Covered across the pages of Marketplace and Public Radio, Style.com, TheDailyGreen.com, EcoRazzi.com, TreeHugger.com and the HuffingtonPost.com, this year’s GreenShows, representing Eco Fashion Week (September 12th-14th), have been the talk on everyone’s lips.  The collections, shown over several days in the heart of Chelsea at the Metropolitan Pavilion’s new eco-conscious venue, The Metropolitan Suite (123 West 18th Street), kept all the ecofashionistas fighting for a seat to catch a glimpse of the freshest new lines in the biz.  From days long past of when eco-friendly clothing meant the incorporation of muted-looking hemp, stiff burlap and cotton speckled with curious looking brown spots, green fashion has skyrocketed in popularity through its inventive beautification and subsequent wearability. 

This year, ten designers had the honor of being featured at the GreenShows during New York Fashion Week:  Ashton Michael Black Label (the architect of edgy femininity), Auralis Herrero (creating fusion between Puerto Rican tradition and eco modernism), Bright Young Things (the whiz kids of multifunctionality), Dress Reform (masterminds of collage and quilting reinvention), Joann Berman (the fearless New Yorker with a knack for gritty punk), Lavuk (futuristic genius meets timeless grace), Luis Valenzuela (the true atelier of eco-couture brilliance, see left), Milliners Guild (handcrafted headwear at its most artistic), Samantha Pleet (the romantic wunderkind) and Susan Cianciolo (blending contemporary art with vintage Parisian inspiration).  All ten gained industry attention over a year ago and have individually redefined the image of sustainable fashion while stealing nods from Oprah, Vanity Fair, the San Francisco Chronicle, USA Today and NBC New York.  Setting the tone for the other eco designers who showed during Eco Fashion Week, Gary Harvey, the British designer who led the pack at his runway show on Sunday, September 12th, brilliantly employed vintage Levi’s 501s, recycled pages from the Financial Times, old baseball jerseys and used skincare packaging in his grandiose and most extravagant couture designs (see above right).

From recycled newspapers and antique maps to dumpster-bound jewelry and vintage clothing scraps, mark your calendars;  we are now in the age of fashion greenification.

Posted by : Courtney O’Kane Academy of Art University Alumna at 04:25 AM (IST)