Earth Day Style! Eco-Chic Pop-up Boutique in NYC

Cocktails, shopping and supporting indie designers with a conscience.  How's that for guilt-free style?  In tribute to Earth Month, designers Lara Miller, Ailin, Chak Chel, Moonlight, Vella Mode, Boutique Ethique, Tammam, Elena Garcia, Show Me Your Mumu and Tompkins Point are selling their ethical fashion brands in a pop-up shop in the beautiful Nexus Townhouse.  There will also be non-profit collections by Care 4 Kenya + Project Migration.  


In the spirit of style with substance, 10% of the proceeds of the boutique will be donated to the Red Cross for Japan's disaster relief.  

The Pop-up shop and cocktail event takes place April 14th, 2011 from 6 PM - 9 PM.

39 West 56th Street, 4th Floor

New York NY 10019

RSVP: GFB@amp3pr.com

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Eco-Chic Lavuk Fall 2011 by Natasha Gindin

Presented at the ACE Gallery as part of Concept LA Fashion Week. theLAVUK Fall 2011 Collection by designer Natasha Gindin was received by an enthusiastic packed house.

Born in the former Yugoslavia and growing up in cities all over the world, Natasha Gindin brings the diversity of her upbringing to her designs.  Calling her LAVUK Fall 2011 Collection “Infinity”, she attempts to capture the present and move into the future at the same time.  Classic sportswear silhouettes were transformed into a line that is about being contemporary and easy to wear, while still making a fashion statement.

The color story is based on shades of grey with a reddish-orange and purple mixing in as full garments or as accents.  With silhouettes that are a bit deco inspired in their sharpness of line and the exploration of lines extending out into “Infinity”, the collection expresses a modernity that is futuristic and a bit reminiscent of 1960’s Pierre Cardin.  Some of the highlights of the collection are modern coats with contrast details and detailed seaming, dresses and tops with cut-outs that reveal contrast fabric beneath, a modern take on the shirt dress, and tops that play with cowl drapes.

The LAVUK line is created using eco-friendly sustainable fabrics and is made sweatshop-free locally in Los Angeles.  Additionally, a tree is planted through American Forests as part of the California Wildfire Releaf Program for every garment purchased.

Fashion with a conscience.  Becoming more of a concern to LA designers, LAVUK is one of the leaders of this movement like fellow designer Averi Bell of Chemline.  We can only hope that more will follow.

Video by Omri Escalante.  Story by Mdivani Monroe of Ladies Who Lunch Travel

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ShoeFete Vegan Shoe Party!

 A few weeks ago, I made a pilgrimage to one of my favorite shrines, Bergdorf Goodman.  After I had gone through the entire Men’s Store, I made my way across the street to the main store.  Inevitably, I found myself in the shoe department drooling over the latest Chanels, Louboutins, Choos and Manolos.  I have no practical purpose for them, so it isn’t a question of buying them.  For me, it is more like going to a gallery and appreciating a fine piece of art.  I guess I have a bit of Carrie Bradshaw in my DNA.
Imagine if you could shop for shoes in your own home or in the home of a friend in a relaxed party setting?  You could try them on, get feed back from friends, sip a nice glass of wine and just play!  Well, if you live in Southern California you can do just that with ShoeFete.  Created by mother daughter team Caryn and Ali Shaye, ShoeFete brings the shoes to you through shoe parties. Shoefete offers a line of super trendy shoes and purses at amazing prices.  These shoes and bags are not only sexy, but they are Vegan!!  As a connoisseur of fine shoes, all I can say is that these are top notch.

You can host a shoe party in your home or business and they will bring the shoes and purses to you.  The host automatically gets a pair of shoes of her choice and the more her guests spend, the more free shoes she gets.  Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

If you are lucky enough to live in Southern California, check out ShoeFete and become a host!  And, while I won’t buy the shoes for obvious reasons, invite me too so I can appreciate the artistry of the shoes over a glass of wine. ;-)

-Reported by Mdivani Monroe of Ladies Who Lunch Travel

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WEST COAST FAB: M5 Eco Couture

Besides benefitting Entertainment AIDS Alliance, the Fashion Minga event also showcased 5 Southern California design houses. Events like these can be very important to small design houses, because they can help to give them the much needed exposure necessary to succeed in the highly competitive fashion arena. Los Angeles has a vibrant fashion community that marches to its own drummer and often reflect the local culture and concerns.

M5 Eco Couture is a perfect example of a design house that produces clothing that is right in line with LA style and is also fashion with a conscience. Designer Morgan Olson, the founder of and the creative talent behind M5 Eco Couture, definitely has an agenda. An agenda for saving the planet. M5 Eco Couture is all about being Eco-Friendly. Ms. Olson not only designs using resources that are sustainable and wonʼt harm the environment, but a big part of her collections are focused on recycling materials. Making garments out of recycled denim, scarves and other fabrics from used clothing, M5 Eco Couture strives to eliminate the waste that is caused by mass production. It also eliminates the need for producing new fabrics. Manufacturing fabric can pollute the environment with chemicals and dyes used in the process. Ms. Olson tries to use very little to none of packaging materials, with an eye toward reducing the mount of plastic bags and other packing items that end up in our landfills.

M5 Eco Couture presentation at Fashion Minga proved that you can create LA Chic clothing without being detrimental to the environment. A noble cause for fashion and a noble cause for our future.

Reported by Mdivani Monroe of Ladies Who Lunch Travel. Photos by Omri Escalante.
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Toronto Fashion Week: Baby Steinberg Salvage

There is plenty of trashy fashion out there.  How often have you seen very chic fashion made of trash?  Baby Steinberg presented one of my favorite shows during LG Fashion Week with an inventive collection from salvaged materials. 

There were dresses made from pleated coffee filters, braided garbage bags and crocheted cell phone chargers.  Found keys jingled with knitted VHS film.  Discarded take-out bags made a dramatic outfit with feathers and seeds.  Window screen puffed out into a dramatic cocktail dress.  

Baby Steinberg is not a mass-market designer.  She made her reputation creating one-of-a-kind garments for performers and socialites.  She also creates jewelry

A concept like this usually looks like a gimmicky art project.  What made the difference in making this look like a sophisticated runway was the treatment of the materials.  The coffee filters were pleated into delicate shapes to mimic organza flowers popularized by designers like Monique Lhuillier.  The garbage bags were twisted and crocheted into contouring forms like a metallic yarn.  

Photos by Ritika Wahal

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Los Angeles Fashion Week: Green Initiative Spring 2011

Los Angeles Fashion Week started last weekend and what better way to begin my coverage than with The Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show.  The show is sponsored by The Green Youth Movement, an organization founded by Ally Maize with a goal to educate youth on how to be eco friendly.  As Ms. Maize put it at the opening of the show, “We’re the next generation and can and will make a difference”.

The event showcased four labels that concentrate their efforts on eco-friendly fashion: organic and sustainable fabrics, local manufacturing, fair trade practices, non-toxic dyes.  Although these labels all put an emphasis on being eco-friendly, they each have a very distinctive personality.

First up on the runway was Kristinit, by designer Kristina Lenss.

In a collection that covered the bases from daytime casual to dressier pieces, Ms. Lenss turned out a very feminine and versatile line.  Constructed jackets paired with flirty skirts were key to this grouping as were a mix of day to evening dresses.

Next up was , a line with a primary goal to provide jobs for women with HIV in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia. With this noble goal, they produce a line that is very handcrafted and artisanal, emphasizing elegance and comfort.  Using a color palette that is very earthy and natural, Keokjay produced a nice line of mostly casual separates, all with handcrafted details that really stand out.    One look that stood out was a dress with the fabric braided in the front to produce and interesting textural element from which the fabric emerged in soft drapes.

Jonãno followed with a line that was also more geared toward casual wear.  Utilizing mostly natural colors, Jonãno accented the collection with a few shots of mauve, a bright blue and an ethnic-look print.  A “macramé” shawl, an intricately twisted front print dress and a lace sheath dress with a long jacket were standouts in this grouping.

Last, but definitely not least, the Emily Factor line.  While the other lines were all beautifully done, this line kicked it up a notch.  The Central Saint Martins education was definitely apparent here.  Vibrant sophisticated prints were the focal point of this collection, whether draped in fluid dresses or as leggings. This bold use of color was a nice ending to the show. Flowing dresses with an emphasis on drape were knock outs and high waisted “paper bag” pants and shorts were stylishly reminiscent of the 80’s.

All in all, The Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show  made good on its promise of showing us that fashion can be eco-friendly without compromising on style. Let’s hear it for Eco Chic!

Photos & Reporting by Mdivani Monroe

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Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics

Did you know that carmine, a typical ingredient in many cosmetics products is made from BEETLES? Me neither…And EW!  In fact, other regular ingredients like lanolin (secreted by the  sebaceous glands of sheep) are also derived from animals.  Don’t even ask about testing…

A vision of innovation and a desire to create a vegan, cruelty-free cosmetics brands inspired make-up artist David Klasfeld to create Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics.  Along with fellow artists Katie Pellegrino, he created a collection that counts celebs like Lady Gag, Regina Spektor and Beyonce as fans. 

When you think of a vegan, PETA-approved brand, you expect to see a granola look with lots of natural colors.  The creative team has paid their dues working with M.A.C., Patricia Field and Heatherette.  The color palettes were bold.  The highly pigmented products were very fashion forward.  

I tried their signature Lip Tar product.  It is a thick, opaque lip gloss/lipstick hybrid.  It gives a very slick, bold look to your lips.  The Obsessive Compulsive line was built for professional use.  The Lip Tar  wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.  I tried the loose color powders as well.  The color was intense (other brands usually disappoint in this department).  The products are intended to hold up under bright lights and HD cameras…Perfect for the red carpet.  

Should I be surprised that the creative directors were meticulous in their product development?  With a name like Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics?  Absolutely not.

Photos by Mariana Leung

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Italian Vogue - Oil Spill Chic?

How do you make an epic environmental disaster into a fashion spread? Is that tacky or brave?

Readers are quite divided over the controversial magazine editorial. The sight of a grey-haired (but beautiful) Kristen McMenamy is the first shocker. Models draped over oil-strewn rocks, trapped in nets, embellished with feathers. Models covered in dirt, oil, strangled with seaweed.

Some accuse the editors of glamorizing a tragedy.

I think that to reduce it as such would be too quick and narrow-minded. I believe that the spread is a statement on consumerism. This is a photo-editorial showing that the fashion industry does indeed acknowledge harsh realities in the world. This is a work of art by Steven Meisel and not an ad campaign.

The fashion pieces in the pictorial also served to showcase eco-artists and designers. In several photographs, Kristen McMenamy wears a seaweed-like rubber necklace. The necklace by Kathleen Nowak Tucci was made of re-purposed pieces of inner tubes from the Gulf Coast.

To check out the full magazine spread, click through to Refinery 29's slideshow. For a closer look at the clothing used in the editorial, check out the video below:

Fashion companies with projects aiding oil spill relief: Kenneth Cole, Thomas Mann, Perry Ellis

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MIAMI SWIM WEEK: Boys! Naila at Swell Suits Spring 2011

For all of you who have seen enough svelte female models at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Swim, I present the very buff, very tan boys of Miami.

The Naila collection is handmade in Italy and designed with an eco-conscious slant. The cuts were decidedly more European than the urban board shorts of the other shows. Shorter shorts with bright color palettes and smaller geometric prints flattered these toned bodies. They also launched a recyclable, environmentally friendly trunk short.

Accessories? Unless you count tanning oil and hairspray, none to speak of. Why distract from the physical perfection?

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ECO-CHIC at the Scandinavia House

When you think of ‘green’ fashion and eco-friendly clothes, do you think drab? Shapeless sacks of hemp, faded linens, dragging earth tones? Think again.

At the Scandinavia House, there is a free exhibit until August 21^st, 2010. The Eco-Chic exhibit in Midtown Manhattan's Scandinavia House showcases Sweden’s best designers who follow the principles of sustainable design.

Frumpy, the clothes are not. Julian Red’s lurex/linen trench strikes a very tailored, dramatic silhouette. Anja Hynynen’s delicately knitted gowns are delicately sculpted into ruffles. The comically named Swedish Hasbeens makes ultra-sturdy handmade boots from traditional methods.

The museum doesn’t just serve to present pretty fashion. As you walk around the rooms, you can fill out survey testing your eco-chic knowledge.

The fashions and accessories on display represent multiple disciplines of sustainable fashion. It demonstrates the different fabrications like hemp, organic cotton, linens, etc. These many people know.

Eco-friendly clothing is more than that. Ethical and fair-trade practices of manufacturing are explored. Re-using and re-cycling is updated by mixing vintage with the new and the popular “upcycling” of items. Re-purposing a piece to something fabulous.

Many don’t know that harmful effects that stem from laundry. The simple choice to air dry and hand wash a garment makes a huge impact globally if done en masse.

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Pay It Fashion Forward - Summer Rayne Oakes Delivers For Fashion

Where can you find impeccably dressed fashionistas bowling in mismatched shoes?  Last week at Lucky Strike Lanes, the fabulous people were out to support Pay It Fashion Forward, a benefit for Fashion Delivers.

The party was hosted by Emmanuelle Chriqui of HBO’s Entourage and Bryan Greenberg of How to Make It in America.  The event brought together guests from the entertainment, media and fashion industries to raise money for Haiti relief.    

Fashion Delivers calls upon apparel companies, designers and individuals to contribute clothing, products and funds to help those in crisis.  Anyone who works in the industry understands that excess merchandise is a regular part of doing business and the organizers behind this charity found a great outlet for it.

 I was able to speak to Summer Rayne Oakes, one of the evening’s honorees. She is a model/activist who has devoted much of her time to this cause. In addition to helping the victims of Haiti relief, she was also involved in providing aid to help victims of Hurricane Katrina for the organization. She has made a name for herself, more for her environmental work then modeling. Summer has launched Source 4 Style, a platform for designers to source ethical and sustainable suppliers for their collection.

The board of directors Fashion Delivers is made up of the top executives in the apparel industry. Together, they have lobbied the government to make shipments sent for aid duty free to make giving easier.

Forever 21 presented a fashion show along the bowling lanes, raffles of sponsor goodies and tasty cocktails from Patron rounded out the night.


How can individuals contribute to this organization? Ms. Oakes suggested new helpers can donate money, clothes or even their time. Also, funds raised by attending events thrown by Fashion Delivers helps pay for the shipping of supplies to those in need.

Photos by Mariana L and Emma Grady

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