The dresses have the allure of a governess and the charm of a spy woman. Pencil skirts, padded shoulders, defined waistlines, hemlines reaching the knee and a slim-fit rigorous silhouette.

The color – during war years – was considered frivolous, this collection dares to play with unexpected combinations of colors like emerald, camel, burgundy and orange.

To celebrate femininity in curvy tailoring, attenuating the rigidity that characterized the previous decade, Giulia rien à mettre added a glimpse into the 50s essence with ample skirts, combining modern elegance with a timeless femininity.

A collection that expresses the contrasting dualism of the woman, ethereal but yet self-confident: the impalpable fabrics like silk and hemp organdy are contrasted to those more textured such as hemp and wool, and earth tones color palette are juxtaposed to strong colors.

The choice of Aimsha Silk shows continuity with Giulia’s previous works. Hemp is probably the most sustainable natural fiber available and is no surprise to it used extensively in both light and heavier fabrics.

As already mentioned in a previous post, Giulia rien à mettre will be showing at White Milano (Superstudio più – Via Tortona 27) stand 104, and at Progetto Showroom – Via Archimede 6, Milan.

This morning with a press conference at Milan Municipality the upcoming edition of White Milan was lunched. In the opening words of Stefanio Boeri – municipal councilor for culture – he clearly stated that Milan must be proud and attentive to Fashion, Creativity and Sustainability as expression of culture and business. This lead the speech of Massimiliano Bizzi – White Group President – in introducing all aspects of this season edition of the show.

Saisei

Of course the section White Goes Green with C.L.A.S.S. is the sustainability manifesto of this event, without forgetting that are many the exhibitors who will take part in the other areas of White, mixing themselves with all the other brands and excelling in terms of design and research. From Dalaleo to km/a , from Silent People to Saisei, from Regenesi to Giulia Rien à Mettre – moving to white from Touch! Neozone Cloudnine.

This season the Pitti Immagine organized event will host for the second time Green Closet, event dedicated to UK Ethical Fashion, organized by the British Consulate General Milan and UK Trade & Investment (UKTI). All together there will be represented some 15 brands – individually, by distributors or collectives – with the special by Vivianne Westwood with her bags collection produced for the Ethical Fashion Africa Project.

White and its sustainable partner C.L.A.S.S. will also go international and in these next days will start a new adventure in New York part of the Fashion Week and liked to Fashion Coterie. A total of 50 brands – 3 under the umbrella of White Goes Green with C.L.A.S.S. – and a special event, a panel organized by Parsons The New School for Design on “Rethinking Fashion: Design Responsibility”. To introduce this at the press conference was present also James Mandolia, Fashion Marketing Director at Parsons.

Pitti Bimbo: Also this season the organizers proposed EcoEthic section dedicated to those kids collections where ethics and eco-sustainability are basic elements. Here we find brands from all over the world that use organic and sustainable materials respecting the environment and the people, contributing, with a certified supply chain, to support local productions and small communities. The brands are: Alta Rosa, Corral de Pollitos, Frilo Swiss-made, Inch Blue, Kidiwi, Kite, NaturaPura, Nixie Clothing, Paola Maria, Småfolk, Stregatoccacolore, Veja.

Pitti Filati: It seamed clear after July edition, that attention to sustainability would have been a common theme through out the event. Unfortunately we noticed that the section dedicated to these issues is no longer present. Among the exhibitors already there in July, at the moment only Tintoria di Quaregna is present. Of course there will be many recycled wool producers, but how many will focus on the sustainability aspect of their work in their communication and sales strategy?

Who’s Next Paris: the continuous rush to anticipate the collection presentations brought the WSN Developpement group to move Who’s next event from the usual February and September to January and July, more and more distant from the catwalks week. This radical change and the acquisition of Pret a Proter Paris has signed the end of So Ethic, one of the most important sections dedicated entirely to sustainable fashion in an event of this kind.
Despite all what has not change is the number of sustainable brands, stating once for all, that dedicated events are on one side very important and interesting for press, public and brands, but on the other side not necessarily the best form of promotion and selling.
Many the brands, some italians too, present at Who’s Next different shows: L’Herbe Rouge, Les Racines Du Ciel, Misericordia, Komodo, Veja, Tudo Bom?, Toms, Ombre Claire, Pachacuti, Po-Zu, Swedish Hasbeens, and the italians Dalaleo, Hell’s Kitchen and for sure many others.

Berlin: The Berlin Fashion Week is monopolized by the usual two largest events – Premium and Bread and Butter – but sees, in this edition more the ever, a flourishing of small and medium events distributed though out the city, Some are new others well established and in this scenario sustainable fashion has a role anything but marginal.
GreenShowroom confirms it’s reached maturity welcoming a limited but well selected number of brands where luxury and sustainability are deeply interconnected. Stands out the presence of Stewart+Brown, american organic cotton pioneers at what it’s probably one of their first shows in the old continent. Other participants were: Reet Aus, Royalblush, and the Italians of Right as Rain.

Ethical Fashion Show Berlin: For sure the absolute new entry in this Berlin Fashion Week edition. It is the second event that Messe Frankfurt dedicates to sustainable fashion in town, after GreenShowroom. It is as well the first real experiment in exporting from Paris the event created by Isabelle Quéhé back in 2004, not considering the partially unsuccessful attempt in Milan in February 2009. Within the list of the exhibitors some well known brands like *MILCH, Elementum, Studio Jux, Komodo, Hemp Age, Helvetas e Banuq by Atelier Awash and few interesting new faces like the underwear of BUTTWRAPBERLIN and the organic collection with mongolian inspiration of ‘room to roam’.
The presence of sustainable brands does not end with the two dedicated shows, but invades slowly and relentlessly all other fashion events. To conduct the visitors in this journey one guide above all: Berlin Fashion Week Eco Guide realized by Beyond Berlin an agency for sustainable fashion and lifestyle. Many the brands already present at the Paris shows as well as the well established and interesting ones from People Tree, to the Italians of Reale; from Noir to Nudie Jeans, all together more then 100 brands distributed in 8 events.

This is proved wrong once for all by QuitAndMove in their choices and collection. Their “Organic Style” merges at its best a fresh, unique and cosmopolitan design with all principles of Sustainable Fashion. Everything is certified, transparent and beautiful, the cotton they use is organic as well as threads and embroidery, the dyes are eco-frindly and the manufacture is local.

All this results in a growing collection of basic t-shirts, tank tops and underwear for a young “guys ready to open their minds to new territories, places, cultures and fun”.

Pictures taken in the backstage of the Mercedes Benz DFashion Mexico PE 2011, where QuitAndMove was present in collaboration with Love is Back. Pictures by Gerardo Maldonado, styling by Luis Chaylian, (QuitAndMove fashion designer). Here the runway video: http://youtu.be/VKWfAwbyT_s?t=2m24s

This is how B-Origin come about, the effort of Hi-Tex in collaboration with ENEA and the University of Teramo, to realize a first collection of knitted garments made by 100% Italian wool. To complete the sustainable content of B-Origin clothes at Hi-Tex they took two specific decisions, first to use their in-house technology and knowledge in wholegarment production and second to use only vegetable dyes.

Thanks to the wholegarment technology the production efficiency is 100%, since a garment comes out of the knitting machine entirely made, it just need a label and a price tag. The dying and finishing is then done by the Tintoria di Quaregna, probably the most advanced vegetable dying facility in Italy.

B-Origin is a young and promising brand, with a clear and sustainable vision, ready to take the entrepreneurial risk of taking new and unexplored directions, sure the market is ready to receive the innovative approach B-Origin brings.

We are sure it will be a pleasant morning, not a traditional lecture but a chance to meet and exchange with whom will be tomorrow’s fashion actors.

The lecture will take place on Monday 12th December, starting 9.30 am, room CT 43 Bovisa Campus – Via Durando 10, Milano.

Hopefully this will be the first of a series of similar events!

The complexity of the manufacturing process - Quagga Team says in their website – and the use of very different materials (waterproof fabrics for outdoors, inner linings, padding, metal elements, artificial or synthetic fibres for accessories and finishings, supports for labels, and tags), makes it extremely difficult to certify the entire supply chain, as instead occurs in projects for non-complex (but still of great value – Editor’s Note) fair trade clothing, such as T-shirts, shirts, polo shirts, sweatshirts, and various accessories. This is very difficult, but not impossible, and we have succeeded in it. So much so that our efforts were rewarded with the only certification that the ICEA, the prestigious Institute for Ethical and Environmental Certification, has ever awarded to complex clothing items.

In Quagga’s 2011-12 A/W collection, 6 different models are presented for both Men and Women. The is urban with a great attention to details and shapes. Of course the materials and manufacture are an important aspect of Quagga’s jackets and ,thanks to transparency approach the brand wants to have with its costumers, an amazing “map of suppliers” (only in Italian) shows where each component is produced, finished or tailored.

Giulia rien à mettre collections are once for all stating how glamour and sustainability can coincide.

Giulia Mazzer, starting from her architectural background, demonstrates how materials attentive to the environment and the people, together with transparency and traceability, can merge in creating a collection that goes beyond fashion. Simple lines and sharp colour block combinations define Giulia rien à mettre sring/summer 2012 mood.

The result is a pleasant flow of colours and shapes for a young yet elegant women, attentive to fashion and sustainability.

The use of non-violent silk for an evening gown goes far beyond the pure style exercise and becomes a beautiful and glamorous dress.

We really enjoyed talking about our discoveries after visiting Campeche’s “backstage”.
Here is the post:

Looking at Ethical Fashion and Sustainable Practices in the Textile World, dyes are definitely one of the most controversial and problematic fields. Everyone knows about vegetable dyes and their use through history till the late 19th century. They are indeed a possible choice for designers and brands to reduce the ecological footprint of their products.
The clichés make us believe however, that vegetable dyes are associated with the image of small-scale production, or even only home-made products, using with large pots and wooden spoons. Fortunately we had the chance to meet someone who is trying to bring the reality and history of vegetable dyes into industrial production.

Thanks to their family tradition and a strong push towards sustainability, Marco and Andrea Clerici created Campeche, a brand of accessories all realized exclusively with natural textiles and vegetable colours, in the facilities of their own industrial mainstream dye plant…

continue reading on Shirahime

During this last summer many blogs, magazines and journalists have been talking extensively about the German fashion designer Anke Domaske who realized the latest collection of her Mademoiselle Chi Chi entirely with an apparently innovative Milk Fiber created by her and her team called QMilch.

This is part of a today Reuters article where she clearly states that Qmilch is completely natural and ecofriendly.

Milk fabric has been around since the 1930s but was always produced in unecological ways that used a lot of chemicals. Unlike earlier prototypes, QMilch is made almost entirely from casein.

“We have developed an all-natural fiber consisting of a very high concentration of casein, with a few other natural ingredients — and in only two years,” the former microbiology student Domaske said.

The casein is extracted from dried milk powder and then heated up in a type of meat-mincing machine with other natural ingredients. The fiber comes out in strands and is then spun into yarn on a spinning machine.

Domaske said it would take about 6 liters of milk to produce an entire dress, which costs about 150 euros($199) to 200 euros.

Luckily, for that kind of money, the clothes don’t come with an expiry date — during the heating process, the molecules bind in such a way that the protein won’t decompose.

Due to its anti-bacterial qualities, the milk fiber can also be used in medicine and makeup. Even some auto companies have looked into using the fiber for car upholstery.

(Reporting By Natalia Drozdiak, editing by Paul Casciato, for REUTERS )

Here after Anke Domaske interview at Deutsche Welle