Fashion & Beauty

Doucette Duvall spring/summer 2010. Credit Doucette Duvall

Doucette Duvall's designs can outlast the season. Sewn in New York City's historic garment district--and made from 70%+ vintage and already produced fabrics--the spring/summer 2010 collection shows neon bright, leopard print, and pastel jumpers, high-waist skirts, tight minis, and floor-length dresses. Click through for photos.

Fashion & Beauty

spring/summer 2010. Credit: Jai

Jai Active Wear combines comfort, contemporary style, and sustainable fabrics--Tencel, recycled cotton, recycled nylon, and bamboo--for spring/summer 2010. Designer Kizzy Knight--who hails from the UK--produces the garments locally in New York City. The "Playfully Regal" spring collection includes versatile looks--easily transformable with accessories and shoes. Click through for photos of rompers--an outfit in one--and functional dresses with pockets; a reversible rain blazer and raincoat; harem-pant suits, and Knight's playful cross between a headband and a cap: "peaks." Click through for photos.

Fashion & Beauty

Video by EcoDivas TV

Being the next "it" girl of the green revolution involves more than just a pretty face. Being America's Top Green Model involves beauty, poise, and green know-how. EcoDivas TV documented Project Green Search, the recent search for a well rounded beauty to take this revolution into the future.

Culture & Celebrity

Nigel Barker on seal protection and green fashion. Video by Emma Grady

We caught up with Nigel Barker, fashion photographer and judge on America's Next Top Model, at the Humane Society's (HSUS) Cool vs. Cruel Awards. The spokesperson for the ProtectSeals Campaign shares a story about the impact of global warming on seal populations and his experience in Haiti--and the hunger crisis so close to home. And talks green fashion--declaring it "a necessity" and names his favorite fashion designer, in a video after the jump.

Culture & Celebrity

Humane Society President Wayne Parcelle, Designer Charlotte Ronson, Cool vs. Cruel competition winner Ingrid Bergstrom-Kendrick at the Bowery Hotel, NYC. Credit: Emma Grady

Designers Charlotte Ronson, Victoria Bartlett, Elizabeth Olsen, fashion photographer Nigel Barker, and Papermag's Mickey Boardman came out to support the Humane Society of the United States' (HSUS) 5th Annual Cool vs. Cruel awards ceremony in New York City last night. The Bowery Hotel was packed with animal lovers and celebrities alike to view the fur-free fashion designs by student finalists from the Art Institutes. Click through for photos of DJ Sam Ronson, Nigel Barker, and the finalists' fashion designs.

Fashion & Beauty

Ryann spring/summer 2010. Image courtesy of Origin 23

Ryann, a sustainable and fair trade fashion brand based in New York, has modernized Revolutionary antebellum southern style for spring/summer 2010. Designer Raina Blyer doesn't believe in fashion trends; they lead to cheap, throw away clothing--a point we couldn't agree more on. She creates garments made with organic cotton bamboo, hemp, recycled fibers, ahimsa silk, linen, organic wool, soy fiber, and belts made with fish skin from Canadian canneries. Click through for our spring/summer 2010 preview.

Fashion & Beauty

SANS spring/summer 2010 collection. Credit: SANS

Pratt Manhattan Gallery is presenting "Ethics + Aesthetics = Sustainable Fashion," an exploration of sustainable practices by American fashion designers, beginning November 20, 2009. The collection centers on three themes, "Reduce, Revalue, and Rethink" and looks to eco-fashion visionaries--Alabama Chanin, Bodkin, Loomstate, SUNO, SANS, and more--as the leaders of the pack in pushing green fashion to the forefront. Click through for photos.

Design & Architecture

Image courtesty of TerraCycle

We just began an interesting experiment at TerraCycle: Opening our first retail outlet and giving people a place to bring in what they'd normally mail to us as part of our collection Brigades. But that's not the most interesting part. We've decided to see what people will do when given the chance to pay whatever price they want for products.

In this economy, will people intentionally undercut the price? Will they, unaware of what we really charge, which, whenever possible, is the same or lower then comparable non-green products, actually overpay for their purchase? Or, might they, knowing we're a company working hard to make as sustainable a product as possible, make a point to pay more as a show of support?

Fashion & Beauty

The female executives of Gucci Group. Credit: Frederike Helwig, via WSJ

The Rainforest Action Network has announced that Gucci Group--including high fashion houses--Yves Saint Laurent, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney and Balenciaga--has pledged to reduce the amount of paper it uses, eliminate fiber from high conservation value forests, and purchase only recycled products--or those certified by the Forest Stewardship Council--by December 2010. Click through for our video with RAN's Forest Campaign Director, Lafcadio Cortesi and model and activist Summer Rayne Oakes.

Fashion & Beauty

FIN's neutral tones and sexy silhouettes for Spring/Summer 2010. Credit: FIN

Sustainable fashion brand FIN from Norway first made TreeHugger news with their "wild" hand-spun silk, click through for their sexy organic cotton, bamboo, fair trade, and carbon neutral creations for Spring 2010.

Fashion & Beauty

Vancouver Fashion Week, Fall 2009. Credit: Kris Krug, VFW

Vancouver Fashion Week is upon us (November 3-8) and we are happy to report that eco-fashion brands Hawks Ave, Lav & Kush, Movement, Red Jade, and Nate Organics will be representing green fashion on the runway.

Fashion & Beauty

Mociun winter wool coat. Credit: Mociun

We covet Caitlin Mociun's Native American-inspired coat--made from 100% mill end blanket wool--for winter, featured on and sold at Kaight NYC--we stopped there last week for Ecouterre's launch party. Click through for full length photos and more on Mociun.

Fashion & Beauty

Eco-fashion boutique Kaight hosted Ecouterre.com launch party. Credit: Emma Grady

We celebrated the launch of eco-fashion website Ecouterre at Kaight in New York City last night. After perusing racks filled with emerging and independent designers--who use organic, recycled, and sustainable materials-- and catching up with SDN's Marcus Hicks--who sadly was not wearing his shoe pants--we chatted with Jill Fehrenbacher, Inhabitat editor-in-chief and Ecouterre publisher, about her favorite innovative fabrics--like solar photovoltaic technology embedded in weaves--and her top picks for green fashion designers and eco-fashion news. Click through for our interview with Jill.

Fashion & Beauty

Vaute Couture Spring 2010, Chicago Fashion Week. Credit Ray Pfeiffer, Komifoto

Vert Couture forecasts green fashion for spring 2010 in the windy city. An official event of Chicago Fashion Focus, the runway show was home to looks from Vaute Couture--not to be confused with the show title 'Vert'--Bryant McLemore Smith, and up-and-coming designers from the Chicago Fashion Institute Student Collective as well as Frei Designs and Mountains of the Moon, covered earlier this week. Click through for our interview with Vert Couture Co-Executive Producer Bianca Alexander, and our favorite looks from the runway.

Fashion & Beauty

Linda Loudermilk necklace and bamboo scarf. Image courtesy of Linda Loudermilk

Linda Loudermilk, one of our favorite Sustainable Designers-- we recently previewed her Spring 2010 collection, here--is doing what she does best: highlighting environmental issues through fashion. This time she's taking on the water crisis with her "Water is a Human Right" campaign--can't you picture fellow water advocate Jessica Biel in the bamboo scarf?

Fashion & Beauty

Frei Designs Spring 2010 at Chicago Fashion Week. Credit: Chad Smith

The Vert Couture green show during Chicago Fashion Week was the place to be for eco-minded fashionistas this past weekend. Frei Designs' Annie Novotny showed her spring 2010 collection--along with Mountains of the Moon, Vaute Couture, and Bryant McLemore Smith--at the show. Click through for Annie's vision of spring 2010--loose fitting dresses, skirts, and tones of gray--and her organic creations on the runway.

Fashion & Beauty

Mountains of the Moon Spring 2010 at Chicago Fashion Week. Credit: Chad Smith

While we physically missed Chicago Fashion Week's Vert Couture green show--for the sake of our carbon footprint--we sat down with Mountains of the Moon Designer Melissa Baswell--virtually, of course--to talk sustainable fabrics, her spring 2010 vision, trends for next season, and more. Click through for Melissa's vision-turned-reality in her photos from the runway.

Fashion & Beauty

Vaute Couture Fall/Winter 09 collection of vegan coats. Credit: Vaute Couture

Vaute Couture, a small fashion house in Chicago, is an "activist fashion label" known for their vegan coats. The 100% vegan line designed by Leanne Mai-ly Hilgart premiered in Fall 2009 after eight months of extensive fabric research. Last night they showed their Spring 2010 collection at Chicago Fashion Week's Vert Couture show -- we'll bring you highlights later this week. Click through for photos of Vaute Couture's luxe coats--a windy city and winter staple--and their version of the classic organic cotton tee.

Fashion & Beauty

Frei Designs to show Spring 2010 collection at Chicago Fashion Week. Credit Frei Designs

If you're an eco-fashionista in Chicago, Vert Couture is the place to be during Chicago Fashion Week this weekend. The runway show will feature vegan line Vaute Couture, organic brand Mountains of the Moon, Annie Novotny's Frei Designs, vintage stylist Bryant McLemore Smith, and more eco-fashion designers' Spring 2010 collections. Click through for details.

Fashion & Beauty

Project Runway Winner Anthony Capon's avant-garde paper frock. Image courtesy of Wrapped by housemouse™

Project Runway Australia Season 2 Winner Anthony Capon and fellow designers--Amber Renae, Mark Neighbour, and Jason Chetcuti--created Wrapped by housemouse™ paper frocks for the television series' eco-fashion challenge. The shoot raised awareness for Enviroweek, a non-profit organization that raises funds for environmental charities, and was shot by Australian fashion photographer Robert Earp at Federation Square's BMW Edge in Melbourne, Australia. Click through for photos of the avant-garde designs.