2009 is the third anniversary of the Project Earth Day Fashion Show; I've been lucky enough to attend all three and it's one of those events I really look forward to every year. It's really a showcase of the most innovative talent (both student and designer) in ecofashion for that year.

Starre Vartan at Project Earth Day Fashion Show

Some of the most creative work in fashion design right now is going on in the world of ecofashion, which includes but is not limited to sustainable textiles, upcycling, animal-friendly fabrics and nontoxic dyes. The designers included in Project Earth Day (and others, too) are constantly pushing the boundaries; finding original materials (hemp silk was everywhere this year, there is less bamboo); uncovering new and traditional dye sources (cochineal beetles and Indigo) and making reuse truly beautiful. They are setting the standard for the next incarnation of American fashion, which will become more planet- and people-friendly every year because of the forward-thinking work of these designers.

This year the designer's show (which followed the student show ) featured Bahar Shapar, Lara Miller, Sublet, Melissa Kirgan, Mika Organic, Bodkin, Covet, Fearless Dreamer by Meiling Chen, Larsen Gray, Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard (AKA: XZ), Loyale, Mociun, Mottainai, and also shoes by Cri de Coeur, Charmone, OlsenHaus, and Neuaura. Jewlery by Alkemie.

The theme of the show was "Through the Looking Glass" and makeup and hair (adorned with huge bows) reflected the Alice in Wonderland on a Lovely LSD Trip background and accompanying hanging bug sculptures. Held at the Openhouse Gallery, the event was superpacked and everyone was excited to be there.

Bahar Shapar and Molly Garretson organized the event.

Designers Meiling Chen, Melissa Kirgan and Xing-Zhen Chung-Hilyard from the EKO-lab

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It's Spring, so I've been perusing dresses, looking to add to my beloved collection of interesting and ecofriendly frocks. Here are three that are all made from vintage fabrics that are perfect RIGHT NOW.

The Maria dress from Minna has that "wearable sculpture" look, with a slightly exaggerated tulip skirt and an English-rose print that is so hot right now (but is an original vintage fabric, natch). I'm going to keep my eye on Minna, a UK-based designer; poking around her collection for sale on Fashion Conscience and then her own site, I became a wee bit obsessed with owning an ethereal piece.

This buttercup yellow gaillard dress reminds me of the pony I learned to horseback ride on. She was an adorable, gentle palomino, and the yellow with cream dots and the sweet collar and cap sleeves (and a drop waist, I've not seen one of those in ages!) make me want to take a wander through the woods looking for spring flowers like Trillium and Lady's Slipper. A combination of vintage lace and remnant cotton from Makool.

Doucette Douvall's hat-tip to the era of Mad Men, the Edith dress is a plaid and pretty print combo that would be flattering for the curvy or the not-so. I'm loving the Michelle Obama-like sleeveless but still modest top. Vintage materials repurposed.

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I tried to keep my shopping to a minimum the past six months, but these super-wearable items were the ones I chose to spend a bit of cash on. Each of them is highly versatile, on-trend and most importantly, sustainable. They are also pretty seasonless, I've been wearing them in all kinds of temps, and they all travel particularly beautifully.

Starre Vartan and Arina Vikdorchik at Kaight on the LES

NEVER have I worn a single piece of clothing so much. My organic cotton Prairie Underground Sweatshirt Dress works as a dress (as seen here, my friend Arina has one too!), as a coat over a dress, over jeans, or (admittedly) as ultracozy nightwear. Kate MacGregor at Kaight (where I bought this great piece) says it's the line's best seller, and they keep making them in different colors. The hood is huge and makes me feel like I'm going to romp in an enchanted wood.

Um, that's not my butt, but that is the style of my jeans!

So delicious.

Melissa's ARE made of (usually-avoided in my life) plastic, which is great for vegans, and the factory where they're made has tight controls on water use (making sure that any effluent is super-clean) and any chemicals used in production of the shoes are not ending up in any kind of waste stream, so I consider them quite sustainable, since the company is so attentive to possible pollution. They are high quality and long-lasting (and waterproof!).

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Ohio-based artist Mark Langan has spent the last few years perfecting his unique craft, which creates dynamic sculptures out of repurposed cardboard. Langan's art has captured the eye of a number of A-list clients, so we expect to see more of his unique style in the coming months.

Check out this video made by TDG's Starre Vartan, who was on hand at Ohio's Green Dream expo (a project of Greg Perry's high school class, who were just awarded TDG's 2009 Heart of Green Local Hero award).

Also by Starre Vartan:
Super Natural Hair Color: NYC's Grace Heaven Salon

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The model tableau in Alabama Chanin's open, sunny show space

The Alabama Chanin show -- titled "The Songbirds" -- last Friday was definitely a down-home version of a fashion week event, and all of us in attendance couldn't have been happier about it. It was relaxed, it was filled with music, it was, in these stressful times, a relief.

Following the anti-runway trend, the models at Alabama Chanin's show donned different outfits, posed for photographers (I loved taking shots at my leisure and playing with the light), ate and drank and even mingled a bit. And why not? They are people too, and after all the stories of the catwalk coterie biting it in amped-up runway shows, I'll bet these girls were happy to behave like (gorgeous) human beings rather than skinny-legged stompers.

Natalie Chanin, designer of Alabama Chanin

I also had time to speak with Natalie Chanin, the creative force behind her label of completely handmade clothes (there is NO machine-sewing in any of the pieces and in fact each one is made by hand in cottage-industry production made up of women working from their homes). She told me that she's coming up on ten years of designing (first for Project Alabama and since 2006 for Alabama Chanin) and explains, "I've planted a lot of seeds, and now I'm letting them grow."

A model with the folksy/country musicians who kept it light, mellow, and energized.

Besides branching out into home furnishings (a natural for her incredible overdyed, hand-embroidered fabrics) Natalie is moving and expanding into accessories, including both hats and jewelry (the bijoux are unexpected combinations of metals, metals that incorporate fabric elements into their patterns, and actual fabrics). She has also been working with a small-batch indigo dyer (who dyes in a church in the Bronx) to create Alabama Denim, which was shown in several pieces.

The detail on each of these is just knock-your-socks-off amazing. Some pieces have been worked on by more than five women.

Natalie continued her garden metaphor, apt since cotton (the primary fabric used in her designs) and indigo, (used to dye them) both grow from the Earth. She explained her collection: "What we have right now is very round, and I need to be patient and it needs space to grow. This is the time to garden."
And in case you were wondering, all the fabric used in the designs is 100% organic cotton and is "grown-to-sewn" in the southern USA.

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Summer Rayne Oakes

Summer Rayne Oakes' own life is a study in how to make ethical choices work in the real world. She's a model (for ecofriendly fashion labels), environmental activist, and resident expert on Discovery Channel's Planet Green- jobs which challenge both body and mind, so she knows what busy women want (to look great while doing no harm). She delivers the goods in her first book, Style, Naturally.

Michael Schwarz, writer and animal advocate, and Dan Shapely, editor at The Daily Green.

The totally friendly (open it anywhere and start reading!) and colorful book is packed to its chubby gills (it clocks in at over 500 pages) with photos and descriptions of ecofriendly and sustainable party dresses, pants, purses and every thing else one would want to wear (so you can see exactly how un-hemp-sack-like these togs really are), and includes "where to find it" info, magazine-style so you don't have to be an expert google searcher to track down a designer you love. Jewelry, shoes and accessories each have their own sections and a story behind why to choose ethical versions like those included.

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Sara Brancato of The Four Hundred sustainable design showroom, Starre Vartan of Eco-Chick, and Lara Miller, eco fashion designer. Check out our awesome shoes! I'm wearing the Melissas by Vivienne Westwood.

Last week was a busy one, kicked off by the Lexus Hybrid Living/Waterkeeper salon at the home of William Wachtel and Annie Zabar.


James Blunt performing in the living room!
Image by Remy C.

It was a fairly intimate evening, with RFK Jr. speaking and James Blunt performing in the host's living room. Delicious organic food, VeeV acai liquor cocktails, and green networking was enjoyed by all.

I especially enjoyed meeting Kristine Stratton, the director of Waterkeeper (which is the umbrella organization for the Riverkeepers, which started on the Hudson River and now watch over the environmental health of 182 rivers around the world).


RFK Jr.'s speeches always make me cry a little. I love the Hudson River so much, and he speaks about it so eloquently!
Image by Remy C.

I got to tell Kristine how I interned with Riverkeeper when it was still based in my hometown of Garrison, NY in an old farmhouse just a few miles from my beloved Hudson River. I was only 20 when I worked with them; that internship was one of my first lessons in how to take environmental passions and put them into action.


Lexus Hybrid Living brand specialist in a Linda Loudermilk suit, and Elizabeth Harrington of Greenopia!

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Summer Rayne Oakes in front of the Zoe and Zac line for Payless

I have to admit I was (pleasantly) surprised when I got an invite a couple weeks ago to check out Payless Shoes' new green line, but when it comes to mainstream brands greenifying, I target="_new">put my skeptic's hat on. But I have to say I was pretty impressed. Considering how many shoes they sell (Collective Brands, which is made up of Stride-Rite and Payless combined, sells a whopping 200 million pairs a year), if these guys can do it right, it will make a huge difference.

Lucky for us, Payless is going to make these shoes as inexpensive as their other lines -- none of the Zoe and Zac (green) line will be more than $30 a pair.

None other than Eco Chick Summer Rayne Oakes was at the Payless event to answer my questions -- she's the brand's sustainability strategist for the new line, which will debut in April of 2009. "They have organic cotton bodies, the dyes are heavy-metal free, and all the metal details are nickel-free," she said of the printed ballet flats, sneakers, flip-flops and espadrilles in the collection. Even the elastic band on one style is made from recycled PET. We also discussed adhesives, the material that makes up the foot beds and the soles, and without getting into all the chemistry specifics, I'll just say that Summer and Payless covered a lot of the sustainability bases for the very first collection in their green line.

"We want to do a better job, as corporate citizens," said Mardi Larson, a spokesperson for Payless I met at the event. And when I told her about my concerns about the 'ghettoization of green' -- that companies would make a green line to cater to the people that cared, leaving the rest of the public with the same old (Earth-disresepecting) stuff, she explained that what the company learns from the green shoe line will eventually be incorporated into all of their Payless products. "We want to democratize green," said Mardi.

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The good news is that I really don't need much in the way of new shoes this Autumn. But I have been feeling decidedly dowdy of late and I realized I don't really wear very sexy shoes (cool shoes, interesting shoes, comfortable shoes, arty shoes, fabulous shoes, yes, I have all of those, but sexy shoes? Not a ONE!). I thought I would share the results of my quest with you.

The Peacock, shown above, is available at Embodies.

These yellow pumps from Form and Fauna are very Mad Men, and like the buxom redhead on the show, totally droolworthy. All F&F shoes are vegan and have major eco-cred: "Upper is a biodegradable synthetic, heel is made from scrap alder wood, insole liner is open cell rubber." NICE!

Sexy and classy all tied up together. These are available at Ped.

Everyone who knows me knows I'm a little obsessed with Cydwoq shoes. Their women's boots and sandals are absolute knockouts (I've had a pair of sandals for about three years from this company, and they are wearing beautifully and they are my MOST comfortable sandals ever). All styles are made from vegetable-tanned and naturally dyed leather, handmade in Burbank, California, and these above are so hot! The men's shoes and boots are really fantastic too, and worth checking out.

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Detail from LaGrima, made with organic linen twill with cotton embroidery and natural pigments.

Last Sunday night, at the beginning of fashion week, I met a very hopeful version of the future. The hessnatur show was the epitome of the direction I think fashion is headed in: supernatural fabrics in beyond modern designs.

This perfectly curated set of inspirations is fundamentally futuristic, and not in a 1960's-Jetsons way, but a very real glimpse into what's coming. Iconic designer Miguel Adrover's collection was Bladerunner meets The Hobbits, or maybe Mad Max meets Pan's Labyrinth. It was insanely creative, gorgeous, textural, and monumentally fabulous.

Take note of organic fabrics that are sustainably sourced and the sculptural lines; a vision of the future that includes human beings living in real harmony with the Earth.

(For even more amazing images from this magical show, check out Starre's blog, Eco Chick.)

Philodendron; stitched merino wool lined with organic hand-dyed silk batik. I love that the leaves on this suit even have intimations of stomata (the normally microcsopic spaces through which plants breathe).

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The Fashion Flipside show on the Lower East Side of Manhattan was a blast- hundreds turned out to check out a fashion show that featured LES stores, many of which are eco-friendly.

Hairy Mary's showed a bouquet of reconstructed dresses, and Kaight brought out the pretty, grown-up girl frocks. Lael, a new boutique that carries some ecofashions, showed us a string of reminders of why we love summer clothes (even when we don't love summer). Daha Vintage, The Dressing Room and David Owens Vintage convinced me to renew my love for the hunt for preloved clothes - every one that survives is an original.


Photo by James Nova
Proving that this isn't the first summer we've seen maxi dresses; this gorgeously patterned find is from the 70's. (Daha Vintage) And yes, that's me in the sunglasses seated at the left.


Photo by James Nova
Owner/designer Sharon (Hairy Mary's) does a full-length and shorter version of this strapless lovely called in a variety of reused polyester fabrics.

Photo by James Nova
Neo-Grecian organic cotton dress that will show off your legs. (Kaight)

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Check out what Kelly has to say about the Lexus Hybrid Living Suite she decorated in Washington, D.C.'s Fairmont Hotel.

The fabulous and accomplished Kelly LaPlante's gorgeous first book, Ecologique, is a breath of fresh air. For several years now, ecofriendly decorating has had a definite aura of cool modernism, as if there was only one way to design a green interior, and that's with lots of (sustainable wooden) cubes. LaPlante has different ideas. As she writes in the introduction, "Reconsider what you think you know about "the green look" -- bamboo flooring, modular furniture, neutral colors, and all other icons of the sustainable design movement. Green is a standard, not a style."

LaPlante proves that you can foster any style sustainably, by showcasing a pretty wide variety of decorating challenges she has take on over the last few years.

There's the electric-car driving California politician's office done up 50's retro style, (with vintage typewriter to add interest and a houndstooth print rug made from recycled and recyclable carpet tiles), and the themed eco-cottages in Venice Beach gussied up with restored and creatively used antiques, recycled polyester fabric-covered sofas, and art by locals.

And then there's the celebrity homes; Ally Sheedy's Manhattan apartment that's painted with low-VOC coral paint, edged-up with Sheedy's own guerilla girl poster collection and mellowed out with antiques. Amy Smart's sunroom is now complete with an organic cotton-covered sofa and vegetable-dyed area rug, and Michael Rappaport's restored junk-store 'tombstone chair' which finishes off his Barton Fink-inspired bedroom.

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It took me ages to heed my traditionalist-with-a-twist grandmother's advice about undergarments.

"Starre," she told me, "Whatever kind of work you do or whatever ridiculous outfits you wear, make sure that you have pretty underwear on." Staring at me with her green eyes that had seen The Great Depression, World War 2, the end of two marriages, and the raising of two sons in a time when single mothers were scarce, she added, "Not for anybody else -- for yourself."

This advice was extended in the mid-90's when I had taken to wearing men's boxer shorts under some comically voluminous JNCO pants and the plainest bras and camisoles beneath reams of flannel, having decided this was way cooler than lace. But I always remembered what she said and now my drawers are filled with lingerie in pretty prints, with bows, ribbons and lined in silks and super-soft cottons.

Being the Eco Chick, I try to keep in mind how all my purchases (even the dainty ones) affect the environment, and this summer there are enough lingerie looks (and bra straps peeking through diaphanous fabrics) to justify getting some fresh eco-undies. These are my top picks:

I'm loving the intimates from Enamore, which range from camisoles and knickers made from organic silk to garters and chemises in cozy soy and organic cotton mixes, and they even have non-cheesy wedding night ensembles and bridal lingerie (including organic silk garters!).

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Though it may feel like makeup is a necessity when you wake up exhausted, hung over or both, in reality our little pots and tubes of color are extravagances. And like four-dollar coffees, frosted-to-death cupcakes and doggie sweaters, these little indulgences are what makes life fun.

But at what cost do our good times come, to both our health and that of the planet (which is really one and the same)? I'm not the only one who thinks that life's little luxuries should come with zero impact; if it's not necessary, then the first rule should be "do no harm."

Good thing the beauty industry is catching on. Following in the wake of sustainable fashion, less-toxic makeup is now available everywhere from the drugstore (Physician's Formula's new Organic Wear line) to makeup megastore Sephora.) But for a serious selection of the most toxin-free cosmetics, check out online retailers Kaia House and Futurenatural.

We know that consumer pressure can encourage companies to consider the impact of their products, but the makeup industry also works with professional makeup artists (pro-muas) who can have influence on both the companies' products they use and the clients they work with. Greenmua has a great listing of companies, articles and links for pro makeup artists who are interested in making their industry more sustainable.

I spoke with the Australia-bred Emma Pezzack, the owner and founder of Futurenatural, about Earth-friendly makeup for regular women and the new move by makeup artists to bring these products into the pro makeup arena.

Emma Pezzack

TDG: What put you on the path toward sustainable cosmetics?

Emma Pezzack: In a nutshell I grew up organic (my family lived on a farm) and my parents were very self-sufficient and all about being seriously resourceful. We had cows, goats, chickens, fruit trees and a massive veggie garden. My mum used to round us up on Saturday mornings and we'd have to pick caterpillars and slugs from the veggies since we never used any pesticides. That was just how we lived and it really stayed with me. After working in beauty (as a makeup artist and on the business side) since I was 15, one day I had an epiphany that I wanted to create something that resonates with what I've done and what I want to do that will have influence in the beauty community. I really want to impact the world in a positive way.

TDG: How do you decide what products to offer at Futurenatural?

EP: Right now we have 25 lines altogether, with more to come. Our vetting process is stringent. It's not enough to be a brand with organic and natural ingredients. We also look at the social impacts and other environmental impacts like packaging. It must be well-designed and cannot contain any highly suspect ingredients. No parabens, petrochemicals or propelyne glycol allowed!

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