Eco-Chic

I recently attended The Green Initiative Humanitarian fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. I was so excited to see this show since I missed it last season, and I was even happier when it didn’t disappoint.

What’s extra special about this show (staged by uber-hip Mikey Koffmann and The Gallery, Los Angeles) was that it featured not one, but FIVE fab designers debuting their eco-friendly Fall ’08 collections.

While all of the designers were absolutely incredible and super inspiring – proving you can be chic AND help save the planet - my favorite designer of the night was Simplico Michael Luis from my hometown, Los Angeles, and his M the Movement collection, which featured a collection of mostly menswear with distressed denim, vests, and trousers made from charcoal, bamboo, organic cotton and soy. This collection also came with an element of surprise – break dancing male models who jumped and spun their way down the runway -- feeding a photog frenzy.

I also was a fan of Mathilde Rosset (also hailing from L.A.) and her Lady Muse collection which featured brilliant, rich coats constructed from reused velvet tapestry and brocade.

Newcomer Barbara Boswell’s Lilikoi collection featured organic cotton dresses detailed with hand-painted prints straight from nature, as well as the young and super-cute design team Bethany Armstrong and Beth Doane, who showed comfy looking organic T-shirts that featured paintings created by children living in the endangered rain forests of Central and South America in their Andria Rain Tees collection.

Vintage China, an L.A. based denim line, featured designs using organic cotton and bamboo. The show-stopper was a floor-length gown created from recycled denim by designing duo Andrew Wong and Deacon Yu.

Vintage China www.vintagechinajeans.com
M the Movement www.mthemovement.com
Lilikoi www.lilikoiclothing.com
The Gallery, Los Angeles www.TheGalleryLA.com