Lexus and CFDA Team Up for New Eco Fashion Challenge
The best part about the fete hosted by Lexus Hybrid Living and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) last week wasn’t the gorgeous people or the free-flowing cocktails, or the serious NYC party vibe at the Skylight West. It wasn’t even the always-adorable Strokes drummer, Fabrizio Morretti’s DJing skills.
Fabrizio Moretti, drummer for the Strokes, and friend.
It was because all the fabulous people came out to celebrate eco fashion, presented in different ways by designers both known for their green cred- and not, which meant that conventional designers (and designers’ muses, followers and fans) got a serious dose of what it means to produce clothing in a way that doesn’t trash the planet in the process.
Costello Tagliapietra, winners of the inaugural Lexus/CFDA Eco Fashion Challenge
Three winners (from ten nominees) walked out of the party with $25,000 each to put towards their collections (no small prize in a fashion, where the two other major funds for newer designers include the $30K CFDA prize and the $25K Ecco Domani award ). Winners included jewelry designer Monique Pean, famous for her fossilized walrus tusk and recycled metal creations, Costello Tagliapietra, who use the super low-impact Air Dye process on their pieces, and Maria Cornejo, a Michelle Obama fave.
Monique Pean, winner of the inaugural Lexus/CFDA Eco Fashion Challenge
According to Lexus Hybrid Living:
“To qualify as a finalist, each designer had to demonstrate a commitment to ecologically responsible design and production practices, with a minimum of 25% of their collection being produced in an environmentally friendly manner. The judges selected the three honorees based on design credibility, business acumen, and eco-commitment, with attention paid to eco fabrics, materials, processes, and packaging.”
Maria Cornejo, winner of the inaugural Lexus/CFDA Eco Fashion Challenge
Alabama Chanin, Behnaz Sarafpour, Libertine by Johnson Hartig, Marcia Patmos, Organic by John Patrick, Slow and Steady Wins the Race by Mary Ping, and Subversive Jewelry by Justin Giunta were the other (well-deserved!) nominees to the Challenge.
Revellers at the CFDA/Lexus Eco Fashion Challenge party
Read more at Treehugger
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
