Ecouterre

Janette Crawford of Fashion Loves People is a design maven, a collector of beauty, and a entrepreneur with a social conscience. She seems to have really hit her stride in her latest venture—a limited-edition collection of handmade jewelry by her favorite indie designers, including Alyson Fox, Early Jewelry, Manimal, and Adoura Demode. Because many of the designs are made from reclaimed or recycled materials, you’ll have to get ‘em while they’re hot. The pieces are selling out fast and once they’re gone, they’re gone for good.

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In the testosterone-filled world of music, the Lilith Fair is a rockin’ testament to women in music. The touring, all-lady festival Lilith Fair—don’t worry guys, you can attend, you just won’t be headlining—is back after a 10-year hiatus. To commemorate the occasion, the Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan, who founded the event, is flexing her designer muscles with a range of winsome wing-shaped jewelry from 100 percent reclaimed silver.

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If photovoltaics are the Coke-bottle-bespectacled, pocket-protector-carrying nerds of the wearable-tech frontier, then consider Diane von Furstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger, Rogan, Loomstate, Zero + Maria Cornejo, Lutz & Patmos, Loeffler Randall, and Joseph Muteti their fairy godmothers. Brought together by Elle magazine, the fashion houses and the Nairobi tailor worked with Sheila Kennedy, the director of the Portable Light Project, to design nine solar purses that supply both light and power. All the bags are currently being auctioned off on eBay, with the proceeds earmarked to further Portable Light’s mission of using energy-harvesting textiles to deliver power to developing communities.

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For Los Angeles designer Shaina Mote, who spent much of her childhood weaving baskets from pine needles, the art of creative reuse was something she mastered from a young age. So it only goes to figure that when Mote’s interests took a sartorial turn, she gravitated toward reclaimed materials, including deadstock fabric. Even her Fall/Winter 2010 collection takes cues from the past (specifically, the 1930s and 1940s), resulting in a showcase of casual yet immaculately fitted pieces that juxtapose workhorse flannels and corduroys with slinky silks and knits.

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Susan Hoff has been manning decks of sailboats since she was 14, so what better material to use for her super-beachy line of tote bags than recycled sailcloth? But Hoff doesn’t desist at maritime materials. The San Francisco-based designer also pilfers retired horse reins and rare vintage kimonos to create her practically perfect (and perfectly practical) carryalls.

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Ecouterre loves the Earth so much, sometimes we just want to wrap ourselves up in it. Via Nativa’s hand-carved wooden jewelry is way better than any homemade daisy chain and far less ephemeral. Plus, the fair-trade-certified company employs local Nicaraguan artisans to hew the pieces from reclaimed and sustainable wood, preserving some of nature’s most beautiful resources into wearable natural treasures.

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From inner-tube swings in summer to ad-hoc snow sleds in winter, recycled tires are an indelible part of America’s childhood landscape. But why should kids hog all the fun? At My Sister’s Art, repurposed rubber gets the grownup treatment, metamorphosing from discarded bicycle inner tubes into eminently wearable statement jewelry. The fashion label also happens to be a sister act: Kathleen Nowak Tucci designs and creates the gallery-worthy pieces, while Margaret Nowak Dobos handles business and promotion.

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If pretty is as pretty does, then Satara is a true beaut. The Dutch fashion label isn’t your average purveyor of ethical togs. It’s also a nonprofit, one that promotes gender equality and self-empowerment in India by training and employing underprivileged women. But Satara is no slouch in the design department, either, with crush-worthy pieces in billowy, lightweight fabrics that encapsulate the clean look of summer.

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If the comic-book blockbuster Kick-Ass has you hankering for spandex and superheroics of your own, Ruffeo Hearts L’il Snotty will suit you up in no time. The New York City-based label, which mines deadstock fabric for its psychedelic garments, doesn’t shy away from neon hues or modesty: Skintight unitards, racing-checkered briefs, and color-block leggings are par for the course.

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Remember the three “R”s? Shara Porter can do you one better: reprint. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth grad, who plies her trade in “hand-printed fine found objects,” retools vintage leather bags and accessories with a quick mend and a hand-stamped illustration. Porter’s world is full of adorable characters and objects placed in the most unexpected ways, resulting in a menagerie of hedgehog wallets, birdcage purses, bumblebee clutches, and “brontosaurus” card holders.

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Ladies, how many times have you been envious of the gentlemen’s access to a perfectly fitted suit? Well, shove your inner green-eyed monster aside because Camilla Wellton’s Blade Runner style is here to save the day. The Swedish designer’s sci-fi-esque line of ultraluxe clothing can be made to order in completely sustainable fabrics. Plus, she’ll stitch most of the pieces in her made-to-measure line of eco-couture just for you. No more fussing with tailors after the fact— simply send Wellton your measurements and you’ll receive a garment that cleaves flawlessly to your body.

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The basements were rocking in New York City on Wednesday in honor of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Ecouterre joined the cool kids in the depths of the Hudson Hotel for eco-fashion superstars Loomstate and Rogan’s epic Earth Day Celebration. The evening culminated in a 40-person drum circle led by Hisham Akira Bharoocha. It was a wild night, made doubly so by a wild performace that left us feeling the primal beats long after we reemerged above ground.

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Le sigh, Untitled 11:11 has us yearning for a Parisian cafe and a glass of wine with its winter-thawing “Into the Woods” collection. And is it any wonder? Designers David Peck and Laurel Anderson, who first met at Parsons Paris School of Art and Design, leave no doubt that La Ville-Lumière informs their work. Brimming with the romantic elegance of Le Champs-Élysées, the duo’s collection mirrors the fluid palette of Mother Nature herself.

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Walk by the shop window of Paper Trail in Rhinebeck, NY, and you might be tempted to stop, stare, and linger, especially if one of Linda Filley’s delightful three-dimensional paper frocks is in residence. Hailing from the Hudson Valley, the artist and self-proclaimed “paper couturier” from the Hudson Valley crafts her couture confections from upcycled materials like seed packets, computer paper, and newsprint, which she cuts, folds, and rolls onto life-size wire mannequins.

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Kizzy Jai Knight has been busy this past year, especially after expanding her eponymous brand to include a spinoff collection. Simply called “Jai,” the Fall/Winter 2010 line is a steely blue palette of elegant lines in comfortable fabrics. But although Jai presents a departure from the more youthful Jai Active Wear line, its essence is very much the same: Locally manufactured clothes that feel good, look great, and transform from casual to classy in no time flat.

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Green architecture and fashion hold equal places in our hearts, so we were delighted to discover the line of jewelry that Marmol Radziner is making from leftover scraps of actual buildings. The Los Angeles-based architectural firm has an impressive portfolio of prefabs, mid-century restorations, and beautiful modern homes. Now you can take a little piece of its beautiful designs with you wherever you go and save a bit of metal from the landfill while you’re at it.

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Julia Roebuck is a British designer who creates eye-catching London street-chic pieces by recycling used or discarded garments from various sources. Roebuck’s got her mind set on more than just a design label; she’s marching her way to the top of the fashion food chain to figure out how to make the industry less wasteful.

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Warm weather is soclose we can almost taste it! If you’ve been searching for the perfect Marilyn Monroe-sque ensemble (circa Some Like It Hot) for the imminent heat wave, we’d like to introduce you to Titania Inglis’s foxy little eco-jumper. Its sweetheart lines and organic fabrics, tailored to a T in New York City’s Garment District, have us longing for the sun. But it’s hardly the only piece in Inglis’s arsenal that’s frolic-friendly.

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