Ecouterre

New York Fashion Week is always a blur of models, runway shows, parties and, of course, fabulous clothes. But this year, we were delighted to see something we feel very deeply about—sustainable clothing design—finally get its due. Dubbed The GreenShows, this groundbreaking array of our favorite green fashion designers took New York City by storm, giving eco-fashion a true presence at Fashion Week for the first time. We were honored to be there for this momentous occasion. Join us as we recap what the first inaugural GreenShows meant to us, and check out our exclusive footage (above) + another fabulous video by one of our favorite natural beauty lines, Suki, focusing on the sustainable makeup used at the shows!

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Tara St. James, former creative director of Covet, debuted her first solo collection on Tuesday at New York Fashion Week. Kicking off the two-day sustainable-fashion event, The GreenShows, “The Study” tastefully explored the relationship between rigid shapes with organic forms and materials. But St. James’ journey to the runway was no accident—it took an online fundraising push to raise the $5,000 she needed for to fete The Square Project at Fashion Week. Thanks to Internet word-of-mouth, St. James was able to achieve her goal—and then some.

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Photo by Jason Wyche

While other eco-fashion designers are doing everything in their power not to design clothes that say “tree-hugger,” Ekovaruhuset is perfectly comfortable making clothes just the way it wants to, even if its flowy and ethereal silhouettes evoke visions of flower children and peace signs. The overall vibe of the freewheeling show, held at The GreenShows during New York Fashion Week, was one of a return to nature. (In a world where some of the biggest tree-huggers are tech-savvy city dwellers, why not get back to our roots?)

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Photo by Fashion Stock

Swimsuit weather may be fading fast, but Tami B’s skimpy warm-weather duds sizzled on the catwalk of Nolcha Fashion Week nonetheless, with iridescent metallics and fierce animal prints that sent temperatures soaring at Manhattan’s Bohemian National Hall.

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We saw Mr. Larkin’s amazing Spring/Summer 2010 collection on the runway this past week at the GreenShows and fell madly in love with the innovative yet totally wearable, beautifully crafted looks. We swooned over the fabulous looks on the runway, but quick research into Mr. Larkin’s production process left us even more impressed because every garment is meticulously hand dyed with natural materials, such as berries, acorns, maple leaves, mint, and iron!

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Wallflowers, beware! Unlike in collections past, rockstar eco-designer Bahar Shahpar turned the volume up—way up—for her Spring/Summer 2010 runway show, pumping her garments to another level. We were lucky enough to witness the electrifying display at The GreenShows (which Shahpar also helped organize) for New York Fashion Week. If you were expecting the classic, babydoll styling that Shahpar is known for, this was not it! Filled with supercharged cuts, amped-up prints, and technicolor fabrics, this collection reveals a new side of Shahpar that is not for the faint of heart. Read on for more juicy gossip about the show and a special video that definitely blasted the goody-goody, Mother Earthy stereotypes of eco-fashion through the stratosphere.

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Photo by Shayla Hunter

The ’60s were in full swing at Izzy Lane’s New York Fashion Week debut at The GreenShows on Wednesday. Decked in jaunty knitted berets, plaid micro-mini skirts, and faux-snakeskin go-go boots, the models flounced down the runway looking like they made a wrong turn at a time vortex on Carnaby Street. With the syrupy strains of “Georgy Girl” fueling the sartorial flashback, the woes of Wall Street and contention over healthcare reform seemed a lifetime away. Fashion, after all, is nothing if not about escapism.

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Mere mortals wrestling with the elements isn’t a sight we often see—especially on the runway—but Bodkin’s Eviana Hartman pulled that hat trick off at The GreenShows on Tuesday by contrasting tidy, tailored folds against unruly ruffles and rogue swathes of loose fabric. A sheer button-down tunic (“Nimbus”) in organic cotton, for instance, stood hip to shoulder with a crisp navy blazer-and-short ensemble (“Bermuda” and “Santa Ana”) made from hemp and recycled polyester. Down the line, a rippled organic cotton tulip skirt (“Typhoon”) held court with a daring Shibori-dyed hemp-and-Lycra bustier (“La Niña”).

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John Patrick introduced his Spring/Summer 2010 collection this past week with the help of a very special guest: supermodel Shalom Harlow, who was modeling this cute boycut suit à la JPO, complete with a stripey bowtie. Presented at Keens Steakhouse, a New York institution since 1885, John Patrick’s avant-garde presentation channeled the energy of classic Americana.

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Say the words “eco fashion” and most people think of hugging trees in tame, soft-hued, hippyish garb. We don’t buy into this stereotype, of course, but here’s something we definitely did NOT see coming while checking out the GreenShows shows during New York Fashion Week: Ashley Dupré, best-known as the call girl who brought down Eliot Spitzer’s governorship, walked the runway at Bahar Shahpar’s fashion show on Tuesday afternoon. It’s a rare rare thing when the tabloid world crosses into the world of eco-fashion, and one that might bring a little more attention to Bahar’s already-provocative line than would normally have been the case.

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To say that Susan Cianciolo marches to the pastoral strains of her own sitar would be a gross understatement. And there was, in fact, a sitar player, sitting on the floor of the SoHo studio where Cianciolo previewed her Spring/Summer 2010 collection for New York Fashion Week. While other eco-designers are still trying to shrug off the yoke of hemp ponchos and Birkies, Cianciolo took a decidedly different tack on Tuesday, with a parade of neo-hippie livery that indicates either her sense of irony or bravado.

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