New York Fashion Week Green A/W 2011

Just got back from my first New York Fashion Week. The city that never sleeps has played a significant part in my life as I have family there and so have been spending time there since I was a kid. Many of my childhood summers were spent in NY, meaning that it has always been a place of comfort and inspiration for me. It was great to be back in town having not been for over a year, and great to check in with how the eco-fashion scene has been developing out there too.

In many ways it was the wrong season to visit, as the Green Shows were not on this time (they are coming back bigger and better in September) but it meant that I had time to connect with the eco-fashion crowd out there in a less frantic way, as well as check out presentations by Suzanne Rae (article coming on Ecouterre soon), Tara St. James and Bodkin.

For me, the strength of the eco-fashion movement, comes from us a having a joined up vision across the world. Fashion by it’s nature is a global industry right through from the supply side to retail. Working together has always been a priority, set in many ways by the Ethical Fashion Forum, who brought the movement together in London around seven years ago when we brought together all the designers in London that were working with these values together around the table to see how together we create change throughout the industry. To me, I feel that New York comes a close second in terms of growth in the movement, as well as all the designers, it is also the home of online magazines Treehugger and Ecouterre.

When I started writing for Ecouterre last year, it was with this in mind. Creating more synergy and sharing between what is happening in London and the states by bringing more awareness of the work that designers and activists are doing on both sides of the pond. You can’t beat face to face interaction though, so it was great to spend that time with the people pushing the sustainable agenda out there and of course let all those ideas of how we can work together more flow.

Here are some of my favourite eco-fashion moments from the week.