Eco Fashion World

For the first time in many years, I am back home in the Basque Country to spend more than just a family and friends weekend. I decided to stay for a few weeks, working out of Aux Magazine's office, before heading back to Madrid's dejecting summer heat. It feels surprisingly like home...warm, cozy and friendly. Another amazing discovery has been the number of cool Basque brands I’ve encountered (in some cases re-encountered) these days.

For some strange reason (I might be change adverse?), I strive to keep my old time learnings alive and kicking. That includes the welfare state, control over the market until it really serves the people - which is its only legitimate purpose, and so on. However, somewhere in my brain I know I have to keep a window opened for these principles to be challenged. 

Attending trade shows throughout the year gives you some hints as to where we should be looking at when it comes to a more sensible fashion scene in the future. If I had to pick one personal highlight from the last edition of Texworld – held in Paris just last week, I’d say meeting Lena Swiadek, editor-in-chief of GoodLife Poland, a fresh eco lifestyle magazine from Poland. Lena browsed the fair looking for insights on new and eco fabrics with a big smile and a remarkably bright look in her eyes.

This is how your next season organic cotton garments look like right now. Click the "Read more" link to see more pictures.

It is the second time I have the opportunity to sit and chat with Aurelien Conty, founder of Mision Misericordia a cool brand (very popular amongst fashionistas) made in Peru with strong social and environmental principles at its core.

Four things I learned today from Indian organic cotton farmers:

‘Bhramasthiram’ literally means ‘missile’ in Tamil, but is also the name of one of the most effective bio-pesticides used by Indian farmers under ‘cow centric farming’, also known as ‘zero budget farming’ -it is actually also zero waste farming, let’s talk to William McDonough about that.

My good friend -and excellent photographer, Pablo Wünsch Blanco www.auslandia.com and myself, came across Baruc Corazón timeless cotton shirts about this time of the year, just two years ago. We were wandering the streets of the Chueca district, downtown Madrid, when the entrance of a brand new cozy store called 3 Góngoras caught our eyes. Curious and hungry for beauty as we are, we went in to discover Baruc’s permanent collection: a set of shirts, kurtas and kaftans which has recently expanded to relaxed jackets and pants, and elegant polo-shirts and blazers. Since then, Baruc’s name has been in and out my professional life as one of Spain’s most visionary designers and certainly one of the most meaning driven. His garments stand out for their exquisite natural fabrics, smart, durable and unisex cuts, and the feeling you are purchasing something for the rest of your life. A true contender for both slow fashion and aesthetics. Just yesterday, I entered Baruc’s showroom and store in Madrid for the first time and I could experience all of those qualities exuding from each and every piece, the warmth in the atmosphere, rounded up by the interior design and the attentive and joyful service of his assistant – who happened to be an old student of mine from IED. Pure joy.