It’s absolutely possible to – look beautiful, trendy and in line with our planet’s wishes!! Did you ever wonder how much energy goes into making our clothes? How about thanking our Mother Nature and letting our fantasy take over by searching for the coolest sustainable eco fashions. Here at EkoMiko we like to support young designer’s with eco conscious concepts and green love in their hearts.

Emma Watson Models New Ethical People Tree Collection

In the pantheon of celebrity clothing collections, Emma Watson is really starting to stand-out as one of the few with a genuine passion for fashion.

The Harry Potter actress recently travelled to Bangladesh to see first-hand how and where her “Love from Emma” eco-friendly, clothing line is made. According to sources, Watson stunned onlookers by trying her hand at sewing and weaving machines — and also wading barefoot into a river to help dye natural yarns and fabric.

While her Spring/Summer collection will get its public hands-on debut during Prince Charles’ “A Garden Party to make a Difference” (Sept 8-19), Watson is already modeling the new threads at the People Tree site: http://www.peopletree.co.uk/press/100816ycew.php

Have a look at video of her Bangladesh trip below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SirOqgoLXoc&feature=player_embedded

Fashion tackles recycling problem with computer ribbon wire dress

Couture dress made from computer ribbon wire addresses recycling problems.

Fashion is no longer about stylish clothing. It has gone beyond that to address the waste problem around us, in particular the electronic waste. We have checked out splendid art collections putting circuit board graphics and other hardware to good use previously. Here’s a dress designed by Tina Sparkles for Keep Austin Beautiful recycled fashion show, the dress is called Systems Supernova. Superbly designed from computer ribbon wire the dress becomes an instant eye candy and does provide a way forward for our recycling problems.

“Living” Dress: Canvas of shifting looks made from recycled inner tubes

Beautiful floral dress devised from recycled bicycle inner tubes and wool.

This stunningly incredible dress designed for the Amsterdam Centre for Architecture (ARCAM) is a result of creative teamwork of fashion designer Mattijs van Bergen and landscape architect Anouk Vogel. And just in case if you are thinking that the new cut or adjusted seams make the collection stand out, then let me tell you, you are absolutely wrong. It is the ever-changing floral arrangements and recycled material that is its selling point.

The beautiful “Living” Flower Dress is made from recycled bicycle inner tubes and wool. The smocking-like surface of the dress is the result of myriad individual “vases” that can be filled with water. The appearance of the dress depends completely on the type of flowers used and their positioning. If you are not in the mood to go all flowery, you could wear the frock on its own to flaunt the female curves perfectly. The beautiful floral dress will be exhibited as part at ARCAM in Amsterdam through September 11, 2010.

Upcycled dress made from 1,000 newspaper cranes looks stunning

Upcycled outfit is made from 1,000 newspaper cranes.

In the wild wonderful world of crafting recycle, reuse and upcycle are magical procedures which can create a marvel. Lifting green fashion to a new high is designer Yuliya Kyrpo with her expertly crafted newspaper gown. An example of extreme origami, the beautiful gown with its headlining bustier dress and flowing peacock train has been made from old metro newspapers. Kyrpo used 1,000 paper cranes, each folded painstakingly to make this adorable dress. This eye catching amazing outfit is on display as part of the Trash Fashion show underway at London’s Science Museum.

Very impressive!

The Little Seed Now Available At Target

Soleil Moon Frye, along with business partner Paige Goldberg, have successfully launched their “Little Seed” brand in collaboration with Target.

As expected, the 100% all-organic baby clothes are reasonably priced from $7.99-$12.99.

“When we started The Little Seed we wanted to create something so super-hip and stylish and colorful that turns the idea of eco on its head,” Moon Frye told The Stir. “We wanted to create a vibrant, colorful line that felt like you were looking into a candy store, and everything was tested on our kids. What’s incredible about the partnership with Target is they allowed us to continue with our vision, even down to the packaging. We wanted it to be minimal waste and no plastic.”

Unfortunately, this is a limited time partnership lasting only until October 16th — so make sure you hit the Target “Little Seed” site before then!

Summer Rayne Oakes

Summer Rayne Oakes is an American-born model, activist, and television host known for her social entrepreneur work in ecofashion and related sustainability ventures. Because of her close ties to the environment, she is often referred to as "The Eco-model."

 Environmental work

Oakes is actively involved in environmental causes. She is most known for her work in sustainable fashion and beauty but is actively involved in the youth climate change movement through Energy Action Coalition; Green-collar jobs; sustainable development in Africa; and reforestation/ecosystem conservation efforts. In September 2005, Oakes designed and launched an educational curriculum entitled ECOFASHION 101, which links pop culture, fashion, and mainstream media into traditional subject topics. In December 2005, Oakes attended the Fair Trade Expo at the World Trade Organization meeting in Hong Kong to represent the international fair trade movement. In October 2007, Oakes was part of a donor-funder trip to Great Bear National Rainforest, the last contiguous coastal temperate rainforest in the world and home of the Kermode bear. In November 2007, she helped organize and lobby for the first time on Capitol Hill with the youth-run group, Energy Action on the case of global warming. She was one of 6,000 young people who participated in the largest lobby day and summit on climate change. That same month, Oakes left to Africa for a shoe drop with TOMS Shoes in South Africa  and an annual sustainable development trip to Mozambique. In June 2008, she wrote an op-ed for her local Pennsylvania paper on green-collar jobs to urge the community and the government to take political action. In February 2009 during New York's Fashion Week, she staged an event called "Don't Bag Indonesia's Rainforests" with Rainforest Action Network and Tiffany & Co. They identified over 100 fashion companies unknowingly using endangered Indonesian forests in luxury shopping bags. The campaign was considered successful since most fashion companies pulled out and one of the major packaging suppliers (Pak 2000) announced its separation from Asian Pulp and Paper.

Fresh activity

“Source4Style is a new company I co-founded with my best friend, Benita Singh back in September of 2009. The concept started with the desire to make environmentally- and socially-conscious materials more accessible to designers and retail sourcing specialists around the world.

The Mission: To make sustainable design possible.

We are creating the world’s first online marketplace for designers to search and source the world’s leading sustainable textiles. Our design portal allows you to search through a comprehensive and curated selection of materials, connect with sustainable suppliers, calculate lead and ship times, and source swatches and yardage through a seamless online transaction. Whether you’re an emerging designer, retail sourcing specialist or interior decorator, Source4Style is your premier destination for sustainable design.”

visit the blog at www.Source4Style.com/S4

or learn more about SUMMER RAYNE OAKES and the collections  at  http://www.summerrayne.net/

ELLE’s gorgeous solar hand bags auctioned on eBay

Solar hand bag uses FLAP technology to charge your cell phone.

Ugly looking pair of flat solar panels isn’t even the last thing you would want to grace your trendy handbag. After all why would anyone trade their fashion choice for something which despite being green completely erodes their style? People at Elle magazine knew just that and therefore they hired a team of famous designers including Diane Von Furstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger, Rogan, Loomstate, Vena Cava, Ero and Maria Cornejo, Lutz and Patmos, and Joseph Muteti to team up with Sheila Kennedy, an architect in Boston to fashion some chic solar bags.

Well designed and elegant the bags use a technology called Flexible Light and Power pack (FLAP) with a USB port, LED lights, rechargeable battery, and a flexible solar panel built right into your bag. When built into a bag, the FLAP pack can be used to charge your cell phone or used as a reading light.

The bags are currently on auction at eBay.

Brigitte Bardot Teams Up With Leather Company For Eco Fashion Line

Actress and animal-advocate Brigitte Bardot made headlines this week after teaming up with Lancel — a leather goods company — to create an eco-friendly, cruelty-free handbag.

The product hasn’t been released yet, but it’s being described as an “eco-friendly/green bag made of 100 percent natural fibers”

While, of course, no animals will be harmed in the making of said bag, many are complaining that Bardot shouldn’t work with a company that for over a hundred years has been making leather products.

Bardot’s choice to work with Lancel was strategic. Sure, it would have been fine if she had teamed up with an eco company, but then wouldn’t she just be preaching to the choir? It seems entirely more effective for Bardot to convince a new demographic of consumers, who traditionally buy leather, that green is stylish and cool. What’s more, is there anything better than educating an out-of-date company about the potential of natural fibers?

What do you think? Chime in and share your thoughts!

Katharine Hamnett Launches “Save The Sea” Sustainable Swimwear

Rising temperatures outside call for cool swimwear, but even a simple suit can be cause for environmental concern since Lycra or Spandex – the typical materials used to create that stretchy consistency – are made out of polyurethane which, for all intents and purposes is plain old oil.

In response to increased consumer awareness and the desire to seek out greener alternatives, there are a rising number of designers who are crafting collections that feature sustainable, organically-grown fibers and as little or no man-made fabrics and materials as possible.

One such designer is Katharine Hamnett, who first made her splash on the fashion scene back in the eighties by creating distinctively large black typeface protest t-shirts emblazoned with memorable slogans like CHOOSE LIFE, SAVE THE WHALES, PRESERVE THE RAINFOREST and most recently “PEACE” and “USE A CONDOM”.

While eco-friendly fashion is a relatively contemporary pursuit, Hamnett was dialed into the need for a green clothing alternative as far back as 1989 by launching her “Clean Up or Die” collection in response to the discovery that conventionally-produced, pesticide-laden cotton contaminates ground water supplies, triggers extensive cases of chronic illness/death and oftentimes locks workers in a vicious cycle of modern-day slavery.

Hamnett’s latest effort to make a positive planetary impact comes in the form of her “Save The Sea” collection of fourteen 50s & 60s inspired eco-friendly beachwear pieces (including towels, totes, his-n- her suits and cover-ups) made with organic cotton and sustainable materials.

With each piece sold, a percentage of the purchase price will fund the “Fashioning a Better Future” charity which aids West African farmers.

Take a look at this videotaped interview with the designer  http://www.thenewyooxer.yoox.com/eng/index.php/post/4877 as she elaborates on her motivation behind her latest ethically produced and totally beach-worthy collection.

To buy go to:

http://www.yoox.com/khamnettbeach/department/dept/khamnettbeach#section=main&subsection=

Designer creates shimmering dress from recycled VHS tapes

Eco-friendly dress made from recycled VHS tapes.

Designer Scianca has created a shimmering dress as part of a project called Modern Freaks. Since not many people still use VHS tapes for video viewing, recycling the ones that are catching dust in your closet is not that bad an idea. The dress designed by Scianca is one way you can recycle the magnetic memory to gain some attraction.

British researchers create dissolvable wedding dress

Biodegradable dress made from polyvinyl alcohol.

Fashion and engineering students at Sheffield Hallam University have developed a wedding dress that could be dissolved after the wedding function to transform it into five new fashion pieces. The student team wanted to challenge the notion that a wedding dress should only be used once.

Exploring society’s attitudes toward throwaway fashion, the research team created the dress using polyvinyl alcohol, a biodegradable substance that is used in laundry bags and washing detergents, knitted into the fabric. The substance dissolves into water without harming the environment.

Bodkin’s Eviana Hartman to Design Fall 2010 Collection for Hessnatur

Seeing double? You and us both. Eco-fashion designer Eviana Hartman of Bodkin is working on a capsule collection for ethical clothing label Hessnatur, set to debut this fall. The 13-piece lineup will comprise modular knits for all body types, including a moto-inspired winter coat of dense yet lightweight virgin boiled wool, an equestrian-esque patchwork legging, and an ultra-thick jersey that hugs your curves.

HESSNATUR BY EVIANA HARTMAN

Several pieces are designed to be multipurpose, such as the oversize wool-and-cashmere cardi that can be worn asymmetrically as a tunic or scarf. “I love pieces that are extremely useful but elevated by unusual silhouette and detail,” Hartman says.

“Sustainability and fashion can, and must, coexist,” says Wolf Luedge, Hessnatur’s CEO

Comprising Hessnatur’s signature cashmere, wool, silk, organic cotton, and fabric blends, “Hessnatur by Eviana Hartman” is tailored for the fashion-driven urbanite, with modern takes on familiar wardrobe staples.

“I am excited to work with Hessnatur because they pioneered the ecological approach to clothing decades before “green” became a buzzword,” Hartman adds. “Their resources, quality, and textiles are wonderful, and given my wish to design sustainably, there couldn’t be a better mentor.”

The feeling, it seems, is mutual. “When I saw Eviana Hartman’s first collection, I felt she represented everything we believe—and practice—at Hessnatur, ” says Wolf Luedge, the company’s CEO. “Then I met her and found Eviana as committed as we are in the belief that sustainability and fashion can, and must, coexist.”

We impatiently  wait for  the fall…

The Green Shows Eco Fashion Week Rock New York City With Sustainable Innovation

The Green Shows were held at Village Green — the first LEED-Gold certified building in the East Village — and featured the collections of: Gary Harvey, Vaute Couture, Thieves by Sonja den Elzen, Joann Berman, Willian, Popomomo ,Samantha Pleet, deux fm, House of Organics/Ekovaruhuset and C. Marchuska.

Let’s look at some of them:

Gown Made From Recycled M&M Wrappers

Stop by the corner of 41st St. and 8th Avenue in Manhattan from now till early May and you might spy a regal figure holding court in what was once an empty retail space. No longer vacant, Blank SL8 at the Port Authority Bus Terminal now hosts TerraCycle’s Green Up Shop—a short-term showcase for the company’s upcycled products—as well as a life-size gown stitched from discarded candy wrappers.

TerraCycle commissioned the one-of-a-kind dress from Chicago couture designer Christina Liedtke, who was inspired by both the pop-up shop’s spring theme and Earth Day’s upcoming 40th anniversary.

To create the gown, more than 1,800 flowers were individually cut and sewn from 600 Peanut M&M wrappers, a time-consuming process that took over 100 hours of labor. (Five yards of silk charmeuse and silk shantung were used for the lining.)

Liedtke’s wearable artwork depicts flowers in bloom: The top of the dress displays the initial budding, while the middle portrays a “landscape of blooming vibrant poppies,” according to the designer. “Finally, the bottom of the dress expresses a collage of fully bloomed mature flowers,” she adds.

Planet Green Announces New Series Following Eco-Fashion Designer John Patrick

Planet Green has given a green light to “The John Patrick Show,” a six-part series which follows eco-fashion designer John Patrick, creator of John Patrick Organic, as he and his team strive to create a sustainable fashion line for Fall Fashion Week.

“The nature of design has changed, and its future will bring a revolutionary consciousness. In partnering with me to produce the first truly conscious fashion TV show, Planet Green has shown an extraordinary commitment to that revolutionary spirit,” said John Patrick. “I am confident that ‘The John Patrick Show’ will be one that does not disappoint-bringing surprises, insight and a look at the ‘real’ process of how fashion is actually made.”

The show will address the demands of the fashion industry and watch as John Patrick works to stay true to the Organic line which delivers high fashion with an ethical edge.

“John Patrick offers a rare, fresh approach to the fashion world, satisfying the fashion fix and curiosity of conscious consumers and style mavens alike,” said Laura Michalchyshyn, president and general manager, Planet Green, Discovery Health, FitTV and TreeHugger.com. “‘The John Patrick Show’ is vicarious peek into the perils, triumphs and payoffs of this industry from the viewpoint of John Patrick-a bona fide innovator and unforgettable personality who is reshaping the traditional notion of fashion.”

The 30-minute episodes of “The John Patrick Show” are scheduled to debut in early 2011 during Planet Green’s all-new primetime programming block. John Patrick will post weekly blogs at PlanetGreen.com throughout the run of the series.

Selena Gomez Dream Out Loud Eco-Fashion To Hit K-Mart

It has been revealed that Selena Gomez’s new eco-friendly collection of clothing will hit K-Mart this coming July 15th. Even more stunning, everything in the line will be priced at under $25.

“I want the pieces that can be easy to dress up or down, and the fabrics being eco-friendly and organic are super important,” Gomez said last fall. “Also, the tags will all have some of my inspirational quotes on them. I’m just looking to send a good message.”

Check out additional photos of Selena modeling the new line below!

7 Ways to Green the Romantic Ruffles Fashion Trend

Whether they take the form of extravagant cascades or subtle frills, ruffles exude smoldering romance and unapologetic femininity. Is it any wonder then that flounce and flutter make a comeback each spring? We found 7 flirty, ruched styles for channeling your inner Lord Byron. Above, a beachy keen petal bathing suit ($165) by Samantha Pleet, made locally in New York City.

UNRUFFLED RUFFLES

Ready to add some flair to your spring wardrobe? Click through our slideshow to steal seven amazing sustainable ruffled looks, from couture silk wraps to lacy unmentionables worth mentioning. Indulging in your girly-girliness doesn’t have to mean looking like Shirley Temple. Ruffles and frills can be worldly and sophisticated, too, with just enough of an undercurrent of playfulness to dispel any possible stodginess.

Who Wore Green on the 2010 Academy Awards Red Carpet?

As Hollywood’s biggest night unfolded, the only thing more anticipated than the parade of glittering gowns at the Kodak Theatre were the winners themselves. (And even that is debatable.) Here are three Oscar attendees who chose to wear their politics on their sleeves by going green on the red carpet at the 82nd Academy Awards.

SUZY AMIS CAMERON

Draped in “Avatar blue,” director James Cameron’s ladylove, Suzy Amis Cameron, wore a Grecian-style dress by Jillian Ganz, the Michigan State University senior who won Amis Cameron’s “Red Carpet Green Dress” contest in February. The dress, made from a zero-waste pattern designed to eliminate leftover scraps, was sewn by Academy Award-winning designer Deb Scott from peace silk, which is derived from silkworm cocoons without killing the pupae inside.

LIVIA FIRTH

Livia Firth nee Giuggioli, wife of Best Actor nominee Colin, made her entrance in a simple yet striking black gown by Orsola de Castro of From Somewhere. Pieced together from end-of-roll fabric, discarded silk, organza offcuts, and salvaged silk chiffon (from unfinished petticoats), the elegant upcycled number fulfills Firth’s pledge to wear only ethical, sustainable dresses throughout awards season.

ROBERT KENNER

Although Academy Award nominee Robert Kenner, the director of Food Inc. didn’t take home the golden man, he made Oscar history in a different way: by wearing the first American-crafted organic-wool tux ever to be made for the Oscars. “Dressing Robert Kenner for this honorable occasion is truly relevant for Loomstate,” says Scott Mackinlay Hahn. “Food and fashion sustain our lives in the most unifying way, we could not chose a more important film maker to wear our clothes today.”

WOODY HARRELSON

The Best Supporting Actor nominee wore a black, custom Burberry tuxedo made from…hemp!

Lady Gaga Turns Recycled Soda Cans, Phones into Haute Hair Accessories

Are Lady Gaga's recycled hair pieces haute or not?

Turn Used Plastic Bags Into a Pair of Upcycled Rain Boots

Conceived by Waste for Life by Louie Rigano, a senior at the Rhode Island School of Design, the sturdy and surprisingly chic galoshes are fabricated from plastic bags collected by cartoneros, or impoverished Argentineans who make their living collecting trash in Buenos Aires.

PUDDLE JUMPERS

The process, which involves hot-pressing layers of plastic bags with a stiff interfacing such as cheesecloth, was designed to be easily replicable so the cartoneros could make and sell the boots to generate income. And since plastic is inherently water-resistant, cranking out rain boots from rounded up trash is not only extremely economical but also practical.

The boots were designed to be easily replicable for Argentinean trash collectors to make and sell.

You can even make your own using the template that Rigano has provided. For fused-plastic-bag neophytes, Etsy’s step-by-step tutorial demonstrates how to create flat sheets using an iron and some freezer paper.

Have a nice time!

Julia Roebuck Rehabilitates Unwanted Clothing Into Stunning Eco-Fashion

Julia Roebuck is a British designer who creates eye-catching London street-chic pieces by recycling used or discarded garments from various sources. Roebuck’s got her mind set on more than just a design label; she’s marching her way to the top of the fashion food chain to figure out how to make the industry less wasteful.

WASTE MANAGEMENT

Roebuck created her first designs as a part of her final-year project at the Chelsea College of Arts and Design in London, including a dress she stitched together from three pairs of unworn pants. Salvaged from Oxfam’s Wastesaver program, the “faulty” pants went home with Roebuck, who then worked her magic to make turn them into something you’d be hard-pressed to find fault with.

Roebuck is spitting out hip upcycled designs while dissecting the inner workings of the fashion industry.

Currently at London College of Fashion getting an M.A. in fashion and the environment, Roebuck is spitting out hip designs while she dissects the inner workings of the fashion industry. She’s convinced that the discarded odds and ends, faulty clothing, and unwanted items can be useful on a mass scale instead of wasteful. Her clothes aren’t available in boutiques just yet but there are plans for a line in the future.

Until then, you can follow her work on   her blog.

Paradecka fashion style

This small yet incredible fashion label is based out Warsaw, Poland.
The main creative talent behind all the designs is Joanna Paradecka - painter and designer - one of the finest graduates of Strzeminski Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Lodz.

All the designs are created by Joanna and come from existing pieces of clothes-2nd hand shops/vintage shops.
95% of all the materials used in the production have been recycled thus helping to leave minimal ecological footprint on our planet.

PARADECKA re-uses pieces of clothes that she finds. Sometimes they need to be slightly deconstructed, sometimes completely cut up; and from time to time a larger amount of similar pieces is necessary to create a canvas out of which a completely new pattern is created to make the final piece. Those pieces never resemble the original item that was found.

They have made skirts out of scarves, scarves out of shirts, coats out of jackets, jackets out of trousers and trousers out of cardigans. Actually they believe that there is no piece of garment that could not be remade into a completely different piece.

PARADECKA strongly believes in people's individuality and wants to pursue everybody's need to dress originally.
The designer guarantees that due to our exclusive production process all the garments created by Paradecka Hand Remade are unique. There are no two identical pieces that leave the shop so you will never meet anyone dressed exactly the same.

Check out more of their incredibel designs at www.paradecka.com

*Izabella proudly loved and wears PARADECKA designs to many of her red carpet events:-)

RE-ACT Fashion Show

I’ve decided to become the face of this year’s RE-ACT Fashion Show – because of the unique message it’s sending to the world of fashion. The idea of promoting ecological values and social responsibility through the freshest trends in fashion and design, combines the two worlds that I love. Young designers from Poland and abroad took part in a competition for the best recycling creation. One of the highlights of the event was a fashion show from Berlin fashion house of “Lac et Mel”, known for their care for the environment and fair trade. The head designer at Lac et Mel -Gregor Clemens has been acknowledged by the British Vogue as one of the greatest contemporary visionaries in the world of fashion. During the event we were served vegetarian dishes. The venue’s interior design displayed objects of everyday use made of recycled materials. Go to www.re-act.pl for more info.

PHOTO SHOOT FOR RE-ACT

Here’re some pictures from my photo shoot promoting Re-Act Fashion Show. All the outfits were made of materials such as laundry rope, clips or matches. The photos were taken by Mikołaj Gauer.

DESIGN NUMBER 1

Dress made by knitting needles (right and left loops method) using very soft white laundry rope. The dress is fitted at the hips but the sleeves are in a loose kimono shape. The laundry clips attached to front and back give the effect of dangling tassels.

DESIGN NUMBER 2

Dress made out of soft white laundry rope, by sewing the rope together. Shaped like a bulb; the dress is tied at the neck with low-cut neckline in the back. The dress comes with a bolero jacket also made out of rope and decorated with laundry clips.

DESIGN NUMBER 3

Again soft white clothes-line rope was used to make this dress. The outfit is fitted to the body; at the center of the neckline there is a string that allows to tie the dress around the neck. A zipper is sewn-in at the side. A „belt” has been attached to the dress, also made from rope, with attached laundry clips giving the effect of dangling tassels.

Grzegorz Maldoror Matląg – avant garde fashion designer – gives us a dress made from silk shirts, braided by hand (photo on the left), and also a „jacket” (photo on the right) – sewn by hand from shoulder pads. Along with the jacket, a mid thigh skirt was designed in the shape of a dome made with the same technique.

Grzegorz Maldoror Matląg created the Maldoror Low Couture in 2007. From the very beginning he focussed on artistic expression and nonconformist style. His collections are lacking flowing dresses, proper ladies’ suits and elegant luxurious finishing. He’s recycled dozens of simple white men shirts along with silk dresses and suit vests, giving them a second life, functioning as something else entirely. Skirts are created from men’s pants; a blouse is made from shirt snaps. The collections prove that recycling in fashion may mean something more than just vintage. From once used textiles and clothes one may create modern and atypical clothes, which not only have artistic value, but also may be used as everyday clothing. Minimalistic forms are confronted with textiles whose “worn-out” look instead of flaw, becomes the main aesthetic value. There’re some surprising designs which are definitely one of a kind. Processed shoulder pads create futuristic vests, cotton throws become dresses, and a puffy skirt turns out to be an ex-jacket made out of latex. There is no need to remove traces of the earlier life of these clothes; the original pockets, finishes, buttons suddenly remind us what the given creation had been, but together they create unrepeatable decorations. In keeping with the designer’s mission, luxury is mainly defined by uniqueness, and the MLC way of creation and fabrics do not allow, by definition, for replication. 

Each year, the first-year students at the School of Artistic Clothing Design in Poland prepare paper outfits, which at the end of the first semester are the attraction of a special fashion show. The designers were to reuse paper in a creative way.

This year the theme of the Junk Fashion Show was geometry. The number of shapes and colors were incredible. 

For this occasion, Angelika Jakubas – a student at this school – created a dress entirely out of paper. Angelika also incorporated re-used egg cartons making the into flowers. Photo by Michał Śliwiński

MAGICAL DRESSES BY ALABAMA CHANIN

Alabama Chanin is a lifestyle company that focuses on creating an array of products through focusing on slow design and sustainability. They craft limited-edition products for the individual and the home. Made-by-hand using a combination of new, organic and recycled materials. Each piece is constructed with care by talented artisans who live and work in communities in and around Florence, Alabama. From farmer to fiber to artisan to home, their products are “grown-to-sewn” in USA.

http://alabamachanin.com/

KAILA FOOTWEAR- SHOES FOR THE ECO-CONCIOUS

These exceptionally Italian designed shoes are truly ecological, sustainable, 100% animal/cruelty free, Defining themselves as stylish luxury for the Eco-Conscious.

Their products are hand-made in small European family owned factories, where workers are paid fair wages and all processes are strictly controlled. Components are certified in writing upon request. The factories use a manufacturing process that utilizes water-based glues and polyurethane soles rather than the more toxic vinyl and PVC. The veg dyed lining’s are made with organic linen/cotton, and other breathable materials.   Pre-consumer recycled footboards and luxurious cruelty-free uppers offer the perfect pedigree to these delectable gifts for the feet.

Kailia Footwear is distributed in both fashion and eco-boutiques in Europe and the USA.

Since November 2008, Kailia has launched a sister brand called DoNi- Gift of Love.  This brand is a collaboration with a fellow vegetarian designer Carlotta Fiorini of Italy. The beautifully styled ballerina flats with a flexible sole,  soft and supple animal-free leathers with beautiful satin ribbon trim in various delicious colors. Conceived exclusively to help the numerous Non-Profit agencies who are in the frontline saving the animals and the environment. 

100% of the after-cost profits from on-line sales are donated to the participating non-profits. 

GAELYN AND CIANFARANI- SEXY ECO

Gaelyn and Cianfarani’s signature material, often mistaken for leather, is made by hand from recycled bicycle inner tubes. Creating a durable, sexy and Animal/Earth positive textile is their most outstanding contribution to our increasingly disposable society. Gaelyn and Cianfarani's seek to expand the possibilities of the "modern" using fabrics in a innovative way. Using cottons, linens, chiffons, silk, denim, hemp, bamboo fabric, soy based material along with their signature material creates the look that is Gaelyn and Cianfarani.

http://www.gaelyn.com