Melissa Baswell, Mountains of the Moon

Designer Melissa Baswell is a Chicago native who for years has focused on creating chic, fashion-forward women’s wear from eco-friendly materials. Her Mountains of the Moon line features elegantly feminine dresses and separates created from soft organic cottons, luxurious hemp/Tencel blends, recycled fabrics, and low-impact dyes.

Inspired by vintage fashion, she incorporates clean lines and timeless silhouettes to create a refined design element that surpasses fads without sacrificing style. Baswell’s work has been featured in Boho, Women’s Wear Daily, BusinessWeek, TreeHugger, Second City Style, EcoSalon, and many others.

Her designs are available at boutiques nationwide, as well as in Canada, Japan, Sweden, and Australia.

Photo by Chad Smith

Presenting my Spring 2010 collection at Vert Couture, Chicago Fashion Focus’s first-ever, all-sustainable runway show, on Sunday was an amazing experience—and a hectic one. Many people from Chicago’s fashion and green scenes came together to produce the show, and the backstage buzzed with excitement, chaos, and anticipation as the designers, producers, models, makeup artists, and crew prepared for the event. I took the opportunity in between last-minute fittings, run-throughs, and the show itself to capture some behind-the-scenes moments at this groundbreaking inaugural event.