Eco Fashion World

BY MUTATION

First, you can make your true colors known by taking the Buy Handmade pledge to find original gifts for your loved ones and request that others do the same for you. A happy side effect of these belt-tightening times is that several crafty designers are hopping on the sustainability bandwagon and using recycled materials for economic reasons. Of course you will find a plethora of choices on famous online crafting community Etsy but should you want to touch, smell and try on the goodies, here are a few places to go.

AMISHA

In the heart of London’s Notting Hill district, an ephemeral shop has popped up just in time to meet your gift giving needs. Our Eco Shop is a collaboration of UK designers-makers and small green companies who have joined together to offer you a great selection of fair trade, ethical, organic, and eco-friendly products. From home wares to baby and children clothes and toys, they cover a full range of products, but of course, we were curious to see which designers they carried. We were not disappointed when we discovered Amisha; a romantic and timeless jewelry collection with many covetable pieces in rich semi precious stones, some with a contemporary and slightly rebellious twist. Another head turner is Good One, an award-winning, sustainable fashion design company with an edge. Innovative, quality, one-off clothing is made from hand-picked, locally-sourced, recycled fabrics. Amongst other fashionable goodies you’ll find BoBelle’s fairly traded, handmade and recycled gifts, warm knits from Izzy Lane and gorgeous vegan shoes and accessories by Bourgois Boheme . (Our Eco Shop: 303 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill London W11 2QA, from November 18th until December 24th )

GOOD ONE

One of the biggest tradeshows in North America, the One of a Kind Show’s Christmas edition is starting this Thursday, November 27th in Toronto (until December 7th). With a floor of crafts as far as the eye can see, we can only recommend that you do your homework and highlight the brands you want to see if you don’t want to miss them! This year the show is honoring the work of eco designer Susan Harris a pioneer of upcycled fashion who incorporates techniques such as silk screening by hand to create truly unique garments. You’ll also want to check out Lilikoi, this west coast label is known for distinctive prints and clean, simple design. Every print is hand drawn in their British Columbia studio and then transferred to a screen where it is used for limited seasonal runs to ensure uniqueness of the product, the fabrics are a blend of bamboo, soy, organic cotton and hemp. This is also your chance to get your hands on an exclusive bag from Jack and Marjorie , the Toronto team creates unique pieces from recycled army blankets and leather that are as sexy as they are sturdy. We also can’t get enough of Adhesif Cothing, find out the story behind the label from our interview with designer Melissa Ferreira at Vancouver Fashion Week. To continue your eco tour, don’t forget to stop by League of Lovers and Thieves for some edgy Canadian fashion and pick up cute reusable bags as stocking stuffers at Lily Ecolo.

LILIKOI

On a different scale, don’t miss this one day private sale event in a posh Parisian apartment on Sunday October 30th (16 Av de la grande Armée - Paris 17 11h à 19h - M° Charles de Gaulle Etoile). This is a chance to pick up some exclusive accessories from By Mutation, one of our crushes from the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris, they’ve invited some sustainable designer friends and are having a cozy flat sale party with unique pieces to spice up your winter wardrobe.

Comments (1)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form