on the Lower West Side of Manhattan, USGBC members and award recipients gathered to applaud honorable greenies such as Audi Banny, the senior co-chair of EGBNY (The Emerging Green Builder’s Committee), and Tim Fu the driving force behind LEED workshops and the EGB Career Fair held this past March. The highest honor went to Joyce LaValle, who pioneered the Greenbuild International Conference and Expo in Atlanta, bringing together over 12,000 industry experts, and influential leaders in the green building movement.

Image by Christopher Auger-Domínguez, Studio 4b.

The event also celebrated what USGBC President, Fiona Cousins, referred to as “milestones” in environmentalism. “The intergovernmental panel on climate change has declared human-made global warming a reality, the EPA have been told that they must regulate greenhouse gases, and Al Gore has won an Oscar for making a movie with climate change at it’s heart!” As guests congratulated, toasted, and samba-ed it was clear that these architects, contractors, and engineers were satisfied with their achievements, but determined to continue on their green mission.

alcohol, awards, Brazil, car, climate change, design, driving, Energy, epa, farm, gas, Global Warming, Hair, health, Manhattan, New York City

Project Earth Day Fashion Show in NYC

17 Comments

04/22/07

By Olivia Zaleski and Starre Vartan

The above video, filmed by Brian Clark Howard, with Olivia Zaleski as host and Starre Vartan as producer, was recorded the night before the fashion show. Check it out to hear from some of the designers who showed their stuff, as well as learn about the sustainable aspects of the show’s set design.

NEW YORK, Thursday, April 19th – Who knew organic cotton, hemp, and recycled soybean fiber could be so hot? Well, we at Eco Chick had a pretty good idea, but thanks to EGBNY’s Project Earth Day Fashion Show, the rest of the world is catching on. The show featured two sections: a student-design competition, and a local NYC eco-designers showcase, proving once and for all that green is beautiful, sexy, and fashion-forward, not frumpy.

Set & runway designer Amber Nelson
Image by Starre Vartan

Organized by EGBNY (which stands for Emerging Green Builders New York, and is part of the national US Green Building Council), and co-sponsored by Teknion, Green Drinks, and 02NYC, the event pulled out all the green stops by reducing, reusing, and recycling on all levels, including a sustainable runway made from 100% recycled plastics, re-using shipping pallets (which will be returned to the warehouse after the show), and modular carpet samples made from recycled fibers. Even the hardware securing the runway was salvaged.

Project Earth Day fashion show coordinator Molly Garretson says, “EGBNY wanted to host a fun annual event to celebrate Earth Day and to encourage learning, networking, and sharing new ideas about green interior design and eco-fashion.” Mission certainly accomplished!

Part One: The Student Competition

The winning student design, by Xay Xiong
Image by Josh Wiese

Second-place winner from designer Kacie Rushton
Image by Josh Wiese

Rear detail of Rushton’s recycled polyester pants and hemp jacket
Image by Starre Vartan

Third-place winner Jennifer Kim’s futuristic creation
Image by Josh Wiese

Red Dress
Image by Starre Vartan

Back of Red Dress
Image by Starre Vartan

An Honorable Mention went to for this Chanel-print-inspired coat by Caroline Hur.
Image by Josh Wiese

Dress made with recycled fabrics and a bodice woven from a plastic bag

Student designers with their models
Image by Starre Vartan

The judges’ table (from L to R): Jennifer Busch of Contract Magazine, Randy Fahey of Gensler, Christian Larsen from MoMA, Jill Danyelle, of FiftyRX3 (and a designer herself) and Margaret Lydecker of GreenDrinksNYC.
Image by Starre Vartan