Eco Fashion World

Sometimes you can feel so vulnerable, you’d rather secretly dissappear off the earth. Like when you’re surrounded by tough fashion people who don’t give a damn about the planet, but mainly care about money. Yes these people still exist and yes I meet them once in a while. Although I have to say that I seem to attract mostly good encounters, which was the case at Dutch fashion fair ModeFabriek last week.

Recruitment and selection agency Fashion Solution was a warm host, giving young designers the opportunity to present their work. We (www.edwinoudshoorn.com) presented our accessories next to famous neighbours Iris van Herpen, Michael Barnaart van Bergen well-known for his paper dresses, streetstyle designer Antoine Peters and Carmen Gloudemans with her stylish Tesj bags. None of them particularly eco, but nonetheless great and inspiring artists.

My search for fellow eco brands soon brought me to the established Kuyichi showcasing a surprisingly more feminine women’s collection including some peace-silk pieces. Gsus is one of my long-time favorites because of their headstrong designs and partnership with Fair Wear Foundation. I became even more convinced when they explained to me how they collect leftover cotton off the factory floors to create the recycled cotton T-shirts in their latest collection. M-Braze surprised me too as they started off as a T-shirt brand and now came with a full range of very attractive men’s and women’s wear. Ambitious newcomer Circle of Trust broadcast the idea that fair trade doesn’t need to be more expensive. I loved their colorful skinny jeans although I’d rather buy them in organic. At Simple Shoes my feet weren’t itching to slip into one of their sneakers, but I really admired their fresh and funny look.

Although this handful of brands were the only ethical brands represented at ModeFabriek (with 500 brands present!), I felt inexhaustible and full of hope. Especially as my little-eco-whirlwind-tour made me bump into Belgian based Label Magazine that had just done a ‘Green is the new black’ issue. The publisher told me they will launch Belgium’s first eco glossy in September. That’s really great because I haven’t been to Antwerp for a while.

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