Ecouterre » Jasmin Malik Chua

Gretchen Jones Tours the Shadowlands at Fall 2012 New York Fashion Week

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:14 +0000

Photos by Amanda Coen for Ecouterre

Gretchen Jones is in a dark place, both figuratively and literally. There’s the cavernous, dimly lit interior of Root Drive-In in Chelsea, for one, which sets the stage for her Fall/Winter 2012 collection at New York Fashion Week. But the New York designer (and Season 8 Project Runway winner) is also mourning the recent loss of her father, Robert, whom Jones credits for shaping the woman she is today. Holding court on the periphery of a charcoal-drawn medicine wheel, the models bathe in light and shadow as if suspended between planes of existence. Jones’s Southwestern roots run deep, from the basket-weave textures to the digital ikat prints, all produced in the United States. Full review to follow.

+ Gretchen Jones

John Patrick Organic Crafts a Beautiful Vision at Fall 2012 New York Fashion Week

Jasmin Malik Chua — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:00:32 +0000

Photos by Amanda Coen for Ecouterre

John Patrick of Organic doesn’t usually identify his collections with one specific moment or image. He credits his Fall/Winter 2012 collection, however, to the work of 19th century British photographer Julia Margaret Cameron, in particular “A Beautiful Vision, Julia Duckworth,” a carbon print of Cameron’s niece and goddaughter and the future mother of author Virginia Woolf. Presented at New York Fashion Week on Wednesday morning, the lineup of voluminous wool-herringbone watchcoats, digitally printed silk dresses, biodegradable Cupro quilted vests, hand-loomed cashmere jumpers, and double-faced vegetable-tanned leather-on-leather ensembles showed Patrick at top form. “I can still continue to horrify vegans,” he tells Ecouterre of his latter choice. Full review to follow.

+ Organic by John Patrick

Ulrika Estere Creates Haunting Dreamscape of Horses From Clothing

Jasmin Malik Chua — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:00:34 +0000

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Stella McCartney Explains Why She Doesn’t Use Leather in PETA Video

Jasmin Malik Chua — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:00:49 +0000

It’s widely known that Stella McCartney doesn’t use fur in her collections. Less touted, perhaps, is the vegan designer’s rejection of leather. In a new video from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, timed to coincide with New York Fashion Week, McCartney explains why she shed the use of animal skins. Leather isn’t a by-product of the meat industry, she says, but an important co-product that contributes directly to the ills of factory farming. But although PETA planned to run a truncated version of the PSA on taxi screens across Manhattan, fashion’s tastemakers will not, in fact, be schooled by McCartney between shows.

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14 Sexy Sustainable Men’s Undies to Light Your Fire on Valentine’s Day

Jasmin Malik Chua — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:00:17 +0000

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14 Eco-Friendly Lingerie Gifts for a Red-Hot Valentine’s Day

Jasmin Malik Chua — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:00:28 +0000

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Is This $400,000 Diamond-Encrusted T-Shirt the World’s Most Expensive?

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 22:00:02 +0000

If you thought that a $300,000 T-shirt was outrageous—even if it did help UNICEF air-freight critical lifesaving supplies—you’ll want to keep your pearls at a clutch-worthy distance for a £256,500 number ($405,000) that boasts no such benefaction. Dubbed “The Most Expensive T-Shirt in the World” by its manufacturer, Superlative Luxury—which, as far as we can tell does not have anything else on offer—the organic-cotton tee is a “one-of-a-kind luxury product” made using only renewable energy sources such as wind and solar.

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Mariclaro Upcycles Car Upholstery, Air Bags Into Durable Carryalls

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:23:42 +0000

Where do exploded air bags go to die? If you ask Mariclaro, they don’t. The Toronto-based accessories label salvages truck tarps, leather upholstery, seat belts, bicycle inner tubes, boat sails, and yes, exploded air bags, to create a range of road-tested laptop sleeves, messenger bags, briefcases, and backpacks. Of the materials that comprise each piece, roughly 99 percent was landfill-bound, according to co-founders Sven Schlegel and Willa Murray, who intercept the materials within 300 miles of their workshop. (“1 percent is made of notions and our logo, still unavailable in recycled,” Schlegel says.)

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Bras Made of Tofu? Why Not!

Jasmin Malik Chua — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:00:31 +0000

It’s not quite the tofu you’d find bobbing in your miso soup, but Faerie’s Dance now offers underwear made from discarded soybean casings. Reclaimed during production of the white stuff, blended with organic cotton, and processed using a closed-loop system that minimizes waste, the material results in a fabric that can be dyed in several colors and fetchingly trimmed with lace. The online retailer offers several styles of panties and bras made in the United States by Xylem Clothing, with prices that start at just $16.

+ Soy Lace Intimates $16-$30
+ Faerie’s Dance

Marcia Patmos Takes Us “Behind the Seams” With Her Eco-Friendly Knits

Jasmin Malik Chua — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 13:00:23 +0000

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Gretchen Jones’s DIY Necklace, Source4Style’s Academy, Organic Cotton Acreage Continues to Grow

Jasmin Malik Chua — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:00:08 +0000

Over at Honestly WTF, designer Gretchen Jones shows us how to make a bold statement necklace with brass rings and neon nylon cord. (Honestly WTF)

Source4Style is launching “The Academy,” a series of 30-minute web-based seminars on sustainable design, starting with “The Apparel Industry’s Greenest Little Secrets” on February 9. (Source4Style)

A 19th century New Jersey schoolgirl’s embroidery sampler went under the hammer for $1.07 million at Sotheby’s. (Jezebel)

Planted acres of organic cotton soared by 36 percent in 2010, while harvested bales saw an uptick of nearly 24 percent, according to the Organic Trade Association’s annual report. (Organic Trade Association)

Want to further research on textile-waste recycling or the impacts of nanotechnology? Donate just $10—the price of two lattes—to the Textile Exchange and help create change. (Textile Exchange)

QUOTABLE QUOTE

“Designers just need to produce the most thoughtful collections they can and let people see design first, story second. The design needs to be the invitation because it’s simply too beautiful to pass up.”

—Amy DuFault, managing editor of EcoSalon, speaking to The High Low on Thursday.

Irony Alert: “Made in U.S.A” Goods Gaining Traction in China

Jasmin Malik Chua — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:00:27 +0000

In an unlikely reversal of a decades-long trend, American-made goods are growing in popularity in China, according to a report by Jing Daily, a blog about the Chinese luxury market. Although they don’t have the same draw as European products, heritage workwear labels like Red Wing, Woolrich, Billy Reid, and Gitman Brothers are making inroads among China’s swelling urban middle class and their considerable disposable incomes. In December, Allen Edmonds, one of two high-end shoemakers to maintain operations Stateside, announced plans to expand into China under a new licensing deal that could double the size of its Port Washington, WI, headquarters over the next 10 years. “China is growing so fast, and it’s such a sophisticated market already,” Paul Grangaard, president and CEO of Allen Edmonds, told Milwaukee Business Times in January. “’Made in America’ has a really strong reputation there.”

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Disturbing Video Reveals Child Laborers Picking Cotton in Uzbekistan

Jasmin Malik Chua — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:00:30 +0000

In a video shot secretly by human-rights activists and obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Uzek service, young children are seen toiling in Uzbekistan’s cotton fields. The Uzbek government forcibly sends upwards of 2 million children—some as young as 7—to work in the fields for 10 hours a day, for two to three months each year, according to the Responsible Sourcing Network, which rallied more than 60 of the world’s leading apparel brands and retailers in October to boycott cotton knowingly harvested using child laborers in the Central Asian nation.

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“Real Housewife” Compares Fox-Fur Bikini Treatment to Cure for Cancer

Jasmin Malik Chua — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:00:09 +0000

If former Real Housewives of New York City star Cindy Barhop didn’t think she was in enough hot water, the spa owner now compares her fox-fur bikini treatment to a cure for cancer, according to The Cut. The semi-permanent procedure, which involves affixing neon-colored fur or feathers to one’s ladyparts, are only designed to last three days—more if you avoid washing your nethers (sexy!). “It’s like buying an extra set of lingerie or a fun shirt a different pair of glasses,” Barshop, who runs Completely Bare on Madison Ave., says. “This is that fun thing that gives you a little pick-me-up.”

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7 Eco-Friendly (And Mostly Vegan!) Winter Boots to Conquer Snow, Slush

Jasmin Malik Chua — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 13:00:22 +0000

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Run Your Own Garment Sweatshop With This Online Strategy Game

Jasmin Malik Chua — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:00:57 +0000

Sweatshop isn’t your average online cow-clicker. As its name implies, the game places you on the floor of an offshore factory that cranks out merchandise for high-street retailers in the West. Your job as manager: to hire workers to assemble hats, shoes, bags, and shirts at various speeds according to their skill level (or lack thereof in the case of the child laborers you also employ), all while keeping your corporate masters happy by raking in the big profits.

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Wool’s Carbon Footprint Up to 80% Smaller Than Previously Thought

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:00:34 +0000

The carbon footprint of wool has been grossly overstated, according to a consortium of Australian woolgrowers, scientists, and carbon specialists known as the Wool Carbon Alliance. The group, which claims that recent advances in methodology have resulted in estimates up to 60 to 80 percent lower than previously indicated, wants to challenge existing notions about wool carbon using “current and relevant” science. “We are finding that the wool fiber production systems, based on renewable grass and natural vegetation, complement current demands to reduce carbon emissions,” announced Martin Oppenheimer, chairman of the alliance, on Tuesday. “Wool is part of the natural cycle of water and carbon that can impact climate in a positive way.”

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World’s Largest Garment Made From Golden Spider Silk Goes on Display

Jasmin Malik Chua — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:30:53 +0000

Before anyone asks, no, it’s not bulletproof. But that doesn’t mean that the glistening yellow cape—the world’s largest garment made entirely from spider silk—isn’t a massive feat of engineering to be marveled (it is and you should). Now on public display for the first time at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the textile gets its unearthly gleam from the undyed filaments of the golden orb spider, a species of arachnid commonly found in Madagascar. Girl power can be taken literally in this instance: Only the females produce the coveted silk.

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Lina Hanson’s Global Face Serum Uses All Natural, Organic Ingredients

Jasmin Malik Chua — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:00:27 +0000

If there’s one person we’d trust unreservedly with our punim, it’s Lina Hanson, green makeup artist to the stars and Ecouterre’s resident beauty guru. It’s not a question of nepotism, either. Her clientele, which includes actresses Morena Baccarin and Ellen Page, speaks for itself. (Have you seen the glows on those complexions?) So you can bet your sweet cheeks we were sold on her face serum even before she made the pitch. Crafted using organic, vegan, and fair-trade ingredients such as camellia, pumpkin seed, and baobab, her 100 percent natural oil targets dry skin, soothes redness and inflammation (even rosacea), and softens the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles—all without petrochemicals, parabens, or suspicious synthetics. Needless to say, nothing is tested on animals. Hanson, like the rest of us, likes to keep it clean.

+ Global Face Serum $85
+ Lina Hanson

Livia Firth Dons Eco-Chic Georgio Armani Gown at 2012 Golden Globes

Jasmin Malik Chua — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 01:00:13 +0000

Livia Firth isn’t content merely playing the role of eye candy on her Oscar-winning actor husband’s arm. Sweeping into the 69th Golden Globe Awards in a black-and-white Armani gown made from recycled plastic bottles, the Eco-Age creative director also kicked off the 2012 season of her self-directed “Green Carpet Challenge”—her third, for folks keeping score at home. “Being Italian, I grew up with Giorgio Armani…figuratively speaking,” she wrote in a blog post on Thursday. “Indeed, during my youth there were only two names that symbolized Italian elegance in fashion: Armani and Valentino. To open the [awards season] with a stunning bespoke eco-gown by Giorgio Armani—well, that is unreal.”

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Duchess Kate’s Design Award, Vena Cava x Alabama Chanin, Nike Pays Up

Jasmin Malik Chua — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 13:00:33 +0000

The Alexander McQueen bridal gown that Duchess Catherine wore on her wedding day has been nominated for a Design of the Year Award. (Telegraph)

After years of negotiations, Nike is finally paying factory workers in Indonesia more than $1 million in backdated overtime. (The Cut)

Vena Cava x Alabama Chanin? Sheer brilliance. (Alabama Chanin)

Nicaragua is set to harvest its first crop of organic cotton, marking a successful start to the country’s cotton reactivation project. (Yarns and Fibers Exchange)

Nudie Jeans will release 500 pairs of its raw-indigo, straight-leg “Slim Jim” jean, made of recycled denim and organic cotton, exclusively at Barneys New York. (Cool Hunting)

Help end domestic violence by contributing new or gently worn bras to Soma’s biennial bra drive, which ends February 26. (Slaves to Fashion)

Italian Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Praises Livia Firth’s Green Carpet Challenge

Jasmin Malik Chua — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:00:47 +0000

Franca Sozzani, editor-in-chief of Italian Vogue wants to paint the red carpet a more verdant hue. Writing on her blog on Wednesday, Sozzani praised countrywoman Livia Firth, wife of Oscar-winning actor Colin Firth and the creative director of Eco-Age in London, for feting sustainable fashion on the Hollywood awards circuit. (Firth will be kicking off the third installment of her “Green Carpet Challenge” in a bespoke—and eco-friendly—Giorgio Armani gown at the Golden Globes in Los Angeles on Sunday.) “The respect and care for the environment, sustainability, and fair trade nowadays are features that cannot be separated from the fashion world,” Sozzani says. “Or at least, from those who wish to preserve also the ethic, and not just aesthetic, side of fashion.”

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PETA, Nail Couture L.A. Collaborate on Bunny-Patterned Nail Wraps

Jasmin Malik Chua — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 21:00:35 +0000

Give your fingertips a cruelty-free makeover with a set of easy-to-apply “nail skins” by Nail Couture L.A, designed exclusively for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Featuring the group’s signature bunny motif in a whimsical black-and-gray houndstooth pattern, the limited-edition wraps eschew toxic chemicals like toluene, dibutyl phthalate, formaldehyde, and camphor. (Needless to say, nothing is tested on critters.) Each $16 kit includes two sheets of 22 stick’ems (good for three to four applications), a nail file, and step-by-step instructions. And if you hop to it, you can pre-order them before their official January 26 debut.

+ Bunny Nail Wrap $16 at PETA
+ Nail Couture L.A.

[Via Refinery 29]

Hot Off the Presses: Necklaces Made From Vintage Letterpress Type

Jasmin Malik Chua — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 21:00:24 +0000

Typography geeks, wordsmiths, and lovers of the alphabet will fall for the charms of Gwen Delicious, a Canadian accessories label that fashions necklaces from vintage printing-press type. Burnished with scuffs and other imperfections that make each piece unique, the repurposed brass blocks are strung from a gunmetal chain and secured with a toggle clasp for ease of wearability. Dangled around your neck with the type obscured, the pendant’s identity isn’t immediately obvious. Then again, do you really need to spell everything out?

+ Letterpress Necklaces $37
+ GwenDelicious

Spnkix Turns Boring Ol’ Shoes Into Remote-Controlled Motorized Skates

Jasmin Malik Chua — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 13:00:12 +0000

Why walk when you can roll? For short-range commuters, technophile thrill-seekers, and the just plain lazy, Acton Inc. has invented a motorized skate that turns any sneaker into your own miniature Segway. Debuting on Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, “Spnkix” (pronounced “spin kicks”) is a reinforced nylon frame that straps onto your shoe, imbuing it with the ability to sally forth at up to 10 miles per hour—just a tick slower than its 2-foot-tall counterpart—without streaming a cloud of noxious emissions in its wake.

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