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Green Day
Lisa Radon
Sun Apr 02, 2006
The miles-long skinny trousers are cut to kill from
the most extraordinary, luminous fabric that looks like a satin with a
linen texture. From Anna Cohen's most
recent line, they're made from a hemp/silk blend that Cohen selected not
only because it looks stunning, but because it fits in with her company's
philosophy of bringing sustainability to high fashion.
The shock here is that building a fashion line based
on sustainability—in a nutshell, using materials and practices that don't
damage the earth or humans—can mean, in 2005, a range of sexy, amazing
looks. So wipe that residual memory of hemp drawstring pants right out of
your mind. When Giorgio Armani is using hemp, times have changed.
Labels like Cohen's are making beautiful clothes from
materials like recycled cashmere, organic cotton, and featherweight, supersoft bamboo jersey. Avita
makes thoroughly contemporary draped, blouson, tunic shapes in bamboo and
organic cotton jersey. Stewart+Brown does easy looks in jersey and open knits. Undesigned uses exposed seams and unusual shapes. coolnotcruel makes gorgeous,
feminine frocks, skirts and blouses.
 They don't
have the high profile of EDUN, the "socially responsible" line
of clothing, Bono is backing with his wife Ali Hewson and designer Rogan Gregory. While EDUN's emphasis is on fair trade and support of
developing nations, it also uses organic fabrics. And they don't have the
heavyweight stature of say, Nike, currently the largest consumer of
organic cotton in the world, according to SASS magazine. (In addition to
the company's 100% organic lines, organic cotton is blended into a
growing percentage of Nike's cotton apparel.) What these lines do have is
vision, commitment, and some downright fab
designs.
To further the notion of high fashion meets
sustainability, last year Verdopolis produced a
Future Fashion show during NY Fashion Week in which designers including
As Four, Heatherette, Diane Von Furstenberg,
Libertine, Daryl K, and Oscar de la Renta, and Proenza Schouler sent looks
down the runway that were exclusively derived from recycled or
sustainable materials, like organic hemp/silk and Ingeo™
(corn fiber).
Events like these raise awareness, but it is the
small cadre of committed designers and retailers (like greenloop.com)
operating in the trenches that are moving sustainable style from its
earthy past to fashion future.
If there is still an emphasis on the casual, the
earthy or the quirky in some of the lines practicing sustainability, Anna
Cohen charts another course with
her Italian-streetwear influenced line. She
worked in Italy for a
number of years with Patrizia Pepe, GUESS and MAXMARA. She does beautifully draped,
incredibly sexy bamboo jersey evening dresses and shirts,
long skinny pants in undyed organic cotton,
smart little suits, cropped puffy coats with gigantic shawl collars, and
is introducing dark, wickedly cut denim pieces. Work like Cohen's
that is fabulous and compelling without the eco-conscious backstory will be what turns the fashion maven's
head.
But it may be that organic denim and cotton t-shirts
are the gateway drug to sustainable fashion for the average consumer.
Labels like Loomstate that make cutting-edge
jeans in organic cotton denim, are considered premium denim brands, and
American Apparel's organic cotton t-shirt is a hot seller.
What does any of this matter? The production of conventionally
grown cotton consumes 25% of the world's insecticides and 10% of the
world's pesticides. One t-shirt made of conventionally grown cotton
requires a third of a pound of insecticides and fertilizers. It's
estimated that 20,000 people a year die from exposure to pesticides and
insecticides, particularly in the developing world.
We're nearly to the point where the conversation
about sustainability in fashion can move beyond disclaimers about
hippie-wear, when labels that base their lines on these principles will
be able to move beyond convincing us that green can mean sexy, green can
mean fabulous, standing shoulder to shoulder with the best 7th Avenue has
to offer.
www.annacohen.com
www.thegreenloop.com
www.coolnotcruel.com
www.stewartbrown.com
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