Eco Fashion World

The very first eco fashion store in Brazil just opened its doors! The store carries new Brazilian eco brand Eden and is located in São Paulo’s trendiest neighborhood, Vila Magalena.

The plush design interior is furnished with sleek furniture crafted from scrap-wood and clothes are displayed on bamboo hangers produced by Bamcrus, a company that runs sustainability projects with poor communities in the Amapa region of Brazil.

Carioca’s can be sure to welcome a sustainable summer with Rio Fashion Week’s theme of “ReThink ReCycle & ReNovate”. The event’s host, Sebrae, came up with the slogan, surfing on the wave of the eco trend that continues to spread in the industry. Alberto Bruno of Sebrae comments: “Rio is, after Sao Paulo, the second fashion capital of Brazil and we need to show that we think about more then glamour. Our January edition saw a focus on social brands that are being produced in poor communities. In this edition we shine a light on the environmental side”. Sebrae took a stand in their VIP area, which was decorated as a library of sustainable materials and design objects. With participants such as Habto, Fibra Design and Osklen and his Instituto E, they managed to gather the crème-de-la-crème of Brazilian sustainable fashion and design. National newspaper O Dia hoped on the eco train with their variant of ‘This is Not a Plastic Bag’ that was given out to the press.

The ReThink theme was a good warm up for the city that will host the Ethical Fashion Show South America, in June 2009.

Gorgeous models in bamboo designs, local sewers behind their machines and international journalists wearing paper folded hats to protect against a burning sun. These were the main features of ModaFusion's fashion show in a slum in Rio de Janeiro. With a view on the local garbage dump, ModaFusion launched her second Couture Ethique collection. The collection was designed by French-Canadian designer Bianca Kuttickattu and inspired on Brazilian fauna. Together with local designers, Bianca had translated traditional techniques such as embroidery, fuxico and silk painting into high fashion pieces. A remarkable characteristic throughout the collection were the 'church windows' that gave a modern look to the collection. All items were made of sustainable materials such as PET, organic cotton, cruel-free silk and bamboo.

Is that…Lindsay Lohan in second hand clothes? Yes, don’t get your glasses fixed just yet! Lindsay has signed on to be the face of this year’s big Visa Swap event in London.

So you’d probably heard about Future Fashion LA back in March, the glamorous eco-friendly event of LA Fashion Week held at the mayor’s residence and hosted by Earth Pledge and Designers&Agents. But these Agents aren’t in it just for the glitz, this past weekend, D&A were at it again for their Holiday tradeshow.

Founded in 1997 by fashion showroom veterans and visionaries Barbara Kramer and Ed Mandelbaum , Designers&Agents has become one of the most influential tradeshows in the business running 12 times a year in Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo and known for premiering up-and-coming designers with a fresh vision. And for its latest editions, D&A has been increasingly greening its ranks. The initiative started last year with an eco-capsule and has since expanded into a full fledged Green Room including discussion forums, sustainable fabric installations, a library of educational materials, and of course eco-fabulous designers! In order to promote the work of these sustainable style innovators, D&A has been waving the participation fee for designers showing collections that are at least 25% sustainable.