Eco Fashion Week Wrap Up

By Lexi Green
September 15, 2010

Green is the new black. And if you don't believe us, check this: eBay listings with the term "organic" have nearly doubled since this time last year, while sales for items with the term have risen 30 percent.

Among the forces propelling green fashion along: the GreenShows, otherwise kown as Eco Fashion Week.

It wasn’t too long ago, three seasons to be exact, that the GreenShows made its ethically-chic debut. A humble runway in downtown Manhattan served as the backdrop for emerging eco-designers in the Fall of 2009, as they showed their clothing lines while the mayhem of traditional New York Fashion buzzed further uptown. This season, with a decidedly more stylish space (The Metropolitan Pavilion in Chelsea) and a bustling cast of fashionista characters in attendance, it seems that the GreenShows—and with it, a roster of talented eco-designers—has truly made its mark as a Fashion Week fixture.

We caught several of the GreenShows, which wrapped up yesterday, and are now scheming about how we'd pair the pieces we saw on the runway with some of our favorite eBay vintage finds.

Auralís Herrero

Auralís Herrero
This Puerto Rican-born designer turned up the heat while still infusing a cool-city vibe into her “urban tropical” Spring 2011 collection. Herrero remarked on how her upbringing and her current life in New York inspired her work: “The collection brings together my favorite islands. I present them as I saw Puerto Rico riding my bike as a kid, and how I see New York and Brooklyn when I ride their streets now. The colors, the forms, they all come from that.” In order to portray the dualities between the Caribbean and New York, Herrero took recycled, sustainable and organic fabrics, in contrasting bright and muted hues, and constructed them into a series of asymmetrical silhouettes. The result, again, is a display of distinctly diverging themes: saucy and demure. We found pieces on eBay, including A-line skirts and bright jewelry, that we thought inspire and compliment Herrero’s collection perfectly.

A-line Skirts

Roll over items for details

NEW BCBG Max Azria Vermilion Silk Ruffle Dress

(starting big, $59.95)

Victoria's Secret Pink Skirt

NEW BCBG Max Azria Runway Jumpsuit

(starting bid, $69.99)

Bright or Lady-like Bangles

NEW Wood Bangles Handcrafted

(starting bid, $9.99)

NEW Brown & Black Wave Lucite Bangle

(starting bid, $.01)

NEW Bling Ring Bangle Bracelet

(starting bid, $.99)

Bright Young Things

Bright Young Things designer Eliza Starbuck, began her slow-fashion journey with a “little black dress” that could be worn frontward, backward, inside out, as a jacket, as a romper, dressed up and down, after she met Sheena Matheiken in 2009. Matheiken, who now works closely with eBay, had launched an initiative called the Uniform Project, wherein she pledged to wear one little black dress for 365 days, made by Starbuck, as an exercise in sustainability and as a fundraiser to support the Akanksha Foundation, a non-profit organization providing education to children living in Indian slums. Matheiken succeeded in her mission and Starbuck’s Bright Young Things line has evolved into a collection of eight items, including shorts, pants, jackets, and more, that are all convertible, just like the initial LBD. The idea is to enable the wearer to slow down the fashion process and get creative, with accessories and interchangeable looks. We love all the simple ways Starbuck paired her classic LBD and found ourselves dreaming of the ways we would create our own interchangeable Bright Young Things look with eBay finds.

Items to wear under LBD open or closed

NEW Black & White Striped Sleeve Tunic

(starting bid $20.68)

NEW Long Shirt With Layered Sleeve

(starting bid, $7.99)

NEW Trina Turk White Button Down Shirt

(starting bid, $49)

Leggings/Pantyhose

Pattern Grey Leggings

NEW Black Leather Look Leggings

(current bid, $.99)

NEW Gothic Strip Pattern Jacquard Tights

(starting bid, $.75)

NEW Lace Pattern Butterfly Shaped Tights

(starting bid, $.99)

NEW Yellow Tights

(current bid, $5.50)

Samantha Pleet

Samantha Pleet has become a darling of indie musicians around the world, such as Beach House, Dirty Projectors and Au Revoir Simone, who all wear her quirky and flirty eco-fashions. It is no wonder musicians love her, because Pleet’s uncomplicated yet uniquely layered designs are for the creative girl at heart who thinks about the detailed subtleties of her outfit. We are particularly fond of Pleet’s off-beat prints, such as the polka dots from her current collection. We also love the disarmingly simple details she incorporates into her work, such as a large ribbon as a belt, a high buttoned shirt, or a simple set of small front pockets. All of Pleet’s designs are manufactured locally in New York City, and she uses organic fabrics wherever she possibly can in order to keep her carbon footprint to a minimum. We fell so in love with Pleet’s quirky-charming collection that we shopped eBay for inspiration and other items to complete the darling look.