After years spent on the fringes, green designers are becoming as ubiquitous at Fashion Week as editors wearing black and bloggers sitting in the front row. We asked three talented designers, all of whom showed during February's Fall 2010 Fashion Week, to tell us about the inspirations behind their collections and to share their eBay picks.
John Patrick of John Patrick Organic
John Patrick has been dressing both men and women alike in charmingly preppy-slash-downtown-cool styles since 2003. He's even made his way to the silver screen: Bradley Cooper pulled off a rumpled-yet-sharp look during the entirety of the movie “Hangover” with the help of a John Patrick Organic shirt. But Patrick has been getting buzz from more places than the movies. Right before he showed his collection at February’s Green Fashion Week, he won the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation’s Sustainable Design Award, beating out 25 other semi-finalists for the title. His recent collection will probably get him another round of much-deserved fashion editorial space inside the pages of Vogue, Elle, and Harper’s Bazaar, where his styles can frequently be seen. For Fall 2010, he stuck to his aesthetic roots by incorporating well-constructed tweeds, menswear-inspired tailoring and some fun shocks of bright pink. When we asked him about his inspirations for this latest collection, he told us he started at “Joni Mitchell and her hybrid of wonderfulness, the country/city aspect of tweeds and corduroys and went from there.” An avid eBay shopper since the late 90s, Patrick's eBay picks are a clear reflection of where his head is right now.
Top Row: John Patrick Organics Fall 2010 collection.
Bottom Row: Joni Mitchell Poster/Print (buy it now price, $14.99) "The first inspiration for the collection was Joni Mitchell. We listened to her music and her beautiful words and then started studying the 'Sloan Rangers' of the 1980s."
Dunn & Harris Tweed Sportcoat (buy it now price, $89.99) "Connecting the dots with the fabrics is one of my favorite things to work on. I love the country/city duality that tweeds mixed with cords can play. This jacket fits that description perfectly."
Johanna Hofring of Ekovaruhuset
In the late '90s, Swedish-born Johanna Hofring opened up a small shop in the Lower East Side, where she sold her own goods next to other pieces from designers she liked. When she started learning about the damaging effects clothing production processes have on the environment, she shifted gears completely. In 2006, she re-opened her shop, re-named it Ekovaruhuset (or “House of Organic” in Swedish) and started designing and selling clothing (her own and from other designers) she calls "Fair Made"—items made using mostly organic materials by ethical production facilities. When it comes to shopping green, her advice is, “Just think a little bit before you shop. You can buy secondhand at such great quality—on eBay for example. Secondhand clothing looks fantastic and it can go the distance if you treat it with care.” Hofring gathers inspiration for her one-of-a-kind pieces from nature. She told us that she frequently uses the intrinsic natural beauty found within mother-of-pearl buttons, which she often buys from eBay, to inspire an entire outfit.
Top Row: Ekovaruhuset Fall 2010 collection
Bottom Row: Art Nouveau Calla Lily Decorative Dish (buy it now price, $23.50) "I get so inspired by things in nature. This art nouveau plate is a great starting point for a piece."
34 Dark Shell Black Mother of Pearl Vintage Buttons (buy it now price, $5.99) "These are some examples of buttons I love! Many times, a whole dress is inspired by a single button."
Susan Woo
Susan Woo told us that the inspirations for her Fall/Winter 2010 collection stemmed from medieval warriors and Faye Dunaway’s character in “Bonnie and Clyde.” The result of this inspired amalgamation was a tough and bold, yet still completely feminine collection, complete with pops of red and tailored yet draping silhouettes. Woo, whose previous design gigs were at esteemed fashion houses like Chanel and Derek Lam, believes in the importance of mixing soft drapes with sharp lines. She also understands the value of working with superior fabrics. According to Woo, not only are natural textiles better for the environment, but they also feel more comfortable and luxurious on the body. When we asked her about her favorite fashion trends, she told us, “I love that fashion is once again celebrating the female form in a sophisticated, tailored way. Right now, I like fitted blazers and belts that emphasize the waist. And when it comes to eco-fashion, we are moving away from screen-printed t-shirts to really amazing clothes that don’t look eco-friendly!” Before Woo picked some inspiration for us from eBay, she let us know that her favorite purchase of all time is a vintage chain necklace that she got from eBay and that strangers offer to buy from her whenever she wears it.
Top Row: Susan Woo Fall 2010 Collection
Bottom Row: Vintage Warrior Robot (buy it now price, $59.99) "The original inspiration of the collection stemmed from medieval warriors, but I didn't want to reference that too much. I am much more drawn to clean, architectural lines, so I had tons of pictures of robots to keep me focused on being modern and graphic."
Charles Wysocki " Smoke Creek Landing " Print (buy it now price, $399) "This canvas has the color palette of the collection. It's a mix of neutrals with splashes of bright red and olive green."
**Images of featured designers and their collections provided by featured designers.**
Lexi Green is a Brooklyn-based design, fashion, and shopping writer. She is currently a Master's Degree candidate at Pratt Institutes's environmental sustainability program.
