Coutour Sustainability of Apparal

Sustainable Design Shouldn’t Be an Option, It Should Be a Given

As I read the following article from Fashionista.com I came away with a different
intrepretation. My thinking kinda goes along with the reporting on Chanel's
newest collection I posted a couple days  ago. 
Why do designers believe women want "something different" from every collection?

I know I don't.  My preference is a designer who knows their signature
 looks and adds designs

to their past collections, to update or for a new look, but not so
diverse a coutour customer

(translate this into:  ready-to-wear follows coutour)

must purchase something from the "latest" collection or be passe'.

This is one of the reasons I love Donna Karan so much.

I'm not "totally into" the fashion world like I used to be, however,
I still want to be current

in the major trends, jewelry designs, handbags, etc. 
And, the world is no longer the major

consumers we used to be (like 2008 & before if you can remember)...
I'm out of the grand retailingworld of Sak's 5th Avenue and now work
in my own little studio designing jewelry, and

taking these designs to market.  I can wear all black or all white and
just make a fashion statement with my

jewelry if I choose. 
 However, the article below is interesting & it is good to
know what's-happening-now

in NYC & inside the design houses.

Diane Von Furstenberg Spring 2010

Donna Karan Spring 2010

by Lauren Sherman of Fashionista 



Last night I attended a panel at Pratt Institute featuring Barneys’ fashion director Julie Gilhart, Slow & Steady Wins the Race designer Mary Ping and Uluru designer Caroline Priebe. They talked about sustainable design, but it wasn’t your typical marketing spiel. Indeed, these three women are passionate about design with a conscious. But their cause is less about being 100% organic or 100% ethical and more about making an effort to simply “do better.”

The panel agreed that while the fashion industry is far from creating a community of wholly sustainable products, it should be a future goal. And instead of assuming that’s what the consumer wants, fashion designers and retailers should be dictating to shoppers that’s it’s a necessary development.


Some interesting tidbits from the talk:


•Priebe doesn’t advertise that she focuses on sustainable design. Why? Because, well, she doesn’t believe it should be the selling point. “I want it to be a given. I want people to eventually expect that all clothes are made in a conscious way,” she said


•Stella McCartney’s organic line sold better when it wasn’t labeled “organic” because many consumers associate organic with more basic—despite the fact that it often costs more money to produce eco pieces—said Gilhart.


•Ping is creating a top-secret leather collection made from scraps from Slow & Steady’s black and white leather t-shirts.


•Gilhart believes that some day there will be a group regulating what can and can’t be deemed “sustainable fashion.” She also wishes that there was a label on fur indicating that the animal from which the fur was culled was treated humanely.


•The hardest thing about designing sustainably is finding materials to use. Luckily, the sustainable design community is tight knit and willing to help newcomers with sourcing.


•There are so many ways to be more conscious, whether that’s buying an item manufactured in your hometown or a piece of organic cotton. Do what you can. Be more thoughtful about your purchases.


•Gilhart also made a good point about how people are shopping in the recession. It’s not that they want basic and simple stuff, they want value. If that’s a simple tee, they don’t want to spend a lot. If that’s an extravagantly beaded dress, then they’re willing to fork over the cash.