Fabric · Eco-Chick

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AuH2O Fashion Show!

I had a great time at the AuH2O Fashion Brunch this past Sunday. Held in a funky East Village eatery called Marion’s that seems to have been around forever, lucky invitees enjoyed cocktails and brunchy food and then got to check out Kate Goldwater’s designs, which are all made from recycled and reworked fabrics.

Polka dots on polka dots! I’m so into polka dots lately, so I love this dress

This flowey lingerie-inspired dress was one of my favorites; the lace detail at the shoulders is too, too pretty!

A green dress for greenies like us…

Sexy and demure at the same time (and I’m so in love with the hat…when will hats come back?)

Just look at the mix of gorgeous fabrics on this ‘bluesy’ dress…

Check out the creative patchwork skirt on this dress, which looked very comfy.

This top is made from bottoms…khakies to be exact (notice the belt!)

A mini with a maxi Coppertone insert!

A dreamy white confection

Kate Goldwater in her own design, made just the day before the show!

Me on the left, and the designer, Kate Goldwater, on the right!

AuH2O, cocktails, design, designer, dress, fabric, fabrics, farm, Fashion, fashion show, Food, lingerie, recycle, recycled, water

Summer Sandals…..

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by Starre Vartan · 06/25/07

There’s still plenty of summer left……and your feet want to breathe!

Gotta love the very modern design of the Dopie, from the masters of cool eco-shoes, Terra Plana. Made from recycled EVA and foam rubber, the sandal (?) is one piece of molded material. When you get good at walking in these, you can remove the strap. Sounds like a challenge!

El Naturalista’s slogan is “caminar por la vida” (walking through life). To help you hit the streets with your feet rather than a car, try these creative hippie sandals. Made from recycled cork footbed and recycled rubber scented with tea tree oil.

Splaff Flopps are made from recycled tires and more:

Splaff Flopps started in a garage in 1997 with a tire, a bike tube, and a shoe knife. The vision was to make comfortable, long lasting, fairly priced sandals from recycled materials. Today Splaff Flopps are hand crafted in California with the same integrity. The soles are made with recycled car tires, the straps are made with used bicycle inner tubes, the footbed covering and strap linings are made with hemp fabric, and the mid sole is made with regupol (a cushioned material made from used tires which have been chipped and pressed into mats). Splaff Flopps are produced in a 100% waste free process in which all left over materials are either re-used or recycled.

Learn how to make your own shoes from tires at this site (via: Great Green Goods)

And if you know how to knit, you can always recycle your old flops like Atomic Rose did!
(Via: FiftyRx3)

Simple’s Green Toe line is super-sustainable, and really cute, with fun fabric designs and creative use of materials. I haven’t worn them (yet) but they look super-comfy too! The Toe Foo flip flop (top) is made of jute, a sustainable plant, natural latex, and are held together with non-toxic water-based glues. The GT Jane (bottom) is made of a combination of jute, recycled car tires, and bamboo.
See more of Simple’s Green Toe line at The Daily Green.

bamboo, car, design, fabric, farm, hemp, hipster, oil, produce, recycle, recycled, shoes, summer, sustainable, Tea, waste, water

Hemp Bliss Yum!

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by Starre Vartan · 05/17/07

I’ve long been a fan of hemp foods, especially my favorite hemp seed granola, and the organic hemp oil that I add to my protein shakes in the morning.

But now there’s organic Hemp Bliss hemp nut milk, coming in three flavors; Original, Chocolate, and Vanilla.

Taste Test:

I’ve tried the milks and they are really delicious (especially the chocolate of course!!), though they have a bit of that classic nutty aftertaste typical of hemp foods. If you are trying it for the first time, mix it up in a smoothie, or add it to your morning cereal. If you are used to drinking other nut or grain milks, then you will probably like the hemp milk as it has a similar nutty quality.

Of the three folks in my household who drank it, one thought it “Too Hempy”, one liked it, and the third person thought it was “Pretty good, but stronger-flavored than soymilk”.

If you’re curious how your fave non-dairy drink weighs in against the Hemp Bliss, the company has put together a comparison chart here.

Remember, hemp is a different plant than that grown for drug-use, and has almost no THC, which is the chemical that gets you high. Hemp grown to make fabric and food is super eco-friendly, as it needs no chemical fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides. Hemp can be eaten (and is packed with great nutrition like Essential Fatty Acids (EFA’s), Lineolic Acid, and lots of protein) and it can be used to make super-strong and long-lasting fabrics, rope, and even containers.

car, Eco-Chick, fabric, fabrics, farm, Food, hemp, Milk, oil, Organic, soy, tv

Why Not Bamboo? Q&A with Eco-Fashion Designer Sara Kirsner of Doie

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by Olivia Zaleski · 05/05/07

Sara and I get into bamboo. Check out my dress . . . it’s from the Doie spring collection!

Considering I’m on a mission to cleanse my corporate-retail past and embrace eco-fashion, I’ve decided to learn as much about environmentally friendly fabrics as I possibly can. My first lesson comes from Sara Kirsner, the talent behind Doie, a beautiful collection of Asian-inspired bamboo jersey fashions.

All of Sara’s pieces are locally produced in New York City. I got to pay a special visit to her office and observe the designer at work amongst a plethora of bamboo swatches, organic cotton samples, and many adorable dresses. After picking out my favorite one from her spring collection, Sara and I talked shop and answered the ultimate question . . . why not bamboo?

Olivia: Sara, you obviously had some pretty good gigs with very famous and well-respected designers such as Marc Jacobs and Donna Karen. What made you leave that glamorous high-fashion world and start your own environmentally-focused line?

Sara: Contrary to what people might think, high fashion is only glamorous for the fifteen minutes the clothes are on runway. Even though it’s artwork, the amount of time and effort that goes into those fifteen minutes is crazy. I wanted to create clothing that was more accessible to the “everyday” woman.

I started out using regular cotton. After my first collection was produced, I was showing it to my friend’s mom, who also owns Vivaterra, an awesome website featuring eco-lifestyle products. She loved my collection and asked if I could make a few pieces for her in a sustainable fabric such as bamboo or organic cotton. I really liked bamboo and after learning more about it I decided to continue using it for all of my future collections. My family is very environmentally conscious. It just seemed natural. After learning how environmentally disastrous cotton is, I will never go back.

Olivia: It’s funny that you say it just seemed natural, because unlike spandex or polyester, cotton is a plant fiber and is commonly thought of as being “natural” and therefore ecologically sound. In reality, however, cotton uses a massive amount of pesticides and artificial fertilizers. To top it off, developing countries waste huge amounts of precious water and fertile land to grow cotton as a cash crop to repay national debts. Simultaneously, people who live in these countries are malnourished because of the shortages of water and agricultural land.

Sara: Yes, there is that misconception. In reality, however, five of the most commonly used cotton pesticides in the U.S. (cyanide, dicofol, naled, propargite, and trifluralin) are known cancer-causing chemicals and classified by the Environmental Protection Agency as Category I and II Chemicals— the most dangerous chemicals class.

Bamboo production is not completely virtuous as there are harmful chemicals used to breakdown the bamboo into fabric, but bamboo growth does not require any pesticides and is 100% sustainable.

Olivia: Fashion and environmentalism aren’t exactly two peas in a pod. Do you ever see the fashion industry fully embracing environmental practices? Is it even a possibility?

Sara: I think it’s “trendy” right now, because of the celebrity following, but I am hoping that it will be a lifestyle change for people and not a trend. Organic food was trendy at one time and now it is a choice that people make every day. I am hoping that will happen with eco-fashion.

I think if there is more demand for eco-clothing, the fashion industry will have to step up and change their practices. I think once large companies start to become more aware of how much harm they are doing, they will change some of their practices.

Olivia: Can you tell us a little more about bamboo jersey? What makes it your fabric of choice?

Sara: Besides being amazingly soft to the touch, bamboo is a highly sustainable resource. A grass, it’s the fastest growing plant in the world and doesn’t require pesticides. Bamboo is also naturally anti-microbial, which means the fabric actually prevents bacteria from growing on it, resulting in clothing that remains odor-free longer than other fabrics . . . meaning less trips to the dry cleaner, which is always a major plus for the planet and your wallet!

Olivia: So the question really is why not bamboo? Do you plan to continue to use bamboo for all of your upcoming seasons or are you going to branch out to other sustainable fabrics? If so what other fabrics are eco-friendly?

Sara: For next spring (’08), I will use bamboo, but plan to incorporate organic cotton into the collection. I think that organic cotton is a great eco-fabric and I am excited to use it.

Olivia: One last question Sara. Where can we buy your amazing designs?

Sara: If you go to my website: www.doiedesigns.com there is a list of stores where you can find my line. You can also order directly from the site.

bamboo, Cancer, clothes, clothing, cotton, design, designer, designers, dress, Eco-Chick, epa, Events, fabric, fabrics, farm, Fashion, Food, local, mom, New York City, Organic, organic cotton, organic food, produce, spa, spring, style, sustainable, sustainable fabrics, waste, water

Project Earth Day Fashion Show in NYC

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by Olivia Zaleski · 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