ecobites

Making your life greener - one bite at a time.

The GreenShows - the premier event where eco-minded designers come together to showcase their work. The Green Shows will take place at Metropolitan Pavilion’s new eco-conscious venue, The Metropolitan Suite, centrally located in the heart of Chelsea at 123 West 18th Street, 2nd Floor. The Green Shows will present ten designers that are committed to environmental and social responsibility.

This event will be the only event exclusively focusing on environmental and fair trade responsibilities throughout New York Fashion Week.

Auralis

At Auralis, they are committed to sustainable practices that are considerate to the planet. Taking pride in making beautifully designed, timeless pieces that are also practical and fashion forward. Every piece is made responsibly with love and care.  Auralis use organic, sustainable, natural or recycled fabrics only.

The textile processing uses low impact methods, leaving green fabrics with a minimal environmental footprint. Auralis produce the pieces in New York and Puerto Rico. Auralis employees and collaborators are part of the family; they are all creative partners in a collective design effort.

As a company Auralis care about the community, and the effect their actions have on the planet’s welfare. Auralis love what they do and show this through the clothes they send out to the world.

Auralís Spring 2011 introduces the Urban Tropical look, taking her inspiration back to the Puerto Rico of the 70’s, the Caribbean and New York as a backdrop. For S2011 Auralís imagined a scenario where a group of Salsa musicians and artists, circa 1978, found themselves stranded on an island. In her vision, Willie Colon, Rita Moreno and Halston journey to Culebra, a pristine untouched Caribbean paradise. The clothes they wear are Urban Tropical.

This year’s collection rescues old artisanal and eco-conscious Puerto Rican crafts from extinction. Auralís employed and collaborated with local Puerto Rican artists to reinterpret and modernize some of the island’s cultural troves. The collection also showcases some of the sustainable and ethical fashion design initiatives already happening in Puerto Rico and New York. From Puerto Rico she brings Concalma—a line of sustainably and ethically manufactured bags and purses. The collection also includes exclusive custom fabric prints from local NYC textile designers.

Auralís, who started designing when she was 5, has been pouring all her creativity into her new label. Every day at her Brooklyn based studio is an eco-venture where Auralís spins flawless pieces with eco–consciousness, and a passion for beautiful design. Auralís is fully committed to her eco-friendly and styleconscious mission. “Right now is the moment for sustainable fashion. I hope the moment never ends. And I don't think it will. I see it all around me. People are becoming more conscious about the world that surrounds them. They see a need to rescue it from extinction.”

She goes on to say, “Established designers, new designers, the whole industry is starting to design for a better future. I am excited and humbled to be at the center of this evolution in the industry. I imagine sustainable fashion as tomorrow’s norm. Showing at Fashion Week brings me—and by default sustainable fashion—closer to that point.”

Ashton Michael Black Label

As a teenager Ashton Hirota took the L.A. fashion scene by storm with his first clothing line Glaza. Launching this line while attending design school he got the support of leading modeling agencies, PR firms, young Hollywood socialites and celebrities alike. After graduating, Hirota continued designing one-of-a-kind timeless apparel that stood by the art of fashion. Glaza was first featured at L.A. Fashion Week in 2002 and quickly found its place in the domestic and international market, gracing the pages of magazines including Sportswear International, MASSIV, Estylo and MR just to name a few. In addition to editorials, Glaza was available at some of the hippest boutiques in Russian, Japan, Los Angeles to New York.

Ashton Michael is known to create looks with uptown glamour with a downtown edge that are always staple pieces. Believing that everyone who wears AM label should feel empowered and confident, Ashton combines structured tailoring with exaggerated silhouettes. Never disregarding his clients own individual style. His clothes can be found across the market from his flagship co-op store in Los Angeles the House of Infinite Radness, to 80spurple.com, Petro Zillia, Apartment-3, and Lolita just to name a few.

Bright Young Things by Eliza Starbuck

How to make a dress that’s universally wearable yet individually specific, that’s both sustainable and fashionable? This question is at the heart of fashion designer Eliza Starbuck’s new clothing line, Bright Young Things. In the past, one dress for everyone meant a uniform; but Starbuck sees her dress as a canvas for self-expression: “I’ve seen so many women with closets full of clothes who say, ‘I haven’t got a thing to wear’. I’m giving them one dress that they can wear forwards, backwards, open, again and again, with anything they like.”

Dress Reform

Krystal Hoffacker draws on myriad inspirations when she designs Dress Reform. Her imagination is kindled by nature, ethnic garb, vintage clothing and textiles and the arts of collage, quilting and shibori. Her exacting hand designs sustainable and stylish garments that are at once contemporary and timeless.
There is a purity and uncomplicated elegance in the aesthetic of Dress Reform pieces. Krystal emphasizes a solid, neutral color palette, clean silhouettes, depth and texture. Look for subtle tonal variations and cutouts in her fabrics, and anticipate original prints in her designs — she will introduce an artistic hand into each new collection.

By sewing to bring out the beauty in raw materials, Krystal aims to metamorphose the perception of eco-conscious clothing. She creates Dress Reform locally, with love and the finest natural fibers.

JoAnn Berman

JoAnn Berman‘s presentation at the GreenShows during New York Fashion Week  was a fun-filled reflection of her personality: imaginative, eclectic, and anything but staid. The New York designer, who made a name for herself outfitting hip hop artists in the ’90s, was upcycling vintage garments before many of her models were even born, so she knows a thing or two about how to make sustainable fashion  really pop. Filled with unexpected pattern pairings and embellishments galore, Berman’s blisteringly colored collection positively sizzled on the runway.

LAVUK by Natasha Gindin is an eco-friendly line made in Los Angeles. Designer Natasha Gindin blends classic silhouettes with futuristic looks so that styles are timeless but fashion-forward. Lavuk's goal is to create unusual and constructed looks from simple, comfortable materials that appeal to eco-conscious consumers, as well as to those just looking for a great product.

Luis Valenzuela

... "Ultimately, an aura of inspiration prevails. Valenzuela’s work pushes boundaries to forge new ideas, we too must innovate to improve our way of life on this planet. With his fashionable and provoking works, Valenzuela paves the (run)way for a more promising and sustainable future"

The story began in 2006 when Brooklyn Designer Samantha Pleet debuted her namesake collection, intertwining elements of the mysterious and fantastical with a sense of modernity.

Each season new and ancient ideas from music, art, history, and literature are conjured along with various feelings and are transformed into Pleet's silhouettes, then shown in collaborative projects from films, photographs to unique installations.

The clothes, made in New York City using organic materials whenever possible, have become favorites among creative girls around the world including musicians like Beach House, The Dirty Projectors, and Au Revoir Simone.

She has collaborated with Urban Outfitters on Rapscallion by Samantha Pleet which led to curating the inaugural pop up shop at Space 15 Twenty in Los Angeles. The 29 year old Pratt graduate gardens, paints, travels, and hunts for treasure in her spare time.

Susan Cianciolo

Since 1995, before it became as popular as it is today, Susan has seen the benefit of using eco friendly materials in her designs. She has been using recycled and repurposed fabric wherever possible. As a rule, the majority of her designs have been made from recycled and organic materials.

Susan seeks out suppliers that can provide organic denims, yarns and fabrics, as well as vintage and recycled fabrics. Over the years she has produced several lines that were exclusively made from organic materials.

Susan currently creates custom one of a kind clothing by appointment only out of her China Town studio in New York City.

Milliners Guild

A hat that is well-designed never goes out of fashion. The Milliners Guild, Inc is an organization of small millinery business owners and milliners who specialize in the design, production and promotion of handmade headwear.

The group is committed to increasing the public profile of millinery as well as the public's awareness and interest in millinery products.

The Guild is dedicated to working together to maintain and expand resources in order to ensure a steady flow of raw materials.