Written by May Globus
As someone with a proclivity toward the sartorial, I finally feel okay admitting it took me time to believe sustainable fashion could be as capable of turning me into a puddle of happy tears as pieces off the Prada, Prabal Gurung and Proenza Schouler runways could.
I’ve been to both Eco Fashion Weeks since its debut last fall, and with each attendance, my preconceptions of green fashion are slowly chipping away.
Returning for EFW’s sophomore season were Nicole Bridger, Lav & Kush, Kim Cathers, Peridot Kiss and Prophetik. The latter was still high on drama, but less on indigo dyes and more on floral motifs, stripe prints and varied texture pairings.
The most welcome change this season was the addition of well-known local and international labels: Vancouver-based Jason Matlo, Los Angeles-based Alternative Apparel, Vancouver Island-based Sitka and Sweden-based WeSC. Each intentionally (or sometimes even unintentionally) forges pathways for sustainable design through factors like material choice, zero-waste management, production methods and supplier proximity.
Jason Matlo was tough-chic in his collection, sending out female models in tight, black liquid leggings, male models in pants bordering on harem and both sexes sans accessories, save for shiny black utility tape wrapped around each finger, where a ring would normally be. Alternative Apparel does layers and basics well, and it shows—the models sure did look comfortable. Sitka was all plaids and axes, which a few of the guys carried Paul Bunyan-style (minus the giant height, of course). The WeSC theme seemed to be the idea of fall itself; the jackets were certainly what most people would want on when leaves begin morphing brown and orange.
These labels showing at Eco Fashion Week are a testament to the slow shift happening in the mindset of this industry, a mindset EFW president Myriam Laroche hopes becomes universal. It’s her belief the term ‘eco fashion’ will become obsolete and, instead, just stand as ‘fashion’. With the way things are looking, that hope just might become reality one day, if the industry continues to understand the necessity in sustainable practice and daily consciousness.
Keep your eye on the prize, Eco Fashion Week.
About May Globus
Editor & Lifestyle journalist May Globus is obsessed with the sartorial and all that surrounds it: art, design, culture, music and film. Oh, and she really likes writing about it, too. A left coast girl at heart, her finds just might show why the westside really is the best side.
1 comment
very nice and informative post. i like this, thanks for sharing.