Fall/Winter 2012 was a whirlwind of fashion, events, bi-polar weather, and the NYFW sickness curse. This season, I wore myself out in the middle of fashion week which was a first.
It all commenced with Libertine FW2012 Runway Show. Johnson Hartig, co-designer of the Libertine clothing line, is one of the winning designers of the 2nd annual Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)/Lexus Eco-Fashion Challenge. Libertine uses all recycled clothing, augments and restructures them. Libertine has been eco-friendly for 10 years and I love his aesthetic, playing with texture and perception.
The theme screams youthful vengeance, reminding me of yesteryears in New York’s East village pre-Guilliani. While the boys are dressed in punk rocker esthetic, the girls are layered in bohemian chic autumn wonderment. My favorite pieces had a continuous roots from the earth theme as illustrated in the image above with cobalt blue coat and the black, sheer blouse. There is something very sexy about fashionably raging against the machine in sustainable garbs.
Thanks to Chris Oh (Marketing) and Kerri Devaney (PR/Styling), I had an opportunity to wear some pieces from their new Eco Collection (highlighted here) to attend the Green Shows.
The Eileen Fisher pieces I wore included:
Organic Cotton Texture Cowl Neck sweater in teal. This sweater is Fair trade certified, made in Peru.
Organic Cotton Baby Rib Long Slim Cami in dark pearl
Tencel Linen Ankle Cargo in black
Also the scarf is from the Eileen Fisher Line and made of Organic Cotton.
The entire look was incredibly comfortable and materials were of great quality. I definitely want the cargo pants as they are a perfect transition piece wearable in winter and spring. I paired it with my lace up calf boots. The Cowl Neck Sweater would be a comfort favorite with is soft texture and front pockets! Who doesn’t love tactfully placed pockets. The new Eco Collection pieces will be available this spring on EileenFisher.com.
Sustainable fashion is still seeking a spotlight in the world of fashion. Thanks to the Green Shows, who coveted the Box at Lincoln Center, eco-friendly fashion was in the forefront during FW 2012 NYFW.
One of my fav lines is Study NY by Tara St. James;. The line is produced locally in Brooklyn, NY. I have a love affair with knits and winter ware, but despise the accompanying winter weather. Study NY pieces infuse organic fabrics from around the world like India and Peru using fusing techniques. All her pieces at the show were separates and could easily be incorporated together for layered looks.
I had to chance to speak wit Tara about her line. “The Study Fall 12 collection is meant to be a conversation between our studio and the end consumer. We designed the collection with a lot of textile manipulation in mind, we wanted there to be a very hands on approach to the collection so we knit, felted and hand stitched a lot of the pieces. We hope this will allow the consumer who buys the pieces to feel that they are part of the conversation.
We also sourced a lot of our fabrics, through Source4Style, specifically hand woven khadi cottons and wools from India which are incredible, and we’re working with a fair trade knitting co-op in Peru to source our hand knit alpaca sweaters. That direct contact with knitters and weavers continues the conversation between ourselves and our vendors.”
Below are some of the other designers and pieces featured during the presentation.
Love the boyfriend sweater by Ajna. I’m looking forward to learning more about this designer. I had a chance to see some of the spring line via Now showcase at capsule recently and her line is just easy. Easy wear, simple but striking design, and comforting. My new term for collections like this is comfort couture.
Lulu’s Photos courtesy of Lulu’s and Photographer Ashleigh Reddy
Now this was a fun event. Lulu’s hosted a styling studio for fashionista bloggers, which I attended with sister-spondent Julie. From vendors like CraveBox and Sabi Hair Removal, to Lulu’s Style Studio where ladies got to pick one item based on their style chart results, a fun time was had by all. The vendors were incredibly amiable and inviting. The blogger ladies were fashionable and fun as always. And Lulu’s always has amazing pieces. I picked the cutest color blocked dress color just right for spring.
As you can see, my first week of New York Fashion Week was jam packed. Part II will be up and available tomorrow.
