| SUCCESS FOR ECO FASHION WEEK VANCOUVER |
| Written by Erda Schnarr - Sunday, 10 October 2010 | |
NIXXI Photo by Peter Holst Photography It was an absolute pleasure to attend the many events at the first annual Eco Fashion Week here in Vancouver Canada! Sponsored by Aveda, the opening night gala was the perfect hot spot to meet everyone involved. A few words were spoken by Myriam Laroche, Eco fashion Week President and Nicole Bridger, a local Vancouver designer who recently won the Fashion Takes Action Design Forward Award for Canada’s Favourite Eco Fashion Designer. 
NIXXI Photo by Peter Holst Photography Day OneWGSN’s (leading online trend-analysis and research service) Carly Stojsic took the mic for the first seminar on Day One, on the topic of ‘Eco as Movement, not Trend’. She spoke about sustainability being a movement worldwide and touched on industries outside of apparel, covering topics like cycling groups (check out Momentum Magazine), The Seed Project, progressive projects like Denim Revival in LA focusing on tailoring and altering jeans, and Swap-A-Rama events. Stojsic also spoke on the creative use of waste, explaining how denim scraps can be used for housing insulation, concluding with the thought that the whole process of the life cycle needs to be considered when evaluating a product. 
KIM CATHERS Photo by Peter Holst Photography The first runway show featured Chicago’s Lara Miller, showcasing her beautiful mesh items, including wrap tops and a fabulous maxi dress. Lara Miller is represented by The Four Hundred, New York’s first sales and press showroom exclusively dedicated to contemporary sustainable design. The runway next took a turn to tailored suits with dramatic shoulders by Emesha, who just recently presented her Spring/Summer 2011 line at London Fashion Week as well. 
EMESHA Photo by Peter Holst Photography Later, we saw Eden Organic Menswear, a Brazilian line represented by Green Sapphire Imports here in Vancouver. Regina Landim Noppè is a Brazilian-Canadian living in Vancouver representing and supporting Brazilian eco fashion brands. We were also treated to the fabulously colourful and wildly chunky jewellery of Green Sapphire at the Eco Fashion Week www.ecofashion-week.com trade show. Green Sapphire Jewellery helps promote ecologically sound harvesting and sustainability in the forests of the Amazon.
Summer Rayne Oakes at Eco Fashion Week Vancouver supporting garment workers Photo by Mike Beishuizen Day One concluded with the spotlight on some local designers, like Nixxi’s glam rock look, Kim Cathers kdon line all made from textiles from Our Social Fabric, a Vancouver textile recycling initiative, and the ever romantic and flirty Lav & Kush. 
EMESHA Photo by Peter Holst Photography Day TwoThe day opened with seminars by Dr. Andrew Weaver, Nobel Prize Winner and another seminar on the lifecycles of fashion. Mark Trotzuk from Boardroom Eco Apparel gave an informative talk about the lifecycle of a garment, considering all factors including raw material choice, impact of the process it was created by (water, energy), travel, after care, packaging, print paper usage, disposal, etc. A great example he shared highlighted the difference between the entire lifecycle of polyester (ideally recycled) and organic cotton discussing how in beginning stages cotton appears better, but in later stages the poly shows to be more sustainable as the fabric last longer and the garment care does not require hot water, dryer, or iron. Trotzuk spoke highly of the bluesign® standard, which focuses on ‘an obligation of all companies within the textile chain to regard and manage product safety and environmental impact’. 
RED JADE Photo by Peter Holst Photography Paul Raybin next took the stage and spoke about water use in the textile industry, and brought attention to just how much water is used and the impact of toxic dyestuffs in the water disposal. He stated that it takes 713 gallons of water to create a t-shirt and 919 for a pair of jeans! He also mentioned how some large companies like H&M, Walmart and Barney’s have made public claims to making a commitment towards sustainability which means they have pressure to follow up with this and people will need to follow in their footsteps to further the change on a whole. Raybin also discussed the new revolutionary AirDye® technology that manages the application of color to synthetic textiles without the use of water, providing a sustainable alternative to traditional dyeing processes. This process also provides some advanced techniques like creating a fabric that has a different pattern on each side, helping to eliminate the use of linings. 
LARA PRESBER Photo by Peter Holst Photography
UK’s Elena Garcia was the first fashion show of day two, featuring her flowy feminine prints with a casual elegance and fun spring colours like yellow and green. By Stamo followed, presenting a collection of tailored pieces with flashes of bright colours and polka dots. The fashion shows continued with Lara Presber’s cute dresses with unique collar and decorative button details; Margarita Angelatos’ two lines, Peridot Kiss, an easy to wear women’s line made of hemp jersey knits and Red Jade, a more tailored line; and Nicole Bridger’s ready to wear line with beautiful draping and soft colour palette. Day Two closed with a powerful show by Prophetik, engaging the audience with an inspiring video on Jeff Garner’s journey and proceeding with live musicians, singing and inspiration from Garner’s horse riding Tennessee roots.
NICOLE BRIDGER Photo by Peter Holst Photography Day ThreeSummer Rayne Oakes led with an inspirational seminar, discussing her background and the initiatives she is now involved with, including her work with Payless ShoeSource’s Zoe and Zac line, an affordable line of eco shoes made from organic cotton, recycled rubber and recycled PET. Oakes also spoke of Source4Style, an initiative connecting designers with eco textile distributors which she and her team have officially launched this week. 
PROPHETIK Photo by Peter Holst Photography The day moved into a very informative Q&A panel discussion, including Summer Rayne Oakes, Nicole Bridger, Jeff Garner of Prophetik, Paul Raybin of AirDye, Mark Trotzuk of Boardroom Eco Apparel, and The David Suzuki Foundation’s Queen of Green, Lindsay Coulter. Eco Fashion Week Vancouver closed with a trade show and a party at Club 560. Looking forward to seeing what is to come in February at Eco Fashion Week Vancouver! 
PROPHETIK Photo by Peter Holst Photography
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Comments (1)
Garment Workers Deserve A Say In the Supply Chain written by Ashley Smith, October 11, 2010
This site has really amazing content. Garment workers do deserve a say in the supply chain. With October being Fair Trade month, it is especially important to make an effort to understand what fair trade is all about. That is why Indigenous Designs is hitting the road for a 6 city style tour. The style tour will showcase Indigenous Designs’ new collection and help educate shoppers about the benefits of wearing – and purchasing – fair trade apparel. They're stopping in Sausalito, San Francisco, Larkspur, Coeur d'Alene, Redmond, and Seattle. Here's the invitation for their first stop! http://on.fb.me/d2amuz
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