Blogs

Embracing Earthy

Published by Celestyna Brozek on September 02, 2010
filed under Education, Green Living

So I just moved back to Albuquerque, NM from San Francisco – hence the slowdown in posts. Sorry about that – we should be back up to full speed ahead by next week, so hang in there! But the transition has been interesting. I’m the kind of person who has equally strong leanings towards both [...]

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Style.com’s Fall Buyer’s Guide Has Tints of Green

Published by Celestyna Brozek on September 01, 2010
filed under Clothing, Education

Fall cometh. Summer was awesome and fun, but I am definitely in fall mode. I loved the runways this fall – camel, tweed, military equestrian, and loads of leather and fur. Fall means dressing up, layering, boots and coats, the chance to pull blazers and trousers on again.

Of course, Style.com’s Fall Buyer’s Guide is a key place to look to bone up on essential trends and pieces for fall. So look I did, and I was pleasantly surprised – not only did I cement my must-buys for this season, but I also saw some eco fashion being featured. Let’s take a look:

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Weekly Rewind: Random Thoughts Big Ideas

Published by Mira Torres on August 27, 2010
filed under Blog, Weekly Rewind

With the necessary contention of saving the world comes plenty of witty ideas, creations, and publications conceived and manifested because of the eco revolution. Big ideas come from random thoughts and this week at Green By Design, we bring you several random thoughts, turned big ideas, from some of today’s most clever and creative eco-minds. From must-read magazines to al fresco dinnerwear, you’ll be [...]

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Nicole Bridger: Canada’s Favorite Eco Designer

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 26, 2010
filed under Designers, Fashion

The devil is in the details, people. Winner of Fashion Takes Action’s Design Forward Award, Nicole Bridger is now having a sweet sale on all her summer styles plus her fall looks are now up for oogling. Why the win, you might be asking. Stints at both Lulu Lemon and Vivienne Westwood ensure a solid design sense which is definitely played out in her timeless and classic cuts.

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The Best Poolside Reading Ever

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 25, 2010
filed under Education, Fashion

Well, it’s almost time for back to school, which means brushing up on our literacy skills. Luckily, we’ve done our homework so you don’t have to. Below we reveal three eco-fab reads that are totally worth a perusal. These delightful publications are so chock full of gorgeous images that you almost won’t notice the words – don’t be so quick to skim though – the text content is just as satisfying as the pretty pictures.

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Indian Summer Entertaining

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 24, 2010
filed under Accessories, Green Living

I thought today we’d take a break from fashion and talk outdoor parties that glow with laughter, the warm light of the setting sun, and the velvety swish of wine dancing in glasses. You can definitely tell where my mind is. In San Francisco we are currently experiencing our very first solidly warm day of summer – and it immediately makes me think of having a dinner party al fresco in the vineyards of Napa. Obviously we will all be wearing flowy, floral patterned dresses, sandals and ethno-chic jewelry, so with the fashion out of the way, I wanted to talk fashionable dinnerware.

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One Idea A Day

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 23, 2010
filed under Education, Green Living

It’s pure poetry. The idea behind the blog 01MATHERY is that one new thing is invented everyday. Run by two designers, the “inventions” are wonderfully ingenuous and simple – reminiscent often of something that Calvin of Calvin and Hobbs might make. The inventions are almost always a “reuse” of a common household object – but instead of seeming hokey or janky or jury-rigged, the photos and the style of the blog gives everything the patina of some wonderfully romantic, genuine, life-lived-to-the-fullest indie foreign film called something like “Everything is Beautiful.”

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Weekly Rewind: Fashion News And Beyond

Published by Mira Torres on August 20, 2010
filed under Weekly Rewind

This week at Green By Design, we stepped away from a few common topics to take deeper look at the buzz, buzz, buzz of current fashion news. From dissecting The Guardian’s take on some of the most recent controversial topics to analyzing if unconventional beauty will be taking over the catalogs soon… Read on for the compilation of the most interesting reads in green fashion and design today, starting now:

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What’s On My Mind

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 20, 2010
filed under Designers, Education

The first thing on my mind is this cheeky article by the Guardian’s fashion squad, castigating two of the stories we’ve covered recently on GBD – Steven Meisel’s oil spill photo shoot and the Rodarte/MAC Juarez-inspired cosmetics collection. The Guardian really takes both Rodarte and Meisel to account on what the Guardian terms “the latest in a long line of fashion faux pas on a scale that makes Alexander McQueen’s mankini seem in good taste.”

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Is Ugly The New Beautiful?

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 18, 2010
filed under Accessories, Education

Models with quirks, with unconventional beauty, with actual personalities, are becoming more and more popular as brands look for a representative of lifestyle/persona, rather than just a blank canvas to hang clothes on. Lara Stone is the poster child for this movement, with her “curves” and gapped teeth.

I used to defend the skinny models and the designers who use them by saying, but it’s true! Clothes look the best on skinny people! And they do, but that’s not because that’s how it’s hard-wired into our brain, it’s because of Twiggy and the media.

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Peace Silk//Elena Garcia

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 18, 2010
filed under Designers, Education

Commercial silk is made by boiling the cocoons with the worms still inside and unwinding the single silk strand onto reels. Peace silk is the ethical alternative – hurray! With peace silk, the moths are allowed to emerge from the cocoon.
Wear to for the peace silk? Try Elena Garcia, a sustainable designer based in the UK that uses it in her gorgeous dresses.

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NY Times Zero Waste Fashion

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 16, 2010
filed under Designers, Education

So many people forwarded me this article that I really had no option but to do a post on it! The New York Times did a great article on zero waste fashion, specifically on a course that’s going to be taught asking students to design a pair of zero waste jeans that actually look hot.

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Weekly Rewind: Refuse To Compromise

Published by Mira Torres on August 13, 2010
filed under Weekly Rewind

It seems that eco fashion has become a type of label that denotes a certain category in the world of fashion. But here at Green By Design, it isn’t so. We’re pushing away from that closed box persona and presenting the world with the fact that sustainable living can be luxurious, gratifying and beautiful. Please, don’t hate us. We love our beautiful clothes, lust-worthy accessories, and creative designs and we refuse to compromise. Which is why we are committed to finding the most strikingly unusual, original, and unique designs in ethical apparel and merchandise. Keep reading!

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Ada Zanditon: EFF Source Expo Award Winner

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 13, 2010
filed under Clothing, Designers

This girl has quite the pedigree! With numerous awards and honors under her belt, internships with both Alexander McQueen (gasp!) and Gareth Pugh (sigh!), and wardrobe collabs with bands and celebs, she really brings home the proverbial and sustainable bacon. I really love her designs because while a lot of eco fashion is elegant and beautiful it also tends to be subdued in palette and classic in design. So it is refreshing to see the bold silhouettes and electric colors of Ada’s designs.

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The Final Curtain

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 11, 2010
filed under Clothing, Designers

Sad shower curtains once destined for the landfill will be happy to know that Jane Bowler’s got their back.

With deft design-ery and a snappy motto (destruction is creation) Jane harnesses the power of technology using such techniques as ultra-sonic welding an laser shredding to transform plastic sheets into ethereal creations of reminiscent of futuristic warrior cowgirls.

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Crystal Clear

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 11, 2010
filed under Accessories, Designers

SO EXCITED about VeridiAum. I love the way she describes her brand: experimental with conceptual inspirations. Plus all materials are recycled, reclaimed, vintage or ethically sourced. Her latest collection, which is for lack of a better word, breath-taking, is made in New Mexico from 100% recycled sterling and ethically sourced stones, and features raw crystals juxtaposed with stark silver geometries.

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Fashion Editorial As Political Commentary

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 09, 2010
filed under Fashion

Regardless of the medium, there can always be a message, as this prescient spread in this August’s Vogue Italia indicates. Less fashion editorial, more photo essay photographer Steven Meisel casts model Kristen McMenamy as feathered victim of the oil spill, in grim and grotesque detail.
Does examining negative behavior or news by recasting them in sexy light via a fashion editorial send the incorrect message, or does the juxtaposition bring the message home all the more strongly?

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Weekly Rewind: Free to Consume Sustainably and Creatively

Published by Mira Torres on August 06, 2010
filed under Weekly Rewind

Where can you find great solutions and elucidations in regards to sustainable fashion? Here at Green by Design! We’re a free resource for understanding and exploring creativity and innovation within the eco world and fashion and design. We research and report about the latest mixture of sustainable production, options, and creations… This week is no different. From trigger-happy jewelry to a Post-Secret for fashion-lovers, read on for your fill of ethical goodness.

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Approved: Mija T. Rosa

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 06, 2010
filed under Designers, Sustainable Design

We get it: you’re all eco and sustainable and you use eco and/or recycled fabrics. And that’s pretty awesome, don’t misunderstand. We love you for it. But can you design something beautiful, something that we can not only wear to work, but wear to an interview? Something that will not only capture our hearts, but the hearts of all our girlfriends?

Julia Cepp can.

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Flex Those Guns

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 04, 2010
filed under Accessories, Designers

Ken + Dana Design rocks. Hard.
What convinced me to feature them on GbD was their Gun Line. They reclaim gun parts and take something that represents violence and re-frame as something beautiful. Inspired to do something by the overwhelming amount of gun violence and tragedy the designers hear about in NY, the locale of their studio, a portion of the proceeds from each sale goes towards a nyc buyback program to get more guns off the street.

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The New Eco Leather Is Not What You’d Guess

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 04, 2010
filed under Accessories, Designers, Education

As more labels begin to capitulate under the eco-pressure from consumers and duh – just the reality of the need to live sustainably if we want to keep this planet, there are a few things flying under the radar. Leather is one of them. Oh, I wear it and I know full well that it’s not sustainable. But I love it so much, that I’ve been turning a blind eye to these things.

Yet have you ever noticed how much easier it is to face a problem when there is a solution?
Today I want to present: stingray leather.

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Left To Be Found: A Post Secret For Fashion?

Published by Celestyna Brozek on August 02, 2010
filed under Clothing, Events, Sustainability

Left to be Found is an exploration into little magic interactions of finding and gifting garments within an urban environment. The project aims to encourage altruism through the process of giving; and to strengthen the connections between ourselves, the objects surrounding us and others. The objective of this project is to address the throw-away culture problem in a non-preaching, playful way.

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Weekly Rewind: Green Fashion With No Gimmicks

Published by Mira Torres on July 30, 2010
filed under Blog, Weekly Rewind

Green fashion has begun to get a bad name. It seems that any mainstream store can get a hold of “organic” cloth and call it “green” despite the wasteful consumption and process the product truly goes through behind closed doors. At Green By Design, we try to stay away from the gimmicks, the trends, the the products so highly hyped and marketed that it’s a cause for concern rather than a savior to sustainability.

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Shoes Made From Construction Scraps: Do I Like?

Published by Celestyna Brozek on July 29, 2010
filed under Designers, Education

So when I first came on as editor here at GbD, I made a pact with myself that I was never going to feature anything gimmicky, something that was cool just because it was weird or just because it was “green.” Bottom line, any featured line or product had to be beautiful, seductive, something that I would not only wear, but covet, obsess about.

I’ve broken that rule a few times and today’s post will be one of those times….kind of.

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Paul’s Hat Works: Bringing the Hat Back!

Published by Celestyna Brozek on July 28, 2010
filed under Accessories, Designers

Today our story is about green hats. But first, how did four young women come to own a men’s hat shop?

Sometimes our destinies play hard to get, sometimes they hunt us down with a serendipity that leaves us breathless. Case in point: Olivia Griffin came by her current venture in a way that only makes sense if you invoke the alignment of the planets.

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Eco Index Measures Product’s Sustainability

Published by Celestyna Brozek on July 27, 2010
filed under Education, Energy Efficiency

The progress of making sustainability the standard practice in fashion continues. Make no mistake, there’s still a long road ahead, but with a host of certification programs cropping up companies are making sure customers know they’ve done their social studies responsibility homework. How will you know? Via a logo that tells you a garment has been certified. For those super-conscientious consumers who like to be able to come to their own conclusions, there’s sustainability indexes. And now the largest Eco-Index yet is in the works.

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Ex-Lanvin Designer Starts Eco Line

Published by Celestyna Brozek on July 26, 2010
filed under Clothing, Designers

Yes! High fashion begins its slow convergence with eco fashion! And let me tell you, I was debating between several things to feature today, and yet another line of eco fashion may not be the most exciting, but the key word was “Lanvin.” Talk about a name drop – I was instantly drooling.
Imitation and Disguise is designed by Jean-Philippe Gawronski, who worked under Alber Elbaz for a year.

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Weekly Rewind: Clever Cleverness

Published by Mira Torres on July 23, 2010
filed under Weekly Rewind

This week at Green By Design we bring you several unconventional and unique finds that will surely float your sustainable fashion boat both visually and intellectually. From poetic eco design to an earth-friendly wall mounting washing machine, clever creations are just a few mouse clicks away.

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Compact Laundry Solutions: Wall-mounting Washer

Published by Celestyna Brozek on July 22, 2010
filed under Energy Efficiency, Sustainable Design

Do washing machines really have to be so massive? No, they do not. Do washing machines really have to sit on the floor, taking up valuable square footage? No, no, they do not! Case in point is the sweet little wall-mounter by Lichen Guo, one of the eight finalists of the Electrolux Design Lab Competition.

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Christopher Raeburn//Parachute Bombers

Published by Celestyna Brozek on July 21, 2010
filed under Clothing, Designers

Whoa – that sounds violent. Not my intention! I mean, there are parachute bombers – bomber jackets, that is, made from reused parachutes and other re-purposed military textiles in Christopher Raeburn’s Fall 2010 collection!
Working a strong and singular concept, Raeburn moves confidently into his third season of rocking parkas that make me wish for bad weather. And that is saying something!