The Innovative Fashion Council Blog

SF Style 2010: What Will You Be Wearing?

2010-11-15T07:20:00.000-08:00

In the spirit of IFCSF and NYC's Fashion's Night Out, San Francisco Style is gearing up to be the fashion event of the year! Sustainability and design meet for one spectacular evening - Thursday, November 18th. Choose one event or choose all, but you don't want to miss this exciting night!

Here's the lineup of events for the night:

SF Style Pop-Up Store
November 18th from 5-11pm
San Francisco's Planning and Urban Research Center (SPUR)
654 Mission Street, San Francisco

Trunk show featuring local emerging designers plus host First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

Tickets: $6 suggested donation at the door

SF Style Merchant Stroll
November 18th from 5 to 11pm
Various boutiques across town will be open late to host events and special promotions to get your holiday shopping started early!

For a list of participating boutiques visit SF Style on Facebook and twitter@SFStyle2010.

Eco Fashion Show
November 18th from 7:30pm to 11pm
The Bently Reserve
301 Battery Street, San Francisco

Local designers will present eco-friendly collections in a dazzling runway show.

VIP party 7:30-8:30pm
General admission 8pm
Fashion show featuring sustainable designers at 9pm

Tickets: VIP $75 at the door and $65 advanced purchases
General $35 at the door and $25 advanced purchased
Student $15 with ID at the door

For more information on SF Style, click here.

Divine Inspiration

2010-05-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

I really must learn more about Amish quilting. If there’s one thing the 5th annual Discarded to Divine gala firmly implanted in my mind is that inspiration can come from anywhere and anything. True, the students who crafted their masterpieces out of discarded duds received their inspiration in the form of the De Young Museum, but turning the simplicity of the Amish into a va-va-voom one shouldered bias-cut dress that hugs in all the right places takes a certain kind of talent. For FIDM Student Nicole Villa, it was the piercing of the bodice that the quilts inspired in her “Abstract Symmetry.” For student Taisja Maxfield, also from FIDM, her “Beaded Silk Tulip Dress” didn’t revert to the bold color palette used in many of the other Amish inspired pieces – instead she crafted a thoughtful and elegant party dress, that had I received a bidder number, would have tried my fiscal best for.

Not that my bid was particularly needed. The event, held in support of The St. Vincent De Paul Society, raised close to $80,000 between the silent and live auctions. The now annual event, brainchild of the Society’s Sally Rosen has become more than just a charity fashion show. It’s provided a platform to show firsthand how easy sustainable fashion can be. As supporters of the eco-fashion movement we know that a key part of dressing environmentally chic is learning how to reuse and rework what we already have. What better way to be inspired by those old pair of Banana Republic trousers in your closet than watching a belted trench coat fashioned together from two linen tablecloths be auctioned off in a fierce bidding war for $1500?

The Amish-inspired pieces represented just a fraction of the collection students and guest designers (including local designers Colleen Quen and Christopher Collins, Project Runway alumni Sweet Pea Vaughn and Jay Nicolas Sario, and the event’s winner for Best In Women’s Daywear, Coral Castillo) created for the competition. While Project Runway’s recent favorite Sario showed a military inspired vest for the live auction, his cocktail dress out of tweed and Fiji water bottles (yes really!) was the talk of the pre-show reception and the source of many flashbulbs in the room.

One of my favorites, the Dreamscape Waterfall dress by Joseph Singh took in only $300 during the auction, but its Japanese Tea Garden inspired shimmers and colors reminiscent of a Monet painting were truly spectacular, if not a little too tame for the crowd who cheered for the edgier styles. Castillo’s “Green Butterfly” took in $800 but with over fifty pieces of fabric used to sew the tunic-style dress, well worth the cost.

While most of the designers opted for dressier pieces, Dawn Castel’s “Lavender Silk Jacket with Border Panels” was a popular bid for its casual coolness and detail on the sleeves and hem. And there was even something for the kids. Nancy Martin’s winning “Grandmother’s Flower Garden” was so mod in its swinging shape and blue quilted hexagon pattern I’m kind of hoping for an adult version. Sally Rosen should now feel fully inducted into the fashion community at the creation of The “Sally” Bag by Ray Gin. Practical and sturdy, I feel a collection coming on. I can’t forget to mention the jewelry and eclectic pieces of home décor that were also included in the silent auction. There was room for pillows, scarves and even a set of repurposed potholders.

And should we forget the true purpose of the event, Sally Rosen came up with the idea after feeling disheartened over all of the donations that were too dirty or worn to make any use of. By showing the recipients who are often “discarded” by society that they too deserve respect and dignity, their lives have the chance to be renewed. So who thinks fashion is superficial?

Photos by Warren Difranco Hsu/After5Media

A Night Under the Dome for Sustainability

2010-05-13T22:03:00.000-07:00

Join the Innovative Fashion Council and Fashion Group International under the "Dome" at the Westfield San Francisco Shopping Center for cocktails, music, trends, and the future of eco-fashion. A panel of key influencers and educators will lead a discussion on the relevance of sustainability in the industry and share the latest trends. Panelists include:

Margaret Sche - former head of Fashion Direction for Forever 21 and fashion editor for FOAM magazine. Sche works with global retailers, designers and manufacturers in developing niche markets through creative direction, business strategy and market forecasting. She has partnered with brands such as Tommy Hilfiger,The Sak and American Rag and her fashion styling images have appeared in publications such as InStyle, Vanity Fair, Surface, Teen Vogue and Nylon.

Lynda Grose - Co-founder of ESPRIT's ecocollection line and identified in 2008 by the Financial Times as one of the "green power brokers." As a practicing designer, consultant, and educator, Lynda has worked with clients ranging from artisans and farmers to nonprofits and clothing companies, including UNDP, The Sustainable Cotton Project, Aid to Artisans, Gap Inc, Market Place India, Patagonia, Green Peace, 13-mile Farm, and Shayan Craft Center.

Amy Williams - Current chair of CCA's innovative Fashion Design Program, Amy also served as senior lecturer for Fashion Design at Otis College of Art and Design and a lecturer at FIDM Los Angeles, where she was noted as "faculty member of the year." Her work as a designer has been photographed for WWD, California Apparel News, Active Sport, Vogue, Elle, and Glamour, to name a few.

Plans for San Francisco's first official "Fashion's Night Out" on November 18th will also be announced so don't miss out on this exciting event!

Date: Tuesday, May 18th
Time: 6-8:30pm
Place: The Dome, Westfield Mall - 865 Market Street, San Francisco

Reserve your spot by May 17th and order tickets here.

Coming Up – The IFCSF and Bloomingdale’s Team Up for an Earth Day Cocktail Party Plus Give Two Take One at Academy of Art

2010-04-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

Join members of the Innovative Fashion Council and author Bertrand Pellegrin for an Earth Day mixer on Tuesday, April 20th hosted by Bloomingdale’s San Francisco. Pellegrin, global retail strategist and image consultant, will present his latest release Branding the Man: Why Men Are the Next Frontier in Fashion Retail and discuss his thoughts on why men should be a key target audience for fashion retailers.

Enjoy wine and appetizers plus a chance to win great raffle prizes including two tickets to the upcoming FGI/IFCSF trend event! Bloomingdale's will also offer $15 off every $100 spent during the event. Join us and celebrate what makes San Francisco the epicenter of eco-fashion and innovation.

Where: Bloomingdale’s 3rd floor, Westfield Center, San Francisco
When: Tuesday, April 20th from 5:30-8pm; FREE

Thanks to our sponsors and supporters: Fashion Group International, Bloomingdales, San Francisco's Office of Small Business, San Francisco's Office of Economic and Workforce Development, Kaboodle, and 7x7 Magazine. For more information, click here.

If you're tired of your clothes but too eco-minded to shop for new ones, stop by the Give Two Take One clothing swap event hosted by Academy of Art University on Saturday, April 17th. AAU is teaming up with St. Vincent de Paul Society for a very fashionable event where you get as good as you give! Drop by the New Montgomery Gallery between 11am and 4pm with your almost perfect condition clothing, shoes, jewelry and accessories. For every two items donated you'll receive a voucher for one item to choose for yourself. Once you're out of vouchers, you can purchase any items left for cash value. All remaining donations will go to St. Vincent de Paul's. With a Beauty Bar to freshen up your weary face after sorting through clothes and jazz provided by The Sebastian Parker Trio, I'd say your Saturday's sorted.

Coming Up - Lovesick on Valentine's Day

2010-02-11T21:21:00.000-08:00

This could be your most interesting Valentine's Day yet. Lovesick III, a fashion show/lingerie/trunks show event comes to Club Mighty on Valentine's Eve with live music, multiple DJ sets, an art installation and kissing booth. Designers include Alexandria von Bromssen, Miss Velvet Cream, Richard Hallmarq, Miranda Caroligne, Kayo, Medium Reality, My Dirty Dishes, Jasmin Zorlu, Ghetto Goldilocks, Tamo Design, Gallerah Designs, Invisible Hero & more. Musical performance from The Goldenhearts and a performance by Bad Unkl Sista round out the evening. And did I mention a kissing booth? All presided over by Mistress of Ceremonies Emily Morse from Sex with Emily.

Tickets are $20 and available here. The night begins at 7pm and goes until....whenever.

High Fashion’s (re) Evaluation.

2010-01-14T06:41:00.000-08:00

Saying sayonara to possibly the most mental year in recent fashion history—with luxury brands throwing up their hands to stay relevant in this era of fast fashion/slow economic times—YSL revisits the most innovative trend to emerge from last year, high fashion’s foray into eco-chic.

Just before the end of last year, designer Stefano Pilati rolled out YSL’s New Vintage Collection II. The latest collection, which consists of 121 limited edition pieces priced lower than the typical ready-to-wear collection, is available at YSL flagship boutiques in Paris, London and New York. The first collection, a surprising logical and balanced answer to the green fashion paradox, debuted at Barneys in June and sold out before most of us could get a gander in. As before, the capsule collection is recreated from unused archived fabrics that were fated for “le trash can” and cut into updated version’s of YSL’s classic silhouettes.

The final diagnosis is that a consumer’s relationship to fashion has changed profoundly. The current feeling or trend is that shopping to excess is old hat and seeking out classics or cherished vintage pieces is the sane solution to last year’s fashion meltdown.

Fifth Annual Gorgeous & Green Eco Fashion Show

2009-12-21T15:46:00.000-08:00

A recent event held by Global Green in San Francisco distilled the pre-conceived notion that eco fashion and the City By the Bay lack the style and glamour of high fashion.

Global Green’s 5th annual fundraiser held last week at San Francisco’s W Hotel proved that sustainable clothing and its Bay Area-based design community can be just as inspiring and directional as what you may find in the latest issue of Vogue or Vanity Fair. The W is the 7th hotel in the nation to receive LEED certification. Event co-chair Nadine Weil was delighted she didn’t have to worry about the trash being properly sorted for recycling afterwards.

The evening’s event brought out San Francisco’s eco-heavyweights, society luvies and dedicated followers of fashion to support both green styles and the designers dedicated to producing them in the Bay Area. The handpicked group of designers, who highlighted two or three looks from their recent collections, couldn’t have asked for a more receptive audience. The ongoing sustainable design story has, up to now, been about the composition of elements—organic cottons, silks, natural dyes, a mind for preventing waste and local construction—but what really made this show exciting (my feelings echoed by the visceral buzz amongst the audience) were the fresh proportions, cutting-edge artistry and undeniable design values of the dynamic looks coming down the runway.

Co-chair Zem Joaquin green lit the fast–paced runway show with a simple directive: “Think about what you are wearing and be conscious.” The opening looks included a succession of alternatively ruched and flowing washed silk gowns from Robin Brouillete and Leila Hafzi. The dresses were exquisite and fitting for an evening reception, but what eco-fashion really needs is to feel essential. To my mind, separates are the smart women’s response to the economic fallout of the last year. Clothes women can wear to get things done! Right on cue, Nina Skarra’s jaunty, sustainably-sourced sweaters came down the catwalk, providing a nice break in the sea of gowns.

Local favorite, Carja Borja wowed the crowd as her scarlet plaid ensemble came down the runway. The voluminous skirt and jacket (did I just see the outline of a totally wearable bustle go by AMAZING!) skillfully cut to flatter the body contrasted perfectly with the black silk tank awash with tiny ruffles.

Two of the night’s standout looks came from Casey Larkin’s dynamite Mr. Larkin line. The white Chloe jacket with cutouts and delicately molded shoulder pads is a wearable and (less expensive!) take on those beloved by Balmain. The other piece, an organic knit lace dress appeared off runway, worn with requisite rock-star aplomb by guest Josie Maran, model and creator of epononymous eco-cosmetic collection.

The jewelry and accessory pairings were particularly inspiring. A sartorial match made in heaven was Litter’s punk-edged jewelry, its sultry pieces proving themselves a siren call to Sara Shepherd’s lady-like tailoring and immaculate seams.

While the pneumatic models showing Yves Behar’s PACT underwear came dangerously close to undermining the evening’s achievements, the interjection of levity served as a reminder of the work ahead necessary to develop the Bay Area as a destination for all things eco-fashion. The sense of lightness—of not taking things too seriously—is an element to embrace rather than reject if we want to see change in terms of S.F. having a strengthened fashion identity.

The universe’s ironic ways of directing things, a.k.a those delicious instances of life imitating art, were illuminated as Zem introduced the work of artist Sage Vaughn. His delicately rendered images of butterflies are the perfect motif for eco fashion’s current metamorphosis. Only now is everything falling into place: better fabrics, greater interest by designers and increased consumer awareness. It indicates that this is an idea whose time has come to an industry newly challenged by a more value-orientated consumer and the plaintive wail of Mother Nature.

Lighter in celeb quotient than previous years, the event’s focus was on celebrating the achievements of our green fashion community and seemed to highlight that 2009 was the year when Bay Area eco-designers, like Mr. Vaughn’s fragile yet transcendent butterflies, emerged from their cocoons.

It was great to see 10AK designers Priscilla Guimarais, Kumiko Haruyama, Nui Tanapornwattana, Audrey Wang and Tramaine Tillman enjoying themselves. One of the dresses created this summer by the band of Academy of Arts students was fashioned out of hospital scrubs and worn by actress Ginnifer Goodwin at the 20th Anniversary Environmental Media Awards in Los Angleles.

It was a pleasure to speak to Rachel Mann and Mackenzie Burdick of hot body jewelry line Litter at the event. Their line, which artfully decorated Sara Shepherds runway pieces, is made from re-salvaged second-hand and flea market finds. They hit fashion editorial paydirt this year when Wintour it-girl, Lauren Santo Domingo spotted their designs on a trip to San Francisco and asked them to collaborate with one of her new favorite designers, Christian Cota for his New York Fashion Week show. The rumor is NYC fashion peeps plan to steal them away--we hope they stay…

One player the SF fashion scene will loose to NYC is dapper stylist, Lo’renzo Hill White, who also does double duty championing local fashion talent. “It’s great to see society step up for the green cause, and it’s nice to see them in cocktail attire,” he enthused. He’ll be leaving for NYC this spring, but we both agreed, he’d need to watch this space!

Why Brand the Man?

2009-12-12T10:43:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, IFCSF Advisory Board Member and Global Brand Consultant Bertrand Pellegrin spoke before a receptive audience of fashion students and enthusiasts at the Academy of Art University to discuss his new book: Branding the Man: Why Men are the Next Frontier in Fashion. San Francisco Chronicle columnist and fashionable man-about-town Aaron Britt led a lively discussion about the uniqueness of a man’s shopping experience and how retailers need to wake up and tap into this very powerful and discerning consumer.

When Pellegrin was asked why he felt the need to research and report on men and their shopping habits he said “I saw that the marketplace wasn’t growing to meet their needs. I didn’t feel the retailer was really able to communicate with that customer in the right way. I think they were missing out on an opportunity.” Pellegrin went on to say that marketing to the male shopper involves more than just the product assortment – it’s in the way they communicate and how they make him feel in the store. For example, a shop like Best Buy attracts men not only because of its technological gadgets, but he can feel like smart about products while he’s there and even teach something to his female counterpart.

On the other side of the spectrum, Britt and Pellegrin discussed the stagnation of most men’s sections in major department stores. Pellegrin said, “The boutique has a distinct advantage over department stores…the men’s department has not changed since our father or grandfather’s generation.” Britt brought up the prime example of the Macy’s Men Store on Stockton, which I admit, has become a real shopping destination for my semi-retired father on his visits here, but then that kind of makes their point, doesn’t it? The men lamented that in many of these old-school stores, the salesman isn’t even someone you’d feel inclined to trust with your fashion sense, given they’re often wearing an ill-fitting suit or dirty shoes.

Both agreed that men like to share knowledge, and shopping is more than just about the stuff – they crave an experience or community, and they like to know more about what they’re buying. “There’s never enough signage in a store that explains the product,” Pellegrin said, “… if you notice even in J.Crew, they’re putting more information on the product in their catalogs, perhaps on the heritage or manufacturing. I think people do want to know, what are the telltale signs of quality. Think about Mollusk - it’s a surf shop and really struck me as a fantastic men’s environment. It felt like a really cool place to hang out…there was no pressure to buy, the place is very organic and it just feels very real. There were a lot of little stories attached to things.”

A discussion about men’s fashion wouldn’t be complete without mentioning San Francisco’s Wilkes Bashford, on the brink of closing during this discussion (and later rescued by Mitchells/Richards/Marshs) Britt wondered what kind of strategy they’d need to follow to attract new customers and stay open. Pellegrin said, “Wilkes is a brilliant man and a personal friend of mine. I think he was the vanguard of people who brought new designers over to the U.S. over 40 years ago. He’s the first to bring Armani to the U.S…The problem is he hadn’t diversified his offering enough, and his price points are still all equally high. He hadn’t grown his customer base. We all know Willie Brown is Wilke’s most famous customer, but we all know Willie Brown doesn’t need any more suits.” Ah, the harsh reality of old age and what many classic brands are facing as their core customer base grows older, and they haven’t successfully attracted a new generation. “He still has tremendous clout and is recognized all over the world. There’s still an opportunity to renew and refresh how the brand is positioned in this market. People aren’t buying Brioni suits right now but there will be interest again.” Let’s hope.

In conclusion, Pellegrin offered retailers the idea of creating learning events around their products – for instance, brew your own beer while getting styling tips. Even better, learn the difference between a shirt that’s been custom-made for you in comparison to an off the rack piece. Finally, there’s nothing more important to a man than how he’s perceived by his peers especially when it comes to his sexuality – understand this piece of the puzzle and use this to design your tactics.

For more about Pellegrin and how to order his book, click here.

THREAD On the Bay

2009-11-23T21:30:00.000-08:00

Thread San Francisco, a 2-day holiday shopping event featuring local designers and artisans, recently took over the Festival Pavilion at Fort Mason on the 21st and 22nd. The event featured 100 independent fashion designers and artists showing their wares, from bags to brooches, tees to tartans. In the midst there was a live DJ and a hosted bar, plus a live runway show each day. This year’s event also featured a new Eco-design zone, fitting for a fashion festival in San Francisco.

I had the chance to stop by on the second day and saw a few familiar favorites including comfy eco knitwear by JulesElin and picks from Secession Art & Design. I was happy to see Erica Varize , designer of Evarize, with a selection from her bold, form-fitting collection. Varize was part of the recent APAture runway show at SOMarts a few months ago and her collection was one of the stand-outs of the evening. She’s recently partnered with Project (RED) to fight the AIDS epidemic by designing the Measu(RED) line with proceeds going to the AIDS Global fund and Project Uganda 07.

A number of interesting jewelry designers were also featured at the show. Twinkle Studio by Sara Vaccarielli caught my eye with its table of sparkly vintage gems. Vaccarielli reclaims older pieces and remakes them into modern vintage. I walked away with a bracelet for $30 that was not only unique, but could have been passed off by J.Crew for $100 or more. On the flip side, the delicate handmade metal pieces by Meghan Patrice Riley were modern elegance meets industrial chic. Her lightweight pieces could be worn piled on with a little black dress or worn as a single statement piece. I found her work to be one of the more high-end collections represented at the show.

Thread hosts events nationally and is based in Los Angeles. Their next event is in San Diego December 5-6. If you missed it and want to do some holiday shopping from local designers, Appel and Frank are hosting their Stocking and Stilettos holiday shopping event on Thursday, December 10th at the Regency Center. For more information, click here.

Conversations with Fashion Innovators: Sally Singer

2009-11-12T15:38:00.000-08:00

Recently I had the opportunity to sit down for an intimate lunch with Fashion News and Features Director for American Vogue, Sally Singer. Sally was in town to interview Google’s Marissa Mayer and graciously accepted my invitation to chat about fashion, the recession, and of course the role that sustainability plays for the industry.

During the course of the interview I was captivated by Sally’s passion for the industry, as well her keen dedication to being socially and environmentally responsible in fashion. As she recently stated in her [November 2009] Vogue story, “Salad Days”: “ I love my Deep Green Living directory-where to buy toys, cat supplies, eco-friendly lunchboxes, nontoxic pest care toys)’oh, no; groans my husband)- and I love feeling that little bit more empowered. I may not be living with houseplants but I’m that much closer to the Emerald City.”

Sally is not your typical fashionista.

In fact she made of point of noting to me, “I feel like I’m very, very lucky. A friend of mine, who is an editor, said something like, ‘for girls, getting to go to the Paris shows is like getting to play for the NFL’, and that’s pretty good! I certainly have a job that links up with my things that I care about. I never thought anyone would pay me to care about those things.

Educated at UC Berkeley and later Yale, Singer was originally on a career path in academia but somehow found herself in the world of fashion and magazines. Over a good hearty meal with the best-made Arnold Palmer in town (no salads for these two fashion gals) we began our conversation.

- Yetunde Schuhmann is President and Founder of The Innovative Fashion Council San Francisco

YS: How do you think fashion will weather the recession?

SS: I think that fashion and style is relevant regardless of the economy. Style is almost more relevant now as it’s something that people can do for themselves as a pick-me-up. It’s something that helps them imagine a more interesting world; it helps people think differently about their culture and their time. All sorts of examples of the best style have come out of stricken times.

Within the industry it’s been a tough year and will continue to be for some time. I’ve read that there are some good signs ahead. People will have to think and work a little differently, but that’s not always a bad thing. The hard truth is that people who are very talented might be shuttered this year. It’s a real shame to see Christian Lacroix going into bankruptcy proceedings in Paris, and almost on the same day see Veronique Branquinho shutting her business. These are two immensely talented people with enormous conviction who shouldn’t have done anything any differently, but the system hasn’t worked for them at this moment. So in that sense, I don’t think the shake out is a great thing because it means that only the best will survive. I think a lot of really great people are having a really hard year and people who I don’t necessarily think have a lesson to learn from it. The same as people who are suffering from personal setbacks, they weren’t necessarily over-spending or living a false life, they were just trying to get by and a whole lot of things conspired against them.

I do think that fashion designers and companies will come out of this year with a different perspective on how they operate, how they control their production, how they control their wholesale network and hopefully the industry will be stronger for it.

YS: Do you think that because of the financial distress, it will affect the way designers will market themselves?

SS: Well advertising has taken a hit. Designers are not advertising the way they used to. Were those gorgeous campaigns and the number of them necessary? Shot by just a few photographers… It made fashion really exciting to people and made fashion a fun industry to be in. And a fun industry for the public to engage in. There’s not a designer out there right now, who’s not re-evaluating the way they market and merchandise their collections and how they put their message out there. The interesting thing is that because of style.com there’s such knowledge of fashion. Before you didn’t have to work every day to have people be aware of your work.

When I started at Vogue, you kind of had to figure out how you were going to do it. Maybe there was a cable show that showed a bit of a runway show… The idea that you could know the name of a model that wore Look 12 at Prada was impossible, unless you were in the business. Now anyone can go online and see a show, and know that Natalia was opening the show, and get the details and see the bag up close. So there’s an incredible knowledge of fashion right now. So a lot of marketing just has to build on that. So I imagine things will be done differently in the way that people will position themselves.

Right now there’s so much emphasis in the industry on the pre-Fall. Right now, we’re starting to see Resort in New York and those collections are the real money-spinners for companies. They hit the stores in November and stay full price much longer than the traditional Spring/Summer and Fall/Winter collections. In the past these were seen as the ”real” clothes collections, not the catwalk ”follies.“ And I think there is more direction in them now than ever before. Because there is more scrutiny. They also, go into stores at the moment that people who are in the mood to spend, spend. So I think in the last few years there’s been a greater emphasis on pre-fall or pre-spring or resort and I think that will continue. And more companies doing that if they can, delivering into the stores four times and therefore not staking it all on two seasons. And if two seasons go drastically on sale they have double the opportunity to sell.

YS: The ultimate goal of the Innovative Fashion Council is to support more sustainable fashion design and practices. Do you think it is still only seen as a trend?

SS: I would hope it’s not just a trend, and that the economic crisis wouldn’t be a reversal and we’re still moving forward. There have been other trends in the fashion industry that challenged issues of sustainability. Those too were valid concepts.

Many, many other people have been heartened by the fast-fashion, the explosion of really directional, fun retail environments where clothes are extremely on target, on trend and affordable, and often designed by real luminaries in that market. I mean, I hear Jil Sander is doing clothes for Uniqlo and I hear the clothes are amazing. That said, the whole notion of fast-fashion is not exactly at one with the issues of sustainability. Do we need all those things for clothes we buy on Friday, to wear out at a club on Saturday and toss out by the next Friday? And where are they going? Those clothes may start to be made with organic fibers, made in different factories and made in line with ecological goals and a more conscious set of parameters. We’ve just seen this with Target and their collaboration with Loomstate. Rogan Gregory really pushed to have Target source differently.

I want people to buy the right things at the right price for the right reasons. But I understand designer fashion that is fairly priced, and made artisanally and directional and exciting. Designers like Rodarte, the Mulleavy sisters, and Isabel Toledo are making these amazingly beautiful clothes and these clothes are not inexpensive. And to many people it doesn’t make sense to wear a dress that costs $1,900. But on the other hand, she’s doing something incredibly sustainable. She’s wearing someone who sourced the fabrics properly, made it beautifully, worked on it by hand and paid her workers fairly. I want to encourage people not to spend more than they can afford, but to spend the right amount of money and wear it a lot. And when you’re done wearing it pass it down, rework it, figure out how to integrate it into the next thing they want to do, chop it up, even make it into pillows! I don’t know, but I want people to figure out how to work with their clothes in a more sustained way—whatever their clothes are, it may be the Loomstate Target collection—whatever! I just want them to love it beyond the moment they bought it.

YS: What about educating the designers in sustainable design concepts like William McDonough’s book “Cradle to Cradle?”

SS: We are seeing biodegradable shoes, not just Nike, where if you drop off your shoes, they’ll remake it into something else. So we’re seeing that. And designers, such as Stefano Pilati at YSL doing collections out of old fabrics he found around. He just launched that collection at Barneys New York. I think it’s a fantastic model for how luxury goods should be working right now. But I also think designers are receiving an enormous pressure from retailers and consumers to make things at a less expensive price point, to broaden their price points, to offer entry level price points. And often what that means is to go overseas and China’s environmental standards are not necessarily the best. It’s not necessarily the quality; the real issue is that a designer is trying to work to a sensitive way to their customer and to the world. And it’s an awful lot of balls in the air.

Some will say they’ll use an organic fabric, but if you don’t produce in an up-to-date factory with environmental standards, does it matter if it’s an organic fabric if you’re using chemicals to process it? Kind of, I don’t know but it’s like the set of decisions that we’re all facing in our everyday and I just think that the more everyone is conscious of those choices the better off we’ll be. And every designer out there is thinking that way. They know the customer understands the value of conscious production. It’s not yet at the same place as food, where people will buy the ugly but organic apple. Fashion people still want the nice looking thing. But they know that an ethical back-story adds value for consumers. Whether they can take all their impulses and put out a product that the consumer can afford remains to be seen. But, they’re all trying to. They think endlessly about sourcing, and they have to know fabrics are so expensive now.

And partly because a number of people working now are working at the top of their game are young people. They are part of a generation that grew up with an environmental consciousness. People such as Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough of Proenza Schouler, Phillip Lim and Derek Lam - these guys don’t stand apart from their generation. So, no I don’t think

it’s a trend; it’s just going to take some time to sort itself out. Luckily there are a lot of people right now who know a lot about sourcing and the issues who are working in the industry right now, such as Rogan. As long as people continue to talk about it, it will be okay.

YS: Do you think that hosting a sustainability conference would be a good idea?

SS: It’s hard to get people to come. Designers are very busy these days, going to stores and connecting with the customers. Everyone knows the more designers are out in the stores, the better the sales are. I don’t think there has been a time where designers have worked more frenetically here in New York or in Europe. I know I did a panel for UCLA's Hammer Museum, where I brought together Rodarte's Kate Mulleavy, Adriano Goldschmied, Christina Kim and Tom Binns. They’re all artisanal designers. They found it was very useful for them to talk about the choices they have to make everyday.

YS: It seems as if there is a disconnect, people wanting to be sustainable and not knowing what to do?

SS: Certain questions can be answered by others, such as “I need a source in Peru” but how you choose to go about imagining who you are as a designer has to come from you. I think there’s great value in knowing what your signature is, what your point of view is, how to render it, who is going to appreciate it, how far you can take it and being content with that and scaling it to that. And making great choices that allow you to do it in a way that it’s good for you. In the Bay Area, for instance a company that I think is fantastic is a ceramic company from Sausalito called Heath. Everything that Robin and Cathy have done makes sense. And they’ve just opened a huge store in L.A. in the midst of a recession, but it’s the right store. They truck things down twice a month so they always know exactly what is selling and what to produce. They manufacture locally, they partner with Chez Panisse and Blue Bottle, and other artisanal lifestyle choice businesses that they are part of. They opened at Opening Ceremony in Japan. They are the height of the fashion life, as uber-fashion as you can get without necessarily being a fashion business.

YS: What do you think of the San Francisco emerging designer scene?

SS: When I come here I usually go to Modern Appealing Clothing and see what they carry. I think there’s no reason to do Paris in San Francisco, or Fifth Avenue in San Francisco. You have to do something that connects to San Francisco. I don’t think San Francisco needs a fashion week, I don’t even think L.A. needs a fashion week. You have to do something that makes sense here. I think it’s probably true that if you want a larger audience you’ll probably have to go to New York or even L.A.

Coming Up – Branding the Man Launch

2009-11-11T09:24:00.001-08:00

Bertrand Pellegrin, IFCSF board member and author of Branding the Man will discuss his new book and the future of fashion with San Francisco Chronicle columnist Aaron Britt this Thursday at the Academy of Art University. Pellegrin will also be available to sign copies of his book after the presentation. This is a great opportunity to learn about the current state of the retail industry and where it’s heading, during this challenging time in the fashion industry.

Where: Academy of Art University, Main Auditorium; 79 New Montgomery Street
When: Thursday, November 12th; 7-8:30PM

Coming Up - Local 415 at Eco Citizen

2009-10-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

Eco Citizen, local purveyor of some of the most high-end and chic designs in eco-fashion, will host an opening reception on Thursday, November 5th for a new exhibition featuring local designers and artists, including Juleselin,Kris Nations, mr. Larkin, Molly M designs, PACT, Josh Podoll, Sara Shepherd, SUST, Turk & Taylor and Yellow Owl Workshop.

Where: Eco Citizen Boutique, 1488 Vallejo Street, 415.614.0100
When: Thursday, November 5th from 5-8PM
.

Possessing Inspiration.

2009-10-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

The latest IFCSF event featured a panel discussion of the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, a bill currently pending in the U.S. Congress. Currently undergoing its third attempt at passage, the bill would provide intellectual property protection rights to a fashion design for a period of 3 years.

Zuzna Ikels and Karen Frank, partners at law firm of Coblentz, Patch, Duffy and Bass, graciously explained the nuances of the pending bill. While expressing their appreciation for fashions creative process, they failed to reassure the concerns of IFCSF’s members that include emerging fashion designers and production talent. The diehard fashionistas who remain in San Francisco have precious little resources and support as it is, let alone the ability to navigate a complex new legal regime. The skeptical mood of the audience attested to the impracticality and potential perils of enacting this law. Competing against the big guys for recognition has always been part of their struggle for success but hasn’t dampened their desire to continue within the cutthroat, yet quixotic fashion industry.

What is good for the goose is usually good for the gander; however, the specious argument in favor of the bill began by contending that since European intellectual property laws do extend to including fashion copyright our country’s should as well. It’s crucial to recognize how different the cultures are and how those cultures impact business practices. Europeans are simply not as litigious as we are! For example, minimal medical malpractice insurance costs paid by European doctors ensure that patient costs are kept reasonable. It doesn’t necessary occur to European designers to follow through and to sue. In our sue-happy culture, any amateur designer’s oversight in integrity would quickly be complicated and buried by self-interest and greed.

Illustrating that the integrity of a fashion design brand may be easier to maintain than recover, Ikels showed exhibit number one for the case for the Design Piracy Act, virtually identical images of an original and copied version of a striped cardigan. The designs were used in a recent lawsuit filed by fashion house Travota against Forever 21. While the audience agreed visual differences were hard to distinguish, they challenged that it would be easy to tell the difference in quality in-person, and that the Travota brand was not harmed by the cheaper copy.

Which underscores my next point. It’s an uncertain assumption that fast-fashion chains targeting a more mass market, like H&M, Zara, and Forever 21, truly hurt the fashion business on the high end. In fact, these chains democratize fashion and allow a youthful market with lower means to begin developing a sense for silhouette proportions while adapting high-end trends to create a personal signature look.

Next, it’s the inherent nature of fashion as an art form that makes attempting to incorporate copyright protection so problematic. Like any other medium, the tools available —every stitch, seam, dart, hem, pleat, cut, and combination of, have been utilized before at some point in fashion’s history. The process of creating a design—essentially crafting a piece of 3d fabric architecture—is achieved, not by separating out those tools and identifying them in their unformed state, but by imagining their potential and arranging their composition to suit the designers taste or intuition.

The bottom line comes down to the company’s bottom line. Consumer choice and liberty is wiped out when a broad encompassing competitive market is. While I certainly am grateful for the additional H and M top to my wardrobe that suggests (in my budget-addled imagination) the avant- garde simplicity of Dries Van Noten, it doesn’t make me want to not save up for the real thing either. It makes dressing how I want a reality I can embrace, rather than a desire I have to simply shutdown for the sake of my own sanity!

While couturier, Colleen Quen spoke gracefully about how her work “isn’t inspired by trends,” the truth is most designers are paying close attention to their customers needs. They know that women tend to dress for one another and want to show they are somewhat cognizant of the current fashions. A successful designers genius rests in reinventing the wheel again and again within this season’s fabric and color trends. Ultimately, I subscribe to Voltaire’s conclusion on the subject “Originality is nothing but judicious imitation“

The act has been in the works for years but failed to pass. Why is it coming up again now? Spearheaded by Diane Von Furstenberg, who has finally encouraged enough support for what looks like a 50-50 fight. Meaning that enough big business labels are able to afford the copious legal fees associated with their proposed legislation. However, just viewing those in opposition tells you a lot. Headed by the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the opposition is a workers union. They know that getting lawyers involved, drags in hardworking employees such as pattern drafters and production workers. They estimate the new law could eliminate 90% of the national fashion industry. And the price of clothes will surge—in this economy that can’t be a good thing!

We can all appreciate that cheating is wrong. Rather than pointing the finger, as an industry let’s try to develop the consumer instead. With the advent of style.com and the glut of celebrity style media, fashion knowledge has become more accessible than ever before. It’s important to build on that platform and educate the consumer about the cause and effect of their choices. Alongside the high/ low concept, the trend for sustainable clothing is the most important. We have to focus on more education—I propose we educate ourselves with intelligent journalism within our favorite magazine, than the sorry occurrences of chapter 11’s in the business pages.

Striking the balance between fashion as an art form, versus the grittiness of the rag trade, with its weakness for free exchange of inspiration, is the bane of the industry. You can’t separate the two. Fashion is both all at once; it’s the industry whose low cost entry transforms 3^rd worlds into significant economic players (as the Cotton Mills did for the U.S. in the 1800’s) and the most transient of art forms, whose masterpieces are cataloged all-too-briefly in disposable glossy magazines. There’s simply too much at risk to jeopardize it with difficult to identify laws that are costly and may impede small player’s creativity and voracious passion. This is not an industry that needs to rest on its laurels by seeking timely credit recognition, but one that needs to be constantly innovating forward to stay ahead of the game.

Watch Out H&M – the CFDA Want Their Designs Back

2009-09-08T21:33:00.000-07:00

On August 21st members of the San Francisco fashion and law community came together for the latest IFCSF event hosted by Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass LLP at their beautiful offices in the Ferry Building. A panel of local designers and industry professionals moderated by Partner Zuzana Ikels shared their views on the Design Piracy Prohibition Act, a bill that is currently pending in Congress. Strongly supported by the Council of Fashion Designers of America and spearheaded by Council President Diane von Furstenberg, the bill provides protection for designers of their unique designs against fashion piracy. According to Ikels, the bill has about a 50/50 chance of being passed into law this fall because it is so controversial. Serving on the IFCSF panel were: Jennifer Evans, President and Founder of the Evans Group Inc.; Jeanne Feldkamp, Founder and Creative Director of the 615 Project ; Amy Fritz, President of Ecouture; Louisa Parris, Womenswear Designer & Visiting Tutor, Academy of Art ; Colleen Quen, Designer and Professor; Gus Harput, Co-owner of Harput’s Market, and Karen Frank, partner at the Coblentz law firm and President of the Copyright Society of the USA.

The Act is similar to anti-piracy laws in Europe, and essentially gives designers three years of copyright protection for "original" designs, if they register their designs within the first three months of the first time the design has been presented to the public. If infringement is found, designers can seek damages of the higher of up to $250,000 per infringement, or $5 per copy. The legislation, if passed, would apply to original designs created after bill becomes law.

As fashion is a $350 billion industry in America, supporters are not taking this lightly and are gearing up to do battle against the main offenders – fast fashion chains like H&M, Forever 21, and Zara. And these designers do have a right to be angry – too often their designs will barely float off the runway before a copycat version is sold at the local mall. Couture designer Quen, who is known for her stunning gowns and architectural shapes, spoke of being a victim to fashion piracy when a collar she had worked on for over a year showed up on someone else’s design. What becomes tricky is deciding what has enough originality to be protected, and how to distinguish between protectable originality, and unprotectable functional elements of design, or mere trends. Opponents of the bill say that it will become impossible for young designers to get started, and that the nature of fashion is copying and taking from other designs.

According to Quen and like-minded designers like Thakoon who are more established in the industry, too often their art is compromised. On the CFDA web site Thakoon says “…Many more young people are excited about the opportunities that America’s leadership in fashion provides, and like me, are trying to build a career here. All too often however, we find our ability to do so is undermined by pirates who, instead of laying out the money we do for research, pattern makers, to mount runway shows, etc, they just copy the end product of all our investments and, by virtue of having a cost free design, sell our design in the market place cheaper than we can". When asked by Ikels what role trends play in design, Quen said, “I don’t know if I’d call my work a trend, but it does come from my soul and I treat my work like a painting, so each piece has an inspiration whether it’s from an architect or artist, a person I met, or it could even be from an insect. Whatever is in my life at that time inspires me. I’m like the vessel and I start translating so I get inspired and it becomes sculpture. I don’t get inspired by trend.”

Ikels posed the example of a Marc Jacobs jacket with 80s-inspired elements. As the 80s are back in style, how would a designer stay on trend with a similar jacket without counterfeiting the design? Parris said, “You would hope that I’d take that on board, look at elements from the 80s, do the research, maybe study an 80s rock band, but the way I taught myself and learned through education, is that those elements are fundamental, but at the end of the day I have to put my fingerprints all over it and make it something original.” The audience was shown another example of a Trovata striped cardigan that had been copied exactly by Forever 21. It was such a blatant copy that Trovata filed a lawsuit. But can a striped cardigan really be considered an original design? According to supporters – yes, if there is something unique about it like the style of the buttons or the fit of the armhole.

If the legislation passes, a free searchable database would be provided of all designs with requests for protection, and I imagine large fashion houses expanding their employee rosters to welcome law librarians.

As split as the vote is around this new legislation, the opinions among the panelists and audience were split as well. I think the biggest benefactors of this legislation are the more established designers who have the time and funds to sue for copyright infringement. However, if laws like this already exist and work in Europe, why wouldn’t they work here? Perhaps this will allow for even more creativity in design. And for companies who have made a living copying others, they’ll either need to get original or get out. What if this were to open up a new era of fashion in America where we might even see, daresay, a new kind couture. With more freedom and time to design without the fear of knockoffs, think about what the design community could really do. The big question is whether anyone on a “real world” budget could afford to buy clothes anymore.

Thanks to all who sponsored the event: VehicleSF, Swan's Neck Vodka, LandrinUSA, Warren Difranco, and dj Melvin "j". For more photos of the event visit the IFCSF on Facebook. An opposing viewpoint of this controversial subject coming soon.

Photos courtesy of Warren Difranco and AfterFive Media.

A Meeting of the Greens

2009-08-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Leaders and innovators in the San Francisco environmental community met and mingled at the Bently Reserve last Thursday for the first annual “Common Green” event. Sponsored by the Bently Reserve and Orchard Hotels, the IFCSF had a chance to meet with approximately 200 like-minded collaborators in the stunning LEED-certified space. The key speaker for the night was Wade Crowfoot, formerly the Director of Climate Protection under Mayor Newsom, and now the West Coast Political Director for the Environmental Defense Fund. Zem Joaquin, founder of ecofabulous.com and recipient of the 2009 Global Green Millenium Founder’s Award introduced the event’s hosts Chris and Amber-Marie Bently and Stefan Mühle from Orchard Hotels.

Stefan talked about the challenging, yet personally fulfilling feat of running a completely eco-friendly hotel. What I found most compelling was his idea of the “triple bottom line”, where you take care of the social, environmental and economical aspects. When these aspects are aligned your business can be a true powerhouse. The Orchard Garden Hotel is referred to as a “green boutique” hotel with eco-friendly guestrooms and restaurants featuring local and organic ingredients. Not a bad place to stay for a stylish eco-ista.

Crowfoot, whose leadership with Newsom helped to put San Francisco on the map as a leader in solving the global environmental crisis, was instrumental in the city’s invitation to participate in the upcoming Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Crowfoot framed his talk by asking us to think back through the last five years and how far we’ve come as a country in facing the crisis. He described his time working in the Mayor’s office as a “bright light in an otherwise dark space in the U.S. “ It’s truly the cities that need to play a key part in fixing the environment, and cities like San Francisco and the state of California are leading the way. He likened the great work accomplished here during the last administration to being inside a “bubble during a troubling time. “

Crowfoot spoke very strongly of the need to take advantage of the opportunity we have with the new administration to make a difference for the environment, and how crucial the next four months leading up to Copenhagen are in making lasting environmental change. Essentially, if the conference is going to come up with an agreement to reduce greenhouse gases to sustain life on this planet, the U.S. must step up prior to December. The way to do that is to legislate the Clean Energy and Security Act. Already passed by the House and endorsed by President Obama, the bill needs 60 affirmatives from the Senate. If the bill doesn’t pass during this session, Crowfoot said, “then all bets are off.” He encouraged us not only sign those email petitions, but to use our business voices to talk to undecided Senators. Want to find out more about this legislation? Click here.

Speaking with Amber-Marie Bently after the presentation, it sounds like Common Green will be back for another event in the near future. For news and updates, join A Common Green on Facebook.

Fashion On The Square Brings New York Couture to San Francisco

2009-08-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

San Francisco is still struggling with putting on a fashion week event that rings true to the spirit of its local designers and community. The recent Fashion On The Square event held at the Intercontinental Hotel the weekend of July 25th was a valiant attempt at connecting the world of fashion with art at a local level. The daytime events included a series of seminars on fashion trends, red-carpet hair and makeup, and of great interest here to the IFCSF, the role of eco-design. On Sunday afternoon there was a children and teen runway show from local brand giants Gymboree, Old Navy, Gap and Janie and Jack.

The main event on Saturday night was a couture show featuring New York-based designer B Michael. While Mayor Gavin Newsom wrote a proclamation declaring July 25th B Michael Day” in the city, I was a bit perplexed with how this represented San Francisco fashion. That aside, the collection was beautiful and the event did raise money for local charities Wardrobe for Opportunity, K.I.D.S. and Fashion Delivers.

Fashion On the Square’s Founder & Creative Director Y’Anad Burrell led the night’s festivities with help from View from the Bay’s Janelle Wang and Denise Bradley (formerly of MoAD). The show opened with a presentation by fashion student Erik Stultz from three different collections, featuring menswear, lingerie and couture. Stultz gave a strong showing, especially with the corseted pieces from the second collection that were said to be inspired by the coral reefs for colors and textures and the circus for their silhouettes. Soon to graduate from the Art Institute of California, Stultz’s experience came across in the confidence of his designs.

Completely unexpected and magical, guests were treated to a brief interlude by two dancers (and later models) from the Alonzo King's LINES Ballet. I was dazzled with the way they glided across the runway and even more so when I later saw the female dancer modeling b.michael designs En pointe. This show of artistry was closer to the type of diversions one might expect at the major shows in New York and Paris. And a perfect introduction to B Michael – showing almost 30 looks from his Fall 2009 collection these clothes are for women headed to the big house – and I do mean the White House. One coat in Peridot green cashmere was created for a woman with connections to the Obamas– Poet Lauriat Elizabeth Alexander who was commissioned and read the poem at the Inauguration. Classic silhouettes in expensive fabrics never go out of style. But don’t think B Michael is all business. There is celebration in his work, whether in a fitted sheath dress with a seam of flirtatious fringe down the side or his finale piece, a robin’s egg blue trumpet gown with cashmere lace and a matching shrug framed with feathers.

Every piece featured luxurious fabrics and exquisite detailing. It’s not hard to believe that before fashion, B Michael was an account executive for a Wall Street firm where he must have catered to a clientele who demanded only the best for their money. The “ladies who lunch” have found their next designer and San Francisco’s social set is ready for him.

Coming Up - Shopping Events on Both Sides of the Bay

2009-07-28T19:48:00.000-07:00

Enjoy Free Admission to Appel and Frank's Chic Summer Soiree

Summer's not over yet - Appel and Frank, the duo behind San Francisco's popular social shopping events are having their "Chic Summer Soiree" event on Thursday, August 13th. Find fabulous jewelry, handbags, apparel and more made by local designers. Shop while enjoying complimentary wine, beauty services, and the coveted gift bag. As a friend of the IFCSF, Appel and Frank are offering readers FREE tickets to the event! Just visit the ticket page here and enter discount code IFC. The event is from 5-9PM at The Regency Center, 1270 Sutter Street. Designers include Stella & Dot, Juleselin, and Rebecca Ciccio.

Style Lounge Takes Over the Oakland Museum of California
As part of the East Bay Express "Best of the East Bay" party on Friday, August 7th, Style Lounge will join the event at the museum with the ultimate shopping fest and fashion show. Shop clothing, jewelry, accessories, art, and home decor from independent designers and get a free makeover from the SF Institute of Esthetics and Cosmetology. The event is from 5pm to midnight with the fashion show starting at 10pm. Designers participating in the fashion show include Revelation by M.E., K.Antoinette Collection and Hearts Desire Jewelry. Admission is free. The Oakland Museum of California is at 1000 Oak Street, one block from the Lake Merritt BART station. Event sponsors include 7x7 Magazine, GenArt and the Innovative Fashion Council San Francisco. For more information, click here.

Fashion Lights Up the UC Botanical Garden

2009-07-18T09:03:00.000-07:00

An isolated garden at the top of the Berkeley Hills may not be the most obvious venue for a high-end eco-fashion fundraiser, but the organizer behind the recent Green Gala garden party is not your ordinary botanist. Deepa Natarajan, the mastermind behind this event had long thought about a way to join the world of fashion with that of the garden. Her vision was realized on a blistering hot Sunday afternoon in June inside the gentle shade of a towering redwood grove.

The event – a fundraiser for the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley – included a live and silent auction, an eco-fashion runway show, and wine and hors d’oeuvres by local artisans. The highlight of the afternoon was a fashion show in the Redwood Grove Amphitheatre, with over 10 local designers each showing 3-5 pieces from their collection. Many pieces were made with plant materials that can be found in the garden, and even the hair and makeup team used the garden for their creations.

Having to contend with Gay Pride weekend and a cab driver who drove me round and round the canyon, I was devastated to arrive right after the first designer, Casey Larkin showed her pieces. I have been reading about her and was eager to see everything up close. Luckily I was able to see the entire collection during the final walk-through at the end of the show. Her designs, under the name Mr. Larkin, are some of the most exquisite and wearable pieces I’ve seen in eco-fashion, and are in fact called “an eco project” on her web site. The “Elsa Dress” has been receiving some press lately as it’s made from 100% milk fiber and is dripping with recycled paillettes from the 1930’s – completely perfect for the red carpet. Not to mention her clothing has already been worn by a few celebrities. Her more casual jumpers and dresses are made of 100% Japanese organic cotton and happily mingle old Hollywood style in a modern fit. While this collection was shades of white, I hear her collection for the fall will have lots of navy, a la Comme des Garcons.

Of the designers represented on the Redwood Grove runway, my other favorites (besides Larkin) were from Cory Brown & Cassidy Wright (“The Moon”), Molly De Vries for Ambatalia partnered with Tierra Del Forte denim, and Jonathan Baker. The Moon experimented with weaving together scraps of silk shirts and scarves, handkerchiefs, tulle, doilies and even napkins. If it sounds like too much, the peachy blush gown out of vintage silk was fairly simple and elegant with many intricacies. De Vries repurposed an 80-year old Asian hand-felted vintage wool jacket and gentleman’s 70-year old wool vest and paired them with a denim pencil skirt from Tierra Del Forte and round-toe heels. The effect was cool and sweet. Finally, Baker closed the show with the most modern and sharply cut dresses made with seaweed and organic cotton. He stuck to black and white and it worked.

After the show, guests walked over to the terrace where items for the silent auction had been set out for bidding and the wine by Quivira was poured for the taking. Amiee Alan provided the catering and music was provided by Elias Reitz, Roger Reidlebaur, Jordan Glenn & Nate Brenner. Despite the heat, I suspect guests didn’t mind taking in the natural surroundings and breathtaking views. What other secrets the garden holds we don’t know, but someone like Deepa Natarajan will surely find a way to show us.

*Photos courtesy of Cara Gardner for Cara Mia Photography

Vote for IFCSF in the 2009 Style Council Awards

2009-07-11T16:33:00.001-07:00

7 x 7 Magazine asked their readers for nominations for this year's Style Council awards - unique and stylish tastemakers of the Bay Area. The IFCSF's Yetunde Schuhmann (pictured right) has been nominated! Here's your chance to help the Innovative Fashion Council receive some attention for its work in promoting sustainable design in San Francisco. To vote, simply click here and vote for Yetunde - Photo #85. Voting ends on Wednesday, July 15th.

Dress imaginatively—now more than ever. An evening with Vogue Features editor, Sally Singer.

2009-07-03T17:40:00.000-07:00

Weeks have gone by and I can’t stop thinking about (okay, it’s become a full blown crush) Sally Singer, Vogue’s Features and Fashion News Director who appeared at the Commonwealth Club’s recent Inforum event.

As someone working at promoting San Francisco’s ever-fragile fashion community the forum’s title, “Why Fashion Still Maters,” seemed particularly in vogue. As I looked around at the fifty fashion-starved San Franciscan women listening with rapt attention, we were likely wondering what could the answer be? Like a congregation before its altar, I think we hoped this rare offering, a bona fide NY senior Vogue editor in San Francisco, could sustain our faith in fashion in a town where a catwalk show is generally overshadowed by events celebrating the achievements of technology, stem cell research or the environmental movement.

Weighing in on our fashion fascination, Singer rose to the challenge of both reigniting my commitment to the industry and defending Vogue’s relevance in a time where most Americans are worried about losing their jobs, their homes and perhaps even their way of life. After all, Vogue is a magazine that’s featured Balmain’s eleven thousand dollar exaggerated shoulder jacket every month since the spring/summer ‘09 collections.

Singer’s zigzag work history is a welcome departure from the more superficial stereotypes of the fashion industry. After dropping out of Berkeley she went to beauty school while living in the Tenderloin district. She headed east and graduated from Yale becoming an avant-garde, punk music-loving bohemian who now lives in the Chelsea Hotel, (yes, where Sid killed Nancy) and appreciates her “exacting” editor, Anna Wintour, for the rigorous work environment she creates.

Singer’s thoughtful, non-conformist persona reiterates fashion’s role as an art form, social and cultural barometer and a transformative power of reinvention often forgotten in these days of Lucky Magazine's shopping lists of must-haves and so-called stylish celebrities advertising head-to-toe outfits conceived by stylists.

Singer graciously described her outfit to former Wired magazine Editor-in-Chief Katrina Heron who questioned whether the average woman could afford or get access to the punk-platformed, cuffed, buckled and tassled booties (named “the Sally” for her), which effortlessly anchored her silk A –line Thakoon dress.

As someone with a fairly average clothing budget, I regularly roll my eyes at the elitism of some of the stories featuring Vogue’s pet socialites—grown-up women photographed lying lasciviously in their closets amongst a sea of shoes (puh-lease!) All my righteous indignation, feminist ideals (and, I’ll admit outright pea-greenish envy) fall away, however, at Singer’s insightful framing of the magazine as visual inspiration for the everyday woman. Creativity and imagination are a refuge in good times and in bad and Singer intimates taking Vogue’s visual cues to a place of creative enjoyment and to literally play around with how we present ourselves. Singer said “I’ve never understood why fashion is considered such an imposition on people’s lives, it should be considered a pleasurable thing to do.”

Singer spoke of her childhood passion for home sewing and how vital the craft was to her understanding of fabric, cut and proportions that guide the carefully honed silhouettes gracing her fashion news section. “Instead of trying to dress like everyone else, because to be honest my parents weren’t going to spend the money, I decided to make what I wanted to make depending on what I saw in the pages of Vogue and then I would start to alter it.”

Singer’s early attraction to the glossy fantasy of Vogue manifested during her time as a teenager living in Orange County during the 1970’s. “I so didn’t fit in,” she remembers. “I saw fashion magazines as a way of interacting with the world where I should be, because I really shouldn’t have been there.” Singer offered that most of her peers in the fashion world tended to recount similar feelings. “A lot of the top people in fashion… are people that were out of sync with the world, it is not the case that the beautiful people, the in-crowd, work in fashion. They don’t have any sense of what fashion can do for you. Fashion and personal style is not about excluding people, it’s about taking people who feel like they’re on the outside and giving them tools by which to project another self.”

She suggests fashion provides the opportunity to project another image, one that’s truer to ourselves. Speaking of the fashion designers she has come to know, the industry has “allowed them a fabulosity that the world was denying them. Fashion is about allowing you to be someone you can think you can create.”

Heron attempted to contradict, saying that Vogue was indeed elitist, “being intimidating and excluding to a lot of people.” Singer countered, “I sort of think it’s about how you read magazines and what you read them for. I never grew up reading Vogue because I was going to buy the things in Vogue, or anyone I knew would buy anything in Vogue. I grew up knowing that the ideas, the propositions about what you could look like, were interesting and were something I could play with.” Her comment, to me, echoed Vivienne Westwood’s statement "You have a much better life if you wear impressive clothes" and again her recent admonition "In these hard times, dress up, Do it yourself" in the notes to her Gold Label Spring/Summer 09 show.

Singer agrees we do the same. Take a visual cue from the magazine and pull something from our closets or an inexpensive mass retailer and put something together “that would get that vibe” and using our creativity, work out how “I could be that girl,“ pictured in the fashion spread.

Addressing the eco-conscious crowd in the room, Singer acknowledged that while the “fast fashion” trend has made fashion more democratized, she believes ultimately it just creates more stuff. The current economy’s silver lining, if there is such a thing, is that more and more we’re beginning to relate to resources in a different way and certainly the fashion industry desperately needs greening. Singer hopes people will figure out for themselves where value lies, and that they buy things that are right for them and the right for the world.

She surprised many in the room by cautioning against wasting money building our wardrobe with the classic basics, such as the perfect trench. Instead she recommended spending money on the one piece of quality design that we will love and will be meaningful for years to come. This concept of design having intrinsic “heirloom” quality echoes throughout all of today’s good product design briefs influenced by William McDonough’s inspiring book, “Cradle to Cradle.”

Ultimately, Singer provided us with the answer I was looking for as we sat down at the Commonwealth club. Great fashion isn’t about a kind of unattainable luxury or an exclusive endeavor for the rich and beautiful. Everyone needs great design to help us imagine a different and, hopefully, more flourishing future.

Lastly, I’m reminded of something I recently read about mid—masthead fashion editors who have been cut from runway shows due to economic downsizing. They needn’t worry about being cut from Lanvin, whose designer Alber Elbaz said “Now, everybody said, “Lets do a small show… Intimate, I believe in, but a small show—all the writers, the assistants lose the dream. This is the time to invite the people who dream.”

And on those words, I’ll get back to figuring out how to recreate those Balmain shoulder puffs in a long-abandoned jacket of mine!

Coming Up: Green Gala Garden Party

2009-06-23T21:41:00.000-07:00

The UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley will host a fundraising Green Gala garden party this Sunday, the 28th with a fashion show featuring local designs made from fibers and dyes from the garden. Models will glide down the runway in the Redwood Grove Ampitheatre to live music and guests will enjoy seasonal and organic food from Devoted Catering by Amiee Alan and biodynamic wine from Quivira Vineyards. A silent auction will also help to raise funds to support the garden. Designers include Casey Larkin, Skye Schuchman, Savannah Knoop (of the J.T. Leroy fame) and Tierra del Forte (Del Forte Denim), among others.

The Botanical Garden is devoted to educating the public on the amazing relationship between plants and people - don't miss out on the chance to experience local design, food and wine in a very unique and beautiful setting. For tickets and more information, click here.

Coming Up - Vogue's Sally Singer plus Local Designers

2009-05-30T06:20:00.000-07:00

Don't miss the opportunity to see Anna Wintour's right hand - Sally Singer, Features & Fashion Director of Vogue magazine. She'll be at the Commonwealth Club this Tuesday for "Why Fashion Still Matters" and will share how Vogue is responding and adapting to this unchartered, new era for the fashion industry. The event starts at 6:30pm with check-in at 6:00. For more information and tickets, click here.

From the creators of the popular Capsule Design Festival comes UNION - an independent design festival in Hayes Valley this Sunday. 130 designers, from fashion to crafts, will be out with their best. The festival runs from 11am-6pm on Hayes Street at Octavia. For more information, click here.

IFCSF Earth Month Mixer Points the Way Ahead

2009-05-11T21:38:00.000-07:00

The Innovative Fashion Council recently hosted a networking event and cocktail party to celebrate April as Earth Month. The event was held at The Entertaining Space, a fantastic facility close to the San Francisco Design Centre that can also accommodate film screenings within the comfort of your own living room.

Flat screens on the walls were playing reruns of Project Runway, a show that proved to be inspiration for St. Vincent de Paul Society's annual Discarded to Divine event (coverage to be posted soon). Sally Rosen gave a brief talk about the evolution of the event, which raises money to help the poor and the homeless. As the event’s creator, she was looking for a creative way to use the piles of women's clothing that come into St. Vincent de Paul every week. After seeing an episode of Project Runway she decided to contact the local fashion schools in San Francisco and engage their students to transform these discarded items into one-of-a-kind couture ensembles. The idea worked, and the event is now in its fourth year of partnering with the De Young Museum. This year's event had 125 handmade pieces to be auctioned and included an appearance and gown designed by Project Runway’s Sweet P.

Deepa Natarajan, who is the Program & Tour Coordinator for the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, offered the second inspiration for the night. A lover of fashion and plants alike, Deepa has been working very hard to help people make the connection between fashion and plants, especially with her own colleagues. The 34-acre garden contains an array of fibers and dyes that are used in sustainable fashion, and she'll be hosting a Green Gala fundraiser on Sunday, June 28th where models will glide down a runway in a redwood grove. Local designers will show pieces made from materials found in the garden, and local wineries and caterers will provide seasonal and organic food and wine. For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

The IFCSF continues to offer networking mixers and educational events as a resource for the local sustainable fashion community and enthusiasts. Be sure to join our Facebook page for updates and invitations to events. Also thanks to our sponsors for the night, which included The Entertaining Space, Swan's Neck Vodka, Perkins Coie, VehicleSF, DJ Melvin "J and Warren diFranco Photography. Also thanks to Art Point who offered IFCSF attendees a special discount to their fundraising 80's bash (ArtPoint Turns 21) later that night at Mezzanine.

Recycled Rules the Runway

2009-05-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

"Someone's trash is always another's treasure."

St. Vincent de Paul took this to heart while hosting the 4th Annual Discarded to Divine event on May 7th, 2009 in San Francisco.

And what a turnout it was! A lively, eclectic, fashion forward crowd was energized to see fashion innovation at its best, and more importantly came together to support those less fortunate.

Utilizing recycled materials from donated clothing at St. Vincent de Paul,local designers and students (from the Academy of Art University and FIDM) created updated looks for auction.

A few crowd favorites were the "Ode to Spring" boots by Nancy Dong, made from discarded leather. Reminiscent of the Nancy Sinatra days, these white boots with 'peek-a-boo' cutouts, silk ribbons, flowers, and beads were a steal at $250!

The raincoat dubbed "Le Plastique Fantastique" made exclusively from Fiji water bottles had me wishing for rain.

Project Runway designer, Sweet Pea, made an appearance with her luxe cocktail dress made from a Vintage Oriental coat.

Winning the highest bid at $700 was a gorgeous silk drape coat that had everyone in awe. With styling similar to that of Oscar de la Renta meets Elie Saab, it's hard to believe this beautiful creation was made from recycled silk dupioni pants.

Even more amazing is that the FIDM graduate, Joseph Singh, only began designing two years ago! And to think this was the first time he'd ever presented...But three months and 250 hours of design work brought his vision to life.

"If you think you can't, you can", he says. Spoken like a true designer.

Academy of Art University Designs Take the Stage

2009-04-25T19:26:00.000-07:00

A packed house. Tickets sold out for weeks. Without a doubt, this will be a show to remember.

And once again, the Academy did not disappoint.

There's a reason why the Academy of Art University presents at both New York and San Francisco Fashion Week, year over year. The talent displayed at the Academy's Annual Graduation Fashion Show on April 23rd was a sneak peek into what this year's Fashion Week may include.

Graduates of the Academy of Art University showcased their inspiration and hard work in styles reminiscent of Prada, Elie Saab, and Donna Karan to name a few.

Imagine this...

Andy Warhol-esque elements, mixed with a bit of the 80's, were present in a colorful Fall collection fit for the slopes of Tahoe. Plaid silk suit designs from Yu Qi Tan's line brought me back to Wunderkind. A hot military look with twist (think G-Star meets William Rast) showed that bright + muted colors are the perfect match. Capes with futuristic cocoon-like hoods paired with dresses in quilted fabrics were made for Christian Dior. And the textures in

Bridget Miranda Sidden's sleeveless dress rivaled that of Rodarte.

But when you thought you'd seen it all, the Academy ended the show with a jaw dropping jewelry collaboration project. Amazingly stunning jewelry designs had us captivated. Designs including the gold leaf (dress) embellishments and the jewelry corset that lifted the dress edges causing a billowy wing effect blew us away!

Two words sum it all up: absolutely fabulous.

Your Scraps are My Couture

2009-04-19T13:31:00.001-07:00

The De Young Museum hosted a special preview last Friday night for the upcoming Discarded to Divine event on May 7th. Presented by the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the annual event invites both amateur and professional designers to transform discarded and donated clothing into custom couture pieces. The pieces are then auctioned off at the gala through a silent auction and fashion show with proceeds given to helping the poor and homeless.

The free preview was held in conjunction with the De Young’s increasingly popular Friday night event and drew quite a crowd. Guests waited in a long line wrapped around the main lobby to get inside the small space showcasing the designs, and competed with the crowd taking in the swing dancing and live band. Once inside, visitors were given the opportunity to view the pieces close up, each displayed with information on the original materials and outfits used along with the designer’s inspiration. The theme for this year was the De Young itself, with inspiration taken from exhibits both past and present. You can imagine what an impact the recently closed Yves Saint Laurent retrospective made on the participating designers.

A few stand out pieces included a plaid ruffled Edwardian jacket by Stephanie Hoffman, Holly Fowler’s Arc Dress with George Saxe’s inspired sharp angled lines and geometric design, a stunning black and white draped gown with a tartan flair by local French designer Christiane Parker, and a silk evening dress named “Heaven Beside You” by Jacqueline Canlas in many hues of blue. In addition to clothing, designers also contributed with accessories and home furnishings, including an amazing art deco inspired lamp created from men’s pants with a feather effect by interior designer Agustin Sanders.

Tickets for the main event are still available. This year’s Honorary Chair is Jennifer Siebel Newsom and Special Guest Designers include Sweet P (from Project Runway Season 4), Cari Borja, Louisa Parris, and Kailia Footwear. Members of the jury include the De Young Museum’s Jill D’Allessandro, 7x7’s Nerissa Pacio, Zem Joaquin and the IFCSF’s very own Yetunde Schuhmann. To buy tickets, click here.

Pampering the Modern Man

2009-04-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

The urban professional man lives on the cutting edge. Fashion forward, early adopters who are sought after, never seeking. Leaders, not followers, who are iconic in style and substance. This is the Modern Man.

On April 9^th – 10^th, Graffiti PR and the W Hotel San Francisco hosted the 2^nd Annual Styling the Modern Man Series. Portraying elements of a Men’s Fashion Week, the Series illustrated a cohesive and compelling brand concept composed of vignettes, presentations, and fashion shows catered to the Modern Man.

Day One of the series showcased four vignettes focused on the needs of the Modern Man.

Mr., the upscale barbershop and urban lounge, was doing onsite ‘clean up’ with a trim or shave; Bella Pelle fixed up the brows with a quick wax; Therapeia provided relaxing massages; and Twilight Sounds presented the ultimate in-home experience…how cool would it be to heat up the pool/spa, turn off the lights, turn on the tv/stereo, and pull up the shades all with a few button clicks on a single remote control? That’s what Twilight Sounds does. While you imagine this, picture yourself relaxing in a chic, modern David Mast Design layout. Combined, these four vignettes provide an intimate visceral experience that lets you live the life of the Modern Man…at least for a few hours.

Day Two of the series provided presentations from Celebrity Hair Stylist Kevin Josephson, from #1 rated television shows including Blow Out and Girls Next Door, who gave tips & tricks on grooming, styling, and secrets of the Hollywood elite; David Mast, from David Mast Design, whose 21st century designs create a sanctuary in one-of-a kind pieces, discussed modern design and its influences on the Modern Man's life. Fashion shows by ON THE FLY and ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR closed the series event.

Best described as a union between Tommy Hilfiger, J Crew, and Phat Farm, On the Fly clothes are designed for work or play with a laid back attitude. Fresh, fun and simple.

Designed by a DJ, Artificial Flavor combines elements of G-Star mixed with the classic styling of Calvin Klein. (It’s no wonder this brand is focused on remixing classic garments with a retro flair!) Summed up: lightweight fabrics made for lounging in muted colors that pop.

So there you have it, the basics of what any man needs: clothes, home and personal care. With all this special treatment, how will the Modern Man fare next time? The good news: Graffiti PR is in the planning stages for the 3^rd Annual Styling the Modern Man Series. And, they’ll be expanding to New York and Los Angeles. The bad news: You’ll need to wait for next year to see it. Stay tuned….

Going Green Never Looked So Good

2009-04-06T23:35:00.000-07:00

Going Green. Seems like an overnight success, doesn’t it? It's the perfect 'feel good' notion. And nowadays, we all need a little bit of that, right?

Fine jewelry makers Amber Marie Bently, Alberto Parada, Dawes Design, and Zultanite Gems LLC are ‘minimizing their footprint’ by creating handcrafted sustainable fine jewelry in 100% recycled precious metals, fair trade gems, and conflict free diamonds.

C5 Company showcased extraordinary pieces from these designers at the Sustainable Fine Jewelry event at the W Hotel in San Francisco on Thursday March 19th. As each jewel illuminated brightly from each table, it was clear this was not your ordinary jewelry event. The innovative designs, craftsmanship, and intricate details of each piece were spectacular.

Amber Marie Bently’s couture jewelry line, borne of Aruyveda and Eastern cultural influences, resonates a classic, old world charm. Aside from using recycled gold, and sustainably harvested gemstones, Bently carefully selects and interviews each gem dealer to confirm the gems are fair trade and conflict free.

The “Green” goal of Alberto Parada is to educate consumers and jewelry store owners on where product comes from, how it was made, and what effect it has on the environment. By using 100% recycled HARMONY gold, Parada avoids any contribution to environmental destruction and waste caused by precious metal mining. Described as ‘everyday elegance’, Parada’s self-taught design skills has led to receiving the Eco-Friendly Jewelry Design Award, as well as being the featured jewelry designer in the 1^st ever Green Fashion Week in Seattle in Oct 2007.

Versatility and simplicity are key components of Dawes Design, created by California local Jennifer Dawes, who started in her own backyard studio. Manufactured locally, Dawes uses responsibly mined stones with recycled precious metals, and conflict free diamonds. Spending an average of 2-3 hours per piece, Dawes’ full collection is designed for ‘stacking’ where you can mix and match different pieces to create unique combinations.

A captivating kiwi green in daylight, and transformation to a luscious brownish-raspberry in incandescent lighting, Zultanite Gems are truly one-of-a kind. Completely untreated, these color changes occur naturally. The mystery behind this lies in the cut of the gems. As noted by top-notch gem carvers in Canada and Asia Pacific, Zultanite gems are intricately cut in the cleavage of the gem, this enables it to shine brighter than most.

Aside from using recycled precious metals, Zultanite Gems’ Owner Murat Akgun ensures these fair trade gems are conflict free; since he owns and operates the mine in Turkey, the origin of these gems. In support of the employees, he provides cash bonuses, social security, benefits, and improved wages ranging from $700-$3000/month (average minimum wage in Turkey is $450). Additionally, Akgun gives the community food and supply donations while continuously building and developing shelters, roads, and schools for the locals.

The work of these amazing designers can all be found at the C5 online boutique. Plus, C5 donates 5% of their sales to Under the Baobab Tree (UTBT), a non-profit organization that provides education and economic opportunities in African communities.

Now, isn't that something to feel good about?

Eco Citizen & Branch Team Up for a Month of Cool

2009-04-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Two of San Francisco's most chic emporiums of sustainable design are teaming up for a highly curated collection of furniture, gifts and housewares. For the month of April, Eco Citizen will feature a "shop within a shop" from Branch, a local online store that sells stylish and sustainable items for the home, including these bunny egg cozies just featured on Ecofabulous. Eco Citizen will also have their collection of highly coveted clothing on display, with designs by Sara Shepherd, Linda Loudermilk, and Jules Elin. Eco Citizen hosts an opening night event on Friday, April 3rd from 6-8PM.

The New Anti-Bride

2009-03-26T22:49:00.000-07:00

Whoever said there’s a standard wedding dress was wrong!...At least that’s what Anti-Bride.com, Destination I Do Magazine, W Hotel, Skout.com, and Blurb.com believe. And they proved it on March 19^th 2009 in a groundbreaking fashion show where the styles of young edgy graduate design students, a Project Runway alum, and a multitude of wedding gowns went beyond your imagination.

Code-named “Operation Aisle Style”, the W Hotel San Francisco event not only showcased the brazen ideas of these up-and-coming designers, but also the innovative styling’s of Kenneth Pool designer, Austin Scarlett.

Welcome to the Anti-Bride Show: your atypical fashion show. Whether gazing at the crowd or the models on the runway, every walk of life was present: Goth, Hippie, Modern/Classic, Rockabilly, 60’s Mod, Punk Rock, Retro, Futuristic, even Voodoo!

Graduating students of The Art Institute in San Francisco

were challenged to design the alterna-wedding gown for their fantasy bride.

Each student’s gown was judged upon style, prowess, creativity, and innovation. The contestants dresses and gowns included

capes with embroidered flowers, tiger print trains, leather skirts with matching bodice and hat, tons of lace, and a bone headdress.

Although all were cutting edge, there can only be one winner: Chaz Schaad won with this Galliano type black silk gown, worn by a Stella McCartney model look-a-like. To sum it up: Goth-couture reincarnated with a modern twist.

Later, Kenneth Pool's latest collection by designer Austin Scarlett graced the runway. Gorgeous silk gowns, classic ruffles, and sparkling crystal-embroidered trains were amongst a few of these elegant masterpieces.

Maintaining the designs of a classic wedding gown, Scarlett proved that his style would never be outdated. It's no wonder Scarlett is in high design demand by celebrities and socialites around the world!

Shopping as Event with Appel & Frank

2009-03-18T21:37:00.000-07:00

Jody Frank and Karen Appel, the duo behind the increasingly popular Appel & Frank shopping events first met in their hometown of San Diego when they were 9 years old and have been close friends ever since. As Appel & Frank, they put on a series of seasonal fashion and shopping events throughout the year in San Francisco, Marin County, and now San Diego. A portion of the proceeds for all events is donated to a local charity, and at their Eco-Chic shopping event last fall the IFCSF was the lucky organization. I was intrigued by how they went from full-time careers in marketing and advertising to being able to start their own business around one of my favorite activities – shopping!

DP: So the first thing I want to know is, how did you come up with the idea for Appel and Frank?
KA: We started in 2003 on Valentine’s Day. And we had a couple of friends who were designers and they had a couple of friends who were designers, and we held an event at my apartment in Noe Valley. It was a 2-bedroom apartment and we had about 8 designers, a couple in each room, and we just invited all of our friends and the fee for the designers was 2 bottles of wine. So all of our friends came and shopped, we had a great time, and the designers did really well, and we saw this opportunity to tap into this incredible community of designers and bring them to the shoppers of San Francisco who are always looking for unique pieces and accessories for their wardrobe.

DP: It’s amazing that even with all the boutiques and specialty stores we have here, you can still find a market for this outside of the stores.
JF: And what’s nice is that the designers come and we also invite a lot of little boutiques. If they’re lucky some of them have even had their lines picked up by the boutiques, so it’s great exposure for them to be able to get in front of consumers and directly in front of retailers in an area that otherwise they might not have been able to.

DP: What kinds of boutiques usually come to the event?
JF: A lot of local boutiques, Rag, Mingle , Azalea, independent boutiques on Hayes and Union and Chestnut Street, Fillmore.

DP: Can any designer do the event if they pay the fee, or do they have to be chosen by you?
KA: They definitely have to be chosen by us, and how it works is they have to fill out an application on our website and we’ll look at their web site or they’ll email us and if we think it’s a good fit for our event we’ll let them participate. There are also quite a few designers we find ourselves, like if we see something in a store or on a friend I’ll do a little research and find out who the designer is. But we are very particular about who we invite to the event and we only have a certain amount of space per category so it’s not going to be 40 jewelry designers or 40 handbag designers.
JF: And we’re also careful when doing our floor plans to give everyone a fair opportunity to be in front of the shoppers.
KA: And they do pay – we have 2 table options, a 6-foot table or an 8-foot table or the equivalent space and it’s just a flat fee, we don’t take any part of their sales, everything they earn is theirs to keep.

DP: Are you now able to make this your own business?
KA: We’ve both been doing this full time for a couple of years now.
JF: And we recently expanded to San Diego and do events down there as well.

DP: For a designer just starting out, what are some good ways for them to get their work shown?
JF: Besides our events, there are other great events around town and sometimes if a designer isn’t the right fit for our event, there might be some other events they’re a better fit for.
KA: Or bringing it to a boutique, and that’s where I think we have unique niche because it’s hard for a designer just starting out to shop their lines to different boutiques. Our events are relatively low-priced and allow them to test it in front of the shoppers and get in front of the boutiques.
JF: We can never guarantee boutique owners, it’s just something that we do. We invite them all and give them complimentary admission but the event is primarily a shopping event for the consumers and it’s more of an added bonus that there are boutique owners there and buyers, but it’s not something we guarantee or advertise to the designers.

DP: Do you receive photos or press kits on an ongoing basis from designers?
KA: Definitely – we get about 10-15 applications a week.
JF: And there are especially more when it’s closer to the events we’re hosting.
KA: And the word seems to spread a lot that we’re out there so we definitely see more activity closer to the event, but it’s consistent throughout the year.

DP: What would you advise a designer do to make them stand out, such as press kits?
JF: We actually don’t receive any press kits since we have an application they need to fill out.
KA: But as far as what we’re looking for, it’s quality and then also current style or either jewelry or handbags that we think would be a good fit for our clientele, meaning we know our shoppers pretty well and what they’re going to like. I think our top thing is quality.

DP: What do each of you like most about putting on these events?
KA: My favorite part, and I always say this to Jody, is the day of the event when we walk into the room (the Sutter Room) and it’s kind of a clean slate, and then by about 4:00 it’s buzzing with designers who are arriving and setting up. And just seeing the transformation from that empty room into a room with 55 talented, excited designers who are putting together their tables, that’s one of my favorite moments of every event.
JF: It’s also really fun to see the mix of designers and what we’ve been able to put together because each of them is so unique from the ones before. We have a lot of our regular designer but we get so many new ones each time, and there’s something so cool about seeing their work and feeling that we’re bringing it to the public and putting together this stunning event for them to be able to show their lines.

DP: Do you find that more of the designers you work with are becoming more conscious of sustainable or eco design?
JF: Absolutely. For the past couple years we’ve done an event dedicated exclusively to that called Eco-Chic. We’ve seen a lot more designers going into that direction.

DP: I’ve spoken to people about it and especially with the economy I wonder, do you ever think it’s something that can be part of the fashion mainstream because you have to pay a higher price point?
KA: That was one of the reasons we started doing the Eco-Chic event was to really call attention and allow these designers who made the conscious effort to become more green and eco-conscious with their business practices and give them the proper attention we thought they deserved.

DP: Are you adding anything new for this year?
JF: We’re not adding anything new this year but we did expand down to San Diego and we did expand our Babes & Babies event up to Marin. We’re hoping to expand it to the South Bay as well.

DP: What do you think are the differences between the designers in San Diego and the ones up here?
JF: There’s definitely a lot more designers in the Bay Area than in San Diego, so it’s been a little bit easier having a larger selection up here and the designers are a little more experienced in shopping events because more are offered here. There are a lot of really talented designers in San Diego and we’ve had designers coming down from Los Angeles and Orange County as well so we’ve been happy with the designers we’ve been working with.

DP: Do you have any plans to expand into more cities?
KA: We always talk about the different cities we’d like to go to. I think up north would be a great area, Portland or Seattle and then we’ve had people contact us from different cities who want to start Appel and Frank events so it’s something we want to do in the relatively near future.

DP: I was recently in Portland and it seems like there are so many designers and crafty types up there doing their own thing.
JF: I think what’s really great about places like Portland and the Bay Area is that people have a creative passion and they have their day jobs and they always do their passion on the side and I think the Bay Area attracts those kind of creative people.

DP: If you weren’t doing this, what else do you think you might like to do? Or is this the dream job?
JF: We pretty much love what we do. Karen used to work in PR and I worked in advertising and since we started this, I really love doing events. If we didn’t have our own company to work on I’d really love to be involved in event planning.
KA: I did that in marketing and so it’s great to do it for myself and also be able to plan events that I love.

Appel & Frank’s Spring Into Style Shopping Event will be on Thursday March 26th at the Regency Center Sutter Room from 5-9PM. Admission is 2 for $10 purchased online or 2 for $15 purchased at the door. Each guest will receive a complimentary glass of Barefoot Wine, and the first 300 guests to arrive at the event will receive reusable gift bags filled with products and offers. For tickets, click here.

Featured designers include Birdy Botanicals (bath & body products) , Charming Sam Studio (jewelry) , organice-it (travel/organization products), Rebecca Ciccio (handbags) and Verrieres & Sako (women’s clothing).

Compostmodern and Ideas for a New World

2009-03-15T21:38:00.000-07:00

Compostmodern 09, held on February 21st at The Herbst Theatre couldn’t have come at a better time – amidst the gloom and doom that has become the daily news, here was a day filled with innovative minds trying to do amazing things so that when the tide is ready to turn we’re in the right place to start over.

Presented by the SF chapter of AIGA, the day was broken into a series of 30-minute lectures from a wide variety of experts including climate strategist Michel Gelobter, John Bielenberg and Pam Dorr of Project M and the HERO Resource, Eames Demetrios of Eames Office, Allan Chochinov of CORE 77, Saul Griffith of Makani Power, Emily Pilloton of Project H Design, Autodesk Sustainable Design Program Manager Dawn Danby, and California College of the Arts Design MBA Chair Nathan Shedroff. Greenbiz editor and sustainability author Joel Makower was the day’s emcee.

After learning from Gelobter and Griffith that the rate we are consuming and using doesn’t leave much breathing room, it was nice to see two artists and thinkers like John Bielenberg and Pam Dorr talk about creating sustainable and design-intuitive housing in rural Hale City, Alabama. Dorr’s team, under the project Rural Studio, not only created beautiful new homes for residents who had never been homeowners, they also found a way to do it for $20,000 a house (the cost of the allowance low-income residents received for housing).

By far, the most extraordinary story was given by 27-year old Emily Pilloton, founder of Project H. Trained as a product designer and architect, she wanted to do something that mattered so she started her own non-profit and ended up figuring out how to get the people of Africa water. What she initially planned was to simply donate a large amount of “hippo rollers” through fundraising. These large blue barrels let people in Third World countries efficiently gather large amounts of water for their villages. In doing this, she discovered how inefficient and expensive they were to ship – so she set out to figure out a new design that could be shipped more efficiently while keeping the cult factor of the object’s original design intact. In doing so, she was able to double the amount of rollers that could fit into an overseas shipping container.

CCA’s new MBA in Design Strategy is a fairly new program that has already received much interest from the global design and business community. The program’s Chair Nathan Shedroff closed the day with advice to designer in speaking the language of business. He advised designers to first stop using green, both in color scheme and terminology. Blue, the color of business, is a better choice and a better way to reach the audience needed to get sustainability projects off the ground. Designers also need to understand the framework they are operating in and most importantly, design things for use and durability. Most importantly, as designers we need to understand the concept of storytelling in design and sustainability – because it’s about us, and who we are.

For more information on Compostmodern past and future, click here.

Coming Up - Anti-Bride Fashion Show and More

2009-03-10T21:31:00.000-07:00

Here are some notable events coming up in the next few weeks:

Operation Aisle Style - An "Alterna-Bridal" Fashion Event
W San Francisco will host a fashion show featuring Project Runway Season 1 finalist Austin Scarlett (for Kenneth Pool) and a second show featuring rising fashion stars from the Art Institute of California. Celebrity judges will jury twenty fashion design students as they show their interpretation of an alterna-wedding dress. SXSW band The Hooks will also perform. The W San Francisco is hosting this in partnership with Antibride.com and Destination I Do magazine. W San Francisco, Thursday March 12th, 6-11PM. After Party at XYZ Lounge 11PM. RSVP to: oas@skout.com

Sustainable Fine Jewelry Event
Top sustainable jewelry designers will show their work at the W San Francisco on Thursday, March 19th. The event benefits Under the Baobab Tree, a nonprofit providing education and economic opportunities to communities in Africa. W San Francisco, March 19th, 5-8PM; Drinks, Hors D'oeuvres, Discounts, Promotions, Giveaways, Raffles and more!

Appel and Frank Spring into Style Shopping Event
San Francisco's Appel and Frank put on another one of their popular shopping events featuring a wide array of local designers. Each guest will receive a complimentary glass of Barefoot Wine, and the first 300 guests to arrive at the event will receive reusable gift bags filled with products and offers. Tickets can be purchased here or at the door. Thursday, March 26th, 5-9PM at the Regency Center, Sutter Room. And coming soon we'll have an interview with founders Jody Frank and Karen Appel.

In Design With Amber Marie Bently

2009-02-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

I met San Francisco's Amber Marie Bently at the Gorgeous & Green event last December and was struck not only by the dazzling extravagance of her totally green jewelry line, but also her artsy, bohemian manner which set her apart from the majority of the revelers. I wanted to learn more, so in late January we finally had a chance to get together in her offices on Stockton Street, just 2 blocks up from the new Gucci store. I wasn’t expecting the dazzling array of jewels she had laid out for me – each piece totally unique and absolutely one of a kind. Amber was on her way to a fashion show at EpiCenter Med Spa so we had just about 30 minutes to chat about her work and the world of sustainable jewelry design. I learned more than I ever knew about pearls, mining and diamonds. We covered everything from how strip mining destroys our marine life to designing custom wedding rings for her friends made with green diamonds. She was just as disarming and easygoing as when we met, and eager to share some of her secrets with our readers.

DP: For a piece like the Lotus Cloisoné Necklace, how do you translate the intricacy of the design?
AMB: I start by drawing the shape out on paper and then use a special metal – in this case it was gold. You stick folded pieces of metal on double sided tape to get on the domed surface. I use lotus root as glue, hold down the metal, and bake it in a kiln for a minute. Then I fill it full of glass (brown for this one) and keep reheating it until it gets to the level of the silver, then I start scrubbing it off to make it shiny and one texture. The chain is handmade of sterling silver with what I call my “secret clasp.”

DP: What makes your pearl necklaces eco-friendly?
AMB: For the oysters I get my pearls from, they use a special kind of krill to clean the lines instead of chemicals. Certain type of krill clean the lines beautifully so they use no chemicals that are later added to the water. It’s a really unique process. Another piece I have is made from the keshi – the coolest thing about the keshi is that it’s the purest form of nacre and is basically the cup that the pearl is made on. The pearl will be sitting on this cup and as soon as the pearl is harvested the oyster will eschew it out of its mouth and lie on the ground for harvesting. The sheen is completely the natural color from the pearls. It’s what I call the perfect opera color. My favorite is this teardrop pearl – it reminds me of a pearl that Elizabeth Taylor received from a King who had it from his parent’s generations who are kings and queens - it had always traveled down through royalty and landed on Elizabeth Taylor’s neck, and it’s almost identical to this one.

DP: If someone asked you to commission another piece identical to one you had made already, would you make another one?
AMB: No, I’d only sell this one. That’s the fun for me, because I keep creating new things all of the time. It’s really nice when my friends buy my jewelry because then I get to see it again!

DP: What do you like most about making jewelry?
AMB: Moving metal and working with the healing power of stones

DP: Tell me more about the healing power of stones.
AMB: That’s kind of how I started. It was very neat. People would come in and they’d be attracted to one necklace – the Chrysopras. This one has drawn so much attention, and every woman who was drawn to it feels the energy of the stone. I’ll read to them about the healing and magic properties of the stone.

DP: What makes all of these pieces “green?”
AMB: The gold is all recycled. Everything that I use is 100% recycled. All of the stones usually come with their own paperwork that the stone cutter keeps for his record. It goes all the way down to the miner. The miner has to sign off that he was well-treated and paid a reasonable wage and then it goes up to his manager to sign off that he was also paid a reasonable wage and hasn’t been paid to make the workers work harder or harm them in any way. It then goes all the way up to the owner of the mine and to the stone cutter himself. The stone cutting is about as green as it gets. It’s amazing that most jewelry is not green.

DP: What should people know about the less expensive costume jewelry they might buy in a store like Macy’s, for example?
AMB: What’s happening in the mining industry right now is what’s causing fish to have so much mercury in them. They’re strip mining the mines to get as much product out of them as possible and then they wash it all out in these rivers which hit the ocean. And if you’ve ever seen it, it’s like a catastrophe. It’s like a scar on the Earth and you can see the drainage of all that soil which has a lot of natural elements and minerals plus chemicals from the mines. And you can see the coral die, right in front of your eyes. It’s really unethical. Everyone in the gem business is really trying hard to get everything ecologically sourced to make sure we’re not hurting the planet anymore. The mines my pieces come from are reforested. It’s really hard to find good stones that are really green.

DP: It’s similar to the fashion industry, in the sense that, how do you get the large fashion companies to start using environmentally safe materials, which also usually cost more money.
AMB: I’ve tried to teach at my school (Revere Academy), and I give a lecture to brand new students on green jewelry. The prices are a lot higher, and it’s kind of like buying organic food.

DP: But maybe you buy less and only buy one piece that’s really significant to you.
AMB: Exactly. So that’s one of the things that people will be drawn to, is the the stone they need that heals them the most.

DP: Tell me about “green” diamonds.
AMB: It’s fun to get green diamonds. The greenest diamonds you will ever find are called river diamonds. They come from all over. As soon as DeBeers gave up their cartel status they released a lot of the diamond mines because of the treatment that was given to the miners. All of the countries in Africa formed this alliance and you would have to show all this documentation in order to be a part of it. Randomly people would go check to make sure thing were done properly. Only one country didn’t join and they’re still producing blood diamonds. I’m in the process right now of making three wedding rings and I’m saying to the brides “Okay, you’re going to be paying a little bit more than you would if you went to DeBeers but mine are all green and they all come from green sources.” And so the three husbands and brides have agreed that they’re willing to pay an extra price just to have that and they’re all friends so that‘s nice.

DP: I know your husband Chris got you into making jewelry and I’m always curious as to how people get into doing things they love and how quickly they knew it was something they wanted to do. Tell me about that experience.
AMB: Well, we were in a bead store and I’ve never made any jewelry before but I’ve always been a very creative person. And Chris was making something for Burning Man and I said sure I’d love to make some jewelry, and he went over the cheaper beads and I went over to the emeralds and the rubies and said, “Oh,I think I should make myself something.” So I was like “ I’ll take that and I’ll take that, etc.” And I made these beautiful necklaces and people would be like “Wow, what a beautiful necklace, I can’t believe you made that.” And suddenly I had about 100 pieces and Chris said, “ I think you need to start selling them,” and so we had a day spa (which we still do but it’s under construction) so I started selling them at Kamalaspa and we’d sell 2-3 a day. And so it just kept me really busy, and suddenly I started saying no more beading or wiring and I went to Revere Academy and I got my bachelor’s degree in fine jewelry. This year Revere is having its 30th Anniversary and they’re bringing in David Yurman to teach so I’m very excited about that. I’m still going to school there and it’s fun because I’m a graduate so I have been able to come back and give lectures on green jewelry and different things I’ve found success in.

DP: I know you’re involved with your company, Bently Holdings. How intense is your involvement?
AMB: Bently Holdings is a Green practicing Real Estate company and I am President so I deal with the large negotiations with my husband the CEO, and we work really well together. We haven't had to use a broker on most of our rent negotiations, which is a great feeling of a job well done. We are in the process of turning all our buildings LEED EB after the Bently Reserve is complete with its certification which should be very soon.

DP: Besides Global Green USA, what philanthropic organizations are you involved with?
AMB: PRBO Science, Dress For Success, Sunset Youth organization, PAWS, TNDC, Nature Conservatory, and I am sure I am missing some.

DP: What plans do you have for Kamalaspa? Do you think you'll expand into other locations?
AMB: My next goal for Kamalaspa is to reopen when the economy is back on its feet so every one can enjoy the beauty of Ayurveda.

DP: How do you stay balanced while being involved fully in so many projects?
AMB: Luckily we have a great staff who works really hard and therefore make our lives easier.

DP: What do you think makes San Francisco unique from other major destination cities like New York, London and Paris?
AMB: We have a great array of food, amazing people, great architecture, and a lot of people who care about the environment. I have lived in the Bay Area for ten years and downtown for 3 years. I love this city!

DP: How does the fashion and design scene in San Francisco compare to other major cities – or does it compare at all?
AMB: I think we are way more edgy than most cities. We are not confined by old world rules so we make our own and we look good doing it.

DP: How do you think groups like the Innovative Fashion Council can encourage designers and manufacturers to focus on sustainable design practices, especially when it involves spending more and charging more?
AMB: Well during this economic crash you can only hope people will do the right thing, but they may put off the more costly items that are necessary to making a greener future.

DP: Do you think the eco-industry will lose momentum and credibility in today's economy – especially when most people have less money to spend on things like organic fashion or food?
AMB: Yes I do, but again I rely on the people just doing the right thing for the right reasons. If clothing is needed, say, for a cocktail party chances are most greenies are going to buy green. I know this because we make Bio diesel and it is more expensive than regular diesel but people are still buying it. So I trust people to do the right thing.

DP: Finally – is there another creative endeavor or project that you've always thought about doing, but haven't tried yet?
AMB: Yes. Opening a night club or a really cool wine bar.

Epi-Center Med Spa Hosts the Haute of Eco Chic

2009-01-31T18:11:00.000-08:00

The eco beauty haven of Epi-Center Med Spa was the perfect spot for an intimate evening of high end sustainable fashion by the likes of Linda Loudermilk, Sara Shepherd and Amber Marie Bently. Thursday's event, a fundraiser for the upcoming Discarded to Divine fashion show in May, was hosted by San Francisco-based stylist and fashion instructor Jill Siefert who provided detailed information on each piece and its materials. Most of the designs shown were exclusive to local boutique Eco Citizen, including an eco-collection by Shepherd. Amber Marie Bently's stunning new sustainable couture jewelry line was featured on every model and Bently was in the audience to provide more information on each piece. Both Shepherd and Bently are local designers on the "ones to watch" list - their sophisticated and totally eco-conscious pieces are poised to be recognized on a larger scale. Check back for an exclusive interview with Bently in the next couple weeks.

Photos: Courtesy of Drew Altizer Photography

Coming Up - IFCSF Trend Forecasting Seminar & Mixer

2009-01-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

The Innovative Fashion Council is hosting its next cocktail party and networking event this coming Monday, February 2nd from 6-9PM at Temple in San Francisco. Trend forecaster Marieke van der Poel, San Francisco and North Pacific consultant for Peclers Paris will share colors, inspiration and material directions for Spring 2010. Peclers Paris is an internationally leading trend forecasting company that has been guiding the fashion and design industry for over thirty years. Designers and fashion trend enthusiasts should not miss this presentation - the ultimate tool for reliable trend stories, new colors and sources of inspiration.

This event is also very special in that Temple SF is an entirely green nightclub. Some ways that Temple is bringing green to the party include making all of their events "low to no waste," retrofitting all lighting to be more energy efficient, and recycling/composting all foods and liquids. Temple is currently working on plans to install a geodesic dome on the roof to grow food for their restaurant Prana and also a way to harness energy from movement on the dance floor. Overall, Temple's vision is to create an eco-conscious "edu-tainment" complex that works within the community to create the greatest positive impact and limit our negative impact on the planet.

The trend seminar begins at 6:30PM sharp with a cocktail after-party from 7:30-9PM. This event is being sponsored by Temple, Perkins Coie, Vehicle SF, Peclers Paris, DJ Bec and Warren Difranco. Temple is located at 540 Howard Street. To purchase tickets, please click here.

Conversations with Fashion Innovators: Hamish Bowles

2008-12-16T07:03:00.001-08:00

Several weeks ago, Daniela and I attended the De Young Museum’s Symposium on Yves Saint Laurent where we met the very charming Hamish Bowles. He was part of a fashion panel that included Florence Müller, Farid Chenoune, and Pierre Bergé. The panel was moderated by De Young curator of textiles, Jill D’Alessandro.

Mr. Bowles, educated at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, is considered to be one of the most respected authorities on fashion and design and is currently the European Editor-at-Large for The American Vogue. As editor he is responsible for all lifestyle and interior design features, select celebrity profiles and event coverage, and is Vogue’s liaison to the international fashion markets.

Mr. Bowles is like a walking Encyclopedia of fashion. I remember when I asked a question about Yves Saint Laurent during the Symposium — Mr. Bowles responded politely to my question, but later approached me to further elaborate on his response. This is a man who takes fashion seriously and examines it with deep interest and respect. I was pleasantly surprised when Mr. Bowles agreed to be interviewed for IFCSF.

So I invite you to sit back and enjoy our exclusive interview with the stylishly dapper Mr. Bowles about his personal fashion collection, the world of Vogue and its formidable editor Anna Wintour, sustainable fashion, and his most recent visit to San Francisco. It was a true pleasure for us to interview him. Thank you again Mr. Bowles.

- Yetunde Schuhmann is President and Founder of The Innovative Fashion Council San Francisco

DP: How did you become involved with the current YSL exhibit at the De Young, as well as contributing to the exhibition book and participating in the recent YSL Symposium?

HB: I have a relationship with The Pierre Bergé – Yves Saint Laurent Foundation. I wrote the catalog essay for the exhibition they did on Nan Kempner, which obviously came to San Francisco, but I wasn’t able to come to that opening. I have a historic relationship with the House going back from when I first started going to couture shows which I think was ’83 and it’s a House that’s always been run as a family in a way. I had a relationship there and they had asked me to contribute an essay to the catalog. And the exhibition was jointly curated as I understand by Montreal and San Francisco. I saw the selection of garments that the Montreal curator made, but I wasn’t involved in that selection.

YS: What was the difference between the selection of gowns in Montreal and the gowns chosen for San Francisco?

HB: It was the same exhibition, no difference. The pieces came from the Foundation’s own collection and not from private collections from the De Young or Montreal. I think the reason for that is Pierre Bergé wanted to stay very true to Saint Laurent’s vision. You know when you’re dealing with couture, obviously, garment has been adapted in some way to suit the client and I think he just wanted to show the clothes as Saint Laurent wanted to show them, so drawn from the runway sample as it were.

DP: I found it interesting how Yves Saint Laurent didn’t like to travel very much and that many of his collections were based on his own imagination and inspiration from what those places were in his mind. Do you think designers today have a harder time tapping into their own imagination or dreams because we have so much more access to places, people and information?

HB: Um, no. I think Saint Laurent pretty much just traveled between his residences. So he spent a lot of time in Morocco of course, where he had houses in Marrakesh and eventually in Tangiers, as well as the houses in Normandy and Paris, and Pierre Bergé had a house in the South of France as well, and that was really their access. And I’m sure for YSL that Marrakech kind of evoked memories of the Algeria of his childhood which then by the 1960’s after Algerian Independence, was probably not a place he might have happily settled.

But I think that you look at a designer like Christian Lacroix, who also never travels – I don’t think he’s ever been to India or Morocco, which is two hours from Paris, but you know, you look at his work and they’re so full of references, that you would imagine he’s the most traveled person on the planet, but he’s traveling in his mind and in his imagination. I think very much there are designers who do that, but someone like John Galliano will go with his team to Berlin, Tokyo or Shanghai and they’ll go to the flea markets and museums and saturate themselves with the physical experiences of being in that place. But some designers just travel in their imaginations.

YS: And why the flea market as a source?

HB: Well, I think Galliano was particularly inspired by the flea market in Shanghai and thought it was the most inspiring part of the city. I think it’s to find objects or textiles to have some resonance for them or inspire some kind of design.

YS: How do you think technology has affected fashion today? We come from a very technological kind of place here in the Bay Area.

HB: Well, I think it’s just completely transformed our world, hasn’t it? On every level and it has certainly transformed the fashion world I think. First of all, it’s the nature of communication being so instant. I mean you look at the late 1950’s in Paris when Balenciaga and Givenchy were exasperated that the press coverage of their collections would come out before their personal couture clients had made their own choices. So they banned the press for two months so the press had to go back, especially for their collections, and in the meantime the private clients had made their own selections and they prioritized them over the press.

But I mean now, someone could be doing sort of a “cam-cast” from the collection itself as it’s happening. And goodness knows there could be a factory somewhere on the other side of the globe making patterns as the show progresses. And there are great “fast fashion” resources that have literally workrooms on the boat that are bringing the stuff from Asia to Europe and they’re creating the garments as the show unfolds. They can get their interpretation into the store before the designer can possibly make pieces or get them in the store. So I think that’s changed things. I think designers have to think about all these things in a very different way. I think it’s opened up the world in a very exciting way, and it’s made things globally accessible. It’s brought fashion into the lives of people who might not be immediately engaged by it or who have had an opportunity to be engaged by it.

DP: Definitely, with Vogue having all the show podcasts on Style.com, which I think are great for people to watch.

HB: Yes, I think the whole Vogue.com and Style.com have been incredibly potent — Style.com is definitely the go-to reference- even designers will say “It’s Look 17 on Style.com” when it might actually have been Look 23 in their Lookbook, but referencing Style.com has become this universal language.

YS: Do you think technology has had any effect on the actual textiles?

HB: Yes, very much so. Absolutely. I think that’s probably the most incredible transformation is this idea of the textiles. I think that the fact someone like Miuccia Prada can create a look, that to the eye, looks very 1960s, late 1950’s - but if you had that original garment in your hand, it would be this very heavy thing with a lot of infrastructure and the body of the fabric itself this weight. Whereas you know, she can create the illusion of that fabric now so that basically it seems the same, but actually it has all these different properties and its own body, but it’s totally light and has kind of heat/cold resistant or absorbent qualities that would have been unimaginable 40 years ago.

YS: Our organization (IFCSF) is based in San Francisco and is focused on creating this vibrant fashion community and creating a green fashion district with a focus on sustainable design. And today we think innovation in design is about sustainability. What do you think about the future of sustainable design and do you think that people see it as only a trend?

HB: Obviously there are designers who are far more engaged with that thought process – Stella McCartney for instance. It’s one of those things that are becoming more and more sophisticated. Right now, it’s like a T-shirt, a basic white shirt and maybe some kids clothes in the mainstream of what is available. I think it’s going to get more and more sophisticated. At the moment it’s very difficult to think of a brand, you know whomever it might be, like a Gucci or Dolce and Gabbana or Yves Saint Laurent transforming their infrastructure to that degree. But, that’s not to say it can’t happen. It’s the way you think of the automotive industry. I think that looking at the automotive industry you realize that it’s essential to be very proactive about these developments. And I think the fashion industry eventually needs to take it on board, and I think it needs to be an essential part of our lives.

YS: How do you think fashion editors can educate consumers on sustainable fashion while keeping it chic, and is it even possible with what’s around today and how do you think for an organization like ours we can try to begin this process of getting the large fashion houses to change and become more sustainable? Is there a way to make eco-fashion relevant to the masses outside of the wealthy? In my impression, outside of Wal-Mart and Target, it seems that to be sustainable and eco seems to be more for the wealthy or upper middle classes of America.

HB: Well yes, it’s the irony isn’t it? Like organic food, it costs so much more to produce that it becomes like a luxury product, but that’s something one hopes will evolve as more people take it on board and work out ways to make sustainable fashion sustainable.

YS: Do you think there’s anything an organization like ours can do to help tip the scale for big fashion houses to become sustainable?

HB: Fashion is all about creating desire and certainly at a time like this with the economy in such shambles, there is a sense of guilt about spending money on what might be perceived as luxury items. I think it’s even more about creating desire, and ultimately the only way to seduce a customer is to create products that are desirable and irresistible, and that’s what’s going to educate the customer. It needs to be something people want and that they feel is not a substitute or a compromise, but a wonderful thing in its own right. So that’s the challenge – to make it as desirable as possible.

DP: The magazine industry has been hit so hard recently by the economy – there are daily layoffs and advertisers are cutting pages – have you felt that effect at Vogue yet or do you feel it’s still the magazine that will keep going strong through this time?

HB: I think it’s fair to say we’re going through a challenging time and obviously it affects everyone on every level. Happily, Vogue is in the preeminent market position so I think if advertisers are cutting back across the board this is the one place they’re going to continue to make their investment. But you know, I think it’s so dramatic what’s happening that it’s impossible not to feel it on some level. And I think also it’s key for Vogue, and I think it’s something Anna and all our editors are aware of, to address it in practical ways and to make sure that whilst we still have the element of fantasy and aspiration, there is a great deal of realistically priced fashion in the magazine at the same time.

DP: In your personal and professional life, you get to meet and mingle with an incredible group of people from society and all over the world. How do you find yourself able to stay “neutral” or an observer as a journalist when going to these events and do you ever feel intimidated by it all?

HB: I don’t think there’s anything neutral about it. I think if you’re putting something in Vogue it’s because you want to celebrate and endorse it. By the same token, if you’re excluding something from Vogue, well we’re not about doing negative things, and I would say we criticize by exclusion. I think what is overwhelming is not the experience of being in these things, although sometimes I do pinch myself, but I think what is more overwhelming is just the fact that I am doing so much and keeping it all in, and sorting everything out in my mind.

YS: In reading more about you, we heard about your love for design. Have you ever though about going back to designing? I also wanted to know how many couture pieces you have, and do you think you’ll ever have an exhibit of your own archives?

HB: Yes, I would love to do that. The collection is near about 2,000 now, and we’re just finishing up cataloging. I think that I would certainly love to have an exhibition and that is a long-term plan. And also just the nature of the way one collects things, is that you buy one thing as a pendant to another or as a consummate to something – I’m always thinking in terms of the exhibition in my head and what would look good with what, how pieces are complimentary from different periods even when you think of a Lacroix from the late 1980’s that references a Jacques Fath from the 1940’s. And so I know what I have when I’m looking at auctions or going to dealers that I might find something that will trigger a reference to another piece or a complimentary piece to another designer.

DP: Do you have a favorite museum where you’d like to have the exhibit?

HB: Well it’d be fun to have it at the De Young Museum.

YS: And do you ever think you’ll go back to designing?

HB: It’s such a difficult life. I have so many designer friends and I see what they have to go through, so you have to be careful for what you wish for. But I think it would be fun to have some creative input in an existing house, yes.

YS: This is outside the fashion questions – obviously we met you here in San Francisco recently. Do you come to San Francisco often?

HB: That was my second visit.

YS: In the last two times you’ve been here, what were your favorite places to go and was there anything that hit you about the energy of the city, maybe from a fashion perspective?

HB: I think the city’s museum culture is incredibly dynamic and exciting, I went to the SFMOMA, the De Young obviously, the extraordinary new Renzo Piano museum (Academy of Sciences), and The Legion of Honor. I think there are so many sophisticated collectors through the generations, and obviously the city’s museums have been and continue to be extraordinarily enriched by the vision of those people. It’s a very exciting experience for me in that it’s so ongoing, and even the new Academy of Sciences evokes a sort of childlike delight, it’s like one’s childhood memories of going to a natural history museum and discovering the revelations of the planet. And then the absolutely exquisite and sublime things at The Legion of Honor.

YS: Were you able to venture into any of the neighborhoods in San Francisco? I know you were here for a very short time this past visit.

HB: The time before I was able to venture into the Napa Valley, but more immediate neighborhoods I haven’t explored. But the one exciting thing about the city is that it really has an incredible spell, and I very much want to come back and explore it in greater depth and detail. I just think physically it’s so peaceful with those turn of the century houses, tumbling hills and views of the Bay. It’s a magically situated city. I love the climate – coming from England and spending time in Ireland I can relate to the mist.

YS: I wanted to ask you a question about the recent Italian Vogue – filled entirely with black models that was sold out everywhere. I was curious about this idea of first whether they’ll do another one, and as an African-American women, I was in Paris with local designer Colleen Quen and we went and visited all of these modeling agencies looking for women of color, and only 10% of their models were of color. People were saying a lot of the individuals who choose the layouts tend to veer away from women of color. When I look at these US magazines I don’t see a lot of woman of color. Why don’t we see a lot of diversity in American fashion magazines and do you think with our new president and first lady we’ll see this start to change?

HB: I think that American Vogue has specifically (and I can only speak to that) always been very keen to and conscious of diversity. In our December issue, we have our accessories story which features the models of the moment — just there you have six exciting new models coming up and three are women of color which is an exciting statement in itself. That’s certainly something Vogue has always been very conscious of and we’re aware that’s what our society is, and that it’s important to reflect. And I think André Leon Talley has been a forceful and potent element in that. He is not shy about the reigning designers who do not reflect diversity on the runway and I think Vogue has helped to change that. I think it’s something Vogue has been very historically conscious of, as it should, and it’s a part of what we do. And to address the second part of your question, I think obviously this extraordinarily dynamic and exciting first family will have an impact.

DP: You work very closely with Anna Wintour and I’m fascinated by her mystique. What do you think it is about her that has kept her at the top of the industry and in such a powerful role for so long? Is there a certain quality that stands out?

HB: She has an extraordinary instinct and is an editor that works in an incredibly instinctive way. She is very, very, very hands-on. She looks at every image that comes into the magazine, she reads every caption, every piece of text. Nothing is left to chance and I think that incredible focus reflects on the magazine because you see the magazine itself has an extraordinary focus and I think that she is an extremely loyal person and she surrounds herself with a great team she really trusts, but I think she has a sort of uncanny instinct. It’s very difficult to articulate but I think that’s essentially the way she works and I think that she’s also extremely direct. There is never any grey area, she knows what she likes and vice versa. She’s just extraordinarily hard-working, focused, and very, very direct and that is the sort of person who is incredibly easy to work for because there is no grey area. You know what she likes and she’ll let you know. It makes an editor’s job much easier because you can focus your work.

DP: So do you think if she decides to ever leave Vogue, she’ll stay engaged in the industry? Obviously she does a lot outside of Vogue already.

HB: I wouldn’t want to speculate on that, but it’s incredible to me how I struggle to get my two to three stories a month done, and it’s incredible to me how she manages to juggle all these things. Of course she’s tremendously involved and focused in her philanthropic and charity work, whether for the museum or for the Seventh on Sale initiative, breast cancer, charities, or research programs. So I think that Anna is an essential part of the global fashion community.

YS: I read an article recently in The New York Times about finding the next “it” designer and we wanted to know where you think this next genius designer might come from? Social communities seem to play a big role today, whereas in the past you came directly from fashion houses.

HB: I think that in today’s environment it’s pretty important for any designer to have some kind of mentoring and apprenticeship because it’s so tough and so competitive. I think that you need so many qualities now to be a successful designer above and beyond pure inspiration and vision, and the ability to create your own world, which is already an astonishing thing to do. You also need to be able to sell and promote yourself, and you need to have a world view, and you either need to have an uncanny instinct for business or be somehow allied to someone who does. It’s not enough just to have the vision, but that’s still an essential part of it. It’s vitally important for anyone seriously considering this world to really have experienced life in a design house and to understand the challenges that designers face every day and the level of infrastructure that is required, and so on.

But you know, this person can come from anywhere around the globe, and that is so exciting. You look at the great fashion schools like Central St. Martin’s in London and the Antwerp Academy and they’re filled with students who really come from around the world and in fashion - anyone can have access to Style.com or FashionTV – it’s globally available, so I think that’s also exciting and that is what has made fashion so thrilling for me even from the time I’ve been going to shows, which started when I was a student myself at Saint Martin’s in the early 1980s. Suddenly you had Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake and Yoji Yamamoto coming from Japan and totally challenging the status quo. They were coming into a world of Thierry Mugler, Claude Montana, Azzedine Alaia and a certain vision of fashion, and they came with a completely different vision that was rooted in what they had been exposed to aesthetically in their lives and environments and it was so radical and exciting. It’s thrilling to think that those waves of influence can still happen and totally transform the way we think about dressing.

YS: The last question I have is kind of a Californian question. What sign are you?

HB: I’m a Leo. My rising sign is Taurus.

Photography: Francois Halard

The Elite of the Eco-Chic Come Together for Gorgeous & Green

2008-12-14T21:15:00.001-08:00

San Francisco’s pristine Bently Reserve Building was lit up with high-fashion and good intentions at Global Green USA’s 4th Annual Gorgeous & Green gala on Tuesday, December 2nd. Event Chairs Zem Joaquin, Nadine Weil and Global Green President & CEO Matt Petersen, with Vice-Chairs Christopher & Amber Marie Bently, created a dazzling evening filled with everything luxurious about green – a high-end eco-fashion show featuring well-known eco-designers like Linda Loudermilk and Edun mixed with local rising stars Sara Shepherd, Cari Borja, Lily Achatz and Thomas-Ray Eccles. Organic cocktails, wines and hors d’oeuvres were also in abundance, and if you were lucky enough to go away with the VIP gift bag - a treat of natural beauty products by the likes of Jurlique and Juice Beauty, gift certificates for Epi Center Med Spa and more.

And did I mention the celebrity quotient? The “official” Celebrity Host for the evening was Kate Bosworth, wearing a slip of a 3.1 philip lim black zipper dress from his Spring 2009 collection made of all-natural fibers and zippers recycled from remnants. Also in attendance were Daphne Zuniga, Sebastian Siegel, and giving a pre-party performance for patrons, Elliot Yamin. Gavin and Jennifer Siebel Newsom also stopped by the press conference given earlier to show their support for the group’s work in the Bay Area.

Los Angeles based Global Green USA (the American affiliate of Green Cross International) has consistently received support from the celebrity community. Their biggest endeavor, the Holy Cross Project is in partnership with Brad Pitt, and through it they are committed to rebuilding green and affordable housing in New Orleans. They are also working to advance the Green Schools Initiative in California, completing SOLARA (the first apartment community in California 100% powered by the sun), helping to green schools in New Orleans and surrounding Gulf Coast communities, and publishing the Blueprint for Greening Affordable Housing.

While access to the $5,000 a ticket VIP Patron Pre-Reception was restricted, we had a chance to mingle with Bosworth, Petersen and crew in the VIP Lounge before the main event fashion show and also chat with other notable supporters of the cause – we briefly spoke to Vice-Chair Amber Marie Bently whose new line of sustainable couture jewelry was featured in the show, View from the Bay’s Janelle Wang, and Splendora’s Gina Pell (also a media partner for the event). Once the crowd assembled themselves for the runway show, Kate Bosworth jumped on stage to introduce Petersen, who spoke briefly about the opportunity we now have as a country to continue our call to action for environmental change and awareness. He then played a short video of the progress Global Green USA has achieved in rebuilding sustainable housing for New Orleans. Event Chair and founder of Ecofabulous Zem Joaquin gave thanks to the sponsors and especially to the Bentlys for their dedication to the sustainability and their leadership in the transformation of the Bently Reserve to a LEED certified events and conference center.

The runway show kicked off in high style with women’s fashions by Mika Machida, Loyale, Platinum Dirt, Edun, Larsen Gray, Lara Miller, John Patrick Organic and more. Designer Jenny Hwa of New York-based Loyale showed a luxurious vegan faux-fur jacket – Hwa has incidentally received a lot of good press lately à la Oprah, for winning a spot in her White House Leadership Project which coaches top women leaders in the country. Men’s looks were dominated by Same Underneath with preppier looks including an argyle sweater vest and a sharp blazer out of organic cotton. Thomas-Ray Eccles - recent Academy of Art University graduate and noted by San Francisco Chronicle’s Sylvia Rubin as “one to watch” showed a refined collection which included vests out of reclaimed wool, a coat out of reclaimed shearling and a dress shirt/hoodie for when the occasion allows flexibility. Womenswear took the stage again with a silk dress by Linda Loudermilk (seen also on Jennifer Siebel Newsom), a series of Victorian-inspired sustainable silk dresses and waistcoats by British transplant and San Francisco designer Sara Shepherd, and a standout wrap dress, halter gown and Poiret inspired coat/gown by Berkeley designer Cari Borja. Event co-producer and local designer Lily Achatz closed the show with a wedding gown designed especially for the eco-forward bride made in an organic silk and hemp blend satin and reclaimed chiffon. Paired with every look where appropriate was Bently’s glittering line of eco-jewelry of which we’ll have a larger spotlight on in coming weeks.

If you’re interested in discovering more eco-friendly and chic designers, the full line-up featured at the show and hand-picked by savvy eco-fashionistas included: Bahar Shahpar, Cari Borja, Del Forte Denim, Eco Citizen Boutique, Edun, John Patrick Organic, Juleselin, Lara Miller, Larsen Gray, Linda Loudermilk, Loomstate, Loyale, Mika Machida, Platinum Dirt, Rain Tees by Andira, Same Underneath, Sara Shepherd, Stewart + Brown, Thomas-Ray Eccles and footwear by Charmone Shoes, Cri de Coeur, and Olsen Haus.

The night closed with a musical performance by Bag of Toys with the crowd going strong for a Tuesday night. One thing about the evening that really struck was that with the right people on board, there is no reason that an eco-friendly event or cause has to make any sacrifice to luxury, beauty, or just being fabulous. We already look forward to next year’s celebration and uncovering how San Francisco can stay engaged in Global Green’s initiatives.

And to get another glimpse at some of the designs shown at Gorgeous & Green, Eco Citizen are hosting a very special "Glamour & Green" trunk show this Wednesday, December 17th from 5-8PM featuring designs by Amber Marie Bently and Sara Shepherd, who will preview her 2009 Spring collection. 10% of all sale proceeds will go to Global Green USA and the rebuilding of New Orleans. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres will be served. The event is also hosted by Zem Joaquin, Ecofabulous, Thread Communications, Nadine Weil, Clarissa Nicosia, Lily Achatz, Joslin Van Arsdale, CRPR, Heidi Petit and Deidre Holbrook. RSVP to heidi@threadcommunications.com. Eco Citizen is at 1488 Vallejo Street in San Francisco.

For more pictures of the runway show, please visit the IFCSF on Facebook.

Coming Up: Eco Holiday Events

2008-12-13T10:18:00.001-08:00

With so many holiday parties and sales popping up everywhere it's hard to keep track of the best finds. Here's quick glance at some great eco-holiday shopping events happening this weekend:

Eco-Citizen Holiday Party & Sale
Sip champagne and feast on tasty hors d'oeuvres while enjoying 20-50% off all clothing and accessories from now until Christmas. Saturday, December 13th from 11AM-7PM, 1488 Vallejo Street

Mission Statement Holiday Sidewalk Sale
Support local designers and enjoy discounts from co-op members for one weekend only.
Saturday & Sunday, December 13-14th, Noon-7PM, 3458-A 18th Street

Eco Holiday SF
Over 80 vendors offering green gifts will take over the Galleria in the San Francisco Design Center. The event will also feature DIY workshops, live performances, and organic treats. Sponsored by the Urban Alliance for Sustainability.
Sunday, December 14th from 11AM-8PM; Admission $5, 101 Henry Adams Street

And if you're weary from the shopping and need a high-fashion pause, the De Young Museum will feature fashions by local couture designer Colleen Quen on Saturday, December 13th from 3-5PM at the Opening Reception for December Artist-in-Residence Corrine Okada Takara. Models will also wear eco-friendly shoes by Kailia Italian Footwear - IFCSF member and also featured at our recent networking event.

Coming up later this week we'll have our exclusive interview with Hamish Bowles and post-event coverage from Global Green USA's Gorgeous & Green Gala.

Coming Up: Style Lounge San Francisco Fashion Show & Shopping Event

2008-12-04T21:02:00.001-08:00

It might seem a little quiet here this past week, but we've got lots coming up! If you're interested in shopping locally for the holidays this year, Style Lounge San Francisco is hosting a fashion show and shopping event on Wednesday, December 10th at the pristine and LEED certified Bently Reserve from 5-10pm. I went to one of their events earlier this year at the W Hotel and all I can say is get there early! This promises to be a big blowout of local designers and a great way to enjoy the splendid San Francisco glamour of the Bently Reserve, not to mention free beauty treatments and healthy cocktails if you purchase tickets to the VIP Lounge.

Tickets are $10 for General Admission and $40 for VIP Tickets. To purchase, click here. Check back soon for our full report on the fabulous Gorgeous & Green Gala for Global Green USA that the IFCSF attended this week!

Fashion & Media Come Together at the IFCSF Mixer

2008-11-22T00:25:00.000-08:00

The Innovative Fashion Council brought together members of local fashion media and the design community last Wednesday night at the W Hotel San Francisco for a night of networking, discussion and a fashion show. The mixer was an opportunity for the fashion community to mix and mingle while hitting on a big topic - "Does Eco-Fashion Matter in a Down Economy? Retail and branding strategist Bertrand Pellegrin from Gensler (and author of upcoming book Branding the Man) moderated a panel of fashion insiders which included: Samantha Durbin - Editor, Fabsugar.com; Nerissa Pacio - Associate Editor, Fashion & Beauty, 7x7 Magazine; Dino Ray Ramos - Fashion & Entertainment Contributor for AsianWeek Magazine, 944 and Stylehive.com; Melissa Davis - Founder of Ruby PR and Past Contributing Editor for Lucky magazine; Riley John-Donnell - Founder and Publisher of Surface magazine; and Audrey Mansfield - Style Contributor for The View from the Bay (ABC-7).

Pellegrin opened the panel by saying that while the evening’s topic was originally focused on the relevance of eco-fashion, he was interested in hearing whether fashion itself still matters, and are people even thinking about fashion today? He shared with the group some staggering numbers on the industry - retail sales were down 2.8% in October from September and 4.1% from this time last year, quite a substantial decline. Online sales are down at a rate of 5% every month, Neiman Marcus is down 28%, Abercrombie & Fitch is down 20%, and every week we hear of another large chain closing or falling into bankruptcy. So with prices for high fashion not dropping anytime soon and magazines losing more advertising pages and condensing their editorial spreads, how can fashion survive the impending recession? And finally, how to keep the importance of sustainable and eco-fashion alive when shoppers are drastically cutting their budgets to allow only for the basics? The good news is that fashion is indeed still very relevant and more meaningful than ever.

The first question addressed by the panel centered on the changes in consumer buying habits and how shoppers are thinking differently about fashion. In response, Davis pointed out that shoppers are looking for that one key piece to take them through the season - that "look for less." Shoppers are still paying attention, but they're choosier about what they decide to purchase. Ramos brought up the point that "sustainable fashion is essentially an oxymoron, because sustainable is all about longevity and fashion always changes." He went on to discuss the area of "fast fashion" which is essentially how stores like H&M and Zara operate - they see the collections for the next season, copy it, and have it on the racks before the original pieces even hit the stores. John-Donnell made the point that certain capsule collections like Stella McCartney or Comme des Garcons for H&M not only create a buying frenzy among all fashion devotees, they are also likely to last longer in someone's closet because of the unique nature and better quality of the clothes. In regards to the launch of the Comme des Garcons collection earlier this month, the almost entertainment value of shopping must continue to increase to keep shoppers engaged.

Pellegrin addressed that given eco-fashion is still on the fringe and seen as a trend (even with luxury retailers like Barney's promoting eco-design, it's still at a price point higher than what the average consumer can afford) how do we keep championing the idea of sustainable fashion as a movement and not just a short-lived fad? Pacio said that as a fashion editor she always tries to pull in pieces from local designers that are chic and sustainable, yet still mix well with high-fashion looks from mainstream designers. But as the magazine industry gets hit harder each day with loss of ad sales revenue, editors are forced to cut their pages and the amount of looks they can feature. In a similar sense, Durbin for her web site, always looks for the sustainable angle when reporting on mainstream brands like Banana Republic and the small eco-collection they launched earlier this year. The panel agreed that more importantly, people need to be educated about what is available today in sustainable fashion and shown that it has moved past the hippie factor. What is refreshing is that the media is very engaged with eco-fashion today and that price points for these items will come down as awareness increases.

For new designers, Pellegrin stated that many larger retail establishments are not bringing in new talent with the current economic client. So how can a new designer get out there and capture attention? It’s all about having an amazing press kit and beautiful photography. For someone like Durbin at Fabsugar, if she receives gorgeous, high-quality photos and excellent copy she can have a new post up the same day. Pacio and Mansfield, who both receive requests each day from designers for editorial coverage, feel that professionalism in the pitch is key. Mansfield also pointed out that on "View from the Bay" an eco-centric show never works for their ratings, so she must incorporate sustainable design as a "by-the-way" portion of a fashion segment. The rise of fashion blogs has also made it easier for new designers to get cheap and fast advertising - an advertisement in Vogue may be out of reach, but a banner ad on a fashion blog is an easy way to drive traffic to a new fashion start-up.

Another interesting point made about the changes in the industry and the place of sustainable fashion is the idea of fashion likening itself to the slow food movement. As we consume less we're more apt to find out more about what is we're buying, where our clothes are coming from, and what the story is behind them. Shoppers are looking for a meaningful experience rather than a quick buy. And so in this type of environment, new designers may be at a greater advantage. According to Mansfield, getting your designs in front of a stylist is key given the impact they have on the media. Pacio stated that in a market like San Francisco she has great relationships and partnerships with local stylists she trusts, but in a market like L.A. it's much more strategic and focused on product placement. John-Donnell pointed out that edgier designers like Rick Owens are coming to the forefront because the public is looking for a unique idea they can wear rather than something straight out of an editorial spread. This approach has already shaped European fashion - in a city like Paris it's always been about wearing what's different or unknown rather than flaunting a logo or big-name label.

Also discussed was how fashion editors are grappling with the task of balancing aspiration with reality. Readers still want to dive into the pages of their favorite magazines and fall into these beautiful and luxurious spreads, but editors need to be conscious of the fact that they must provide real options for real people at the same time. Durbin mentioned that there is a reverse trend going on in fashion consumption where she gets complimented for her vintage $5 T-shirt instead of a trendy, more expensive piece. However, all agreed that if you have a Chanel bag, by all means use it but mix it up with more casual pieces.

Pellegrin concluded with taking some questions from audience members interested in learning more about how to get their creations in front of the editors. Again, it all comes down to the designs, the photography, and professionalism. You might have the best pitch for your ideas but if the designs fall short they won't go any further. Other ideas for new designers that came out of the discussion are to treat your company like a start-up, avoid paying any overhead and consider showcasing your pieces on direct-to-designer sites like Etsy.com.

After a brief break, guests were invited back in to enjoy a special fashion show with IFCSF Members and featured designers including evening-wear appropriate vegan footwear from Kailia Italian Footwear, jet-setting eco-luxe travel bags from JenDarling, and jewelry from Hearts Desire in Oakland. Tho show also featured designer brands including Del Forte Denim and select looks from Sofie Ølgaard, Goorin Brothers and Carrots Boutique in San Francisco. Special thanks to everyone who helped put on the show: Charleston Pierce and Claudia Hutchins for fashion show production, Rowena Hutchinson Ritchie for PR, Show Stylists Velvet Valentine and Leslie Foley, and Advisory board and show stylist Yugala Priti. Finally, thanks to our event sponsors: The W Hotel San Francisco, The Cinta Aveda Institute, The Passport Modeling Agency, Come Hither Cupcakes, Veev Life, Phuket beer, Perkins Coie, VehicleSF, DJ Melvin “j”, and Warren Difranco / After5Media.com for Event Photography.

Thanks again to the more than 150 supporters of the Innovative Fashion Council who turned up for this great event – our next networking event will be sometime in January. Until then we have all kinds of great things coming up, including an interview with Vogue’s European Editor-at-Large Hamish Bowles.

Q & A with Nous Savons

2008-11-17T20:59:00.000-08:00

While wandering around the Appel & Frank Eco-Chic Shopping event last month, I came across a designer who I had also spotted at Capsule. I wasn't the only one who took notice. Shoppers were busy peeling off their layers to try on the reconstructed and improved button-down shirts designed by Nous Savons designer and owner Jocelyn Nguyen. The beauty of what she does is reflected in the care she takes in turning around what was once a boring, secretary-style blouse and making it a unique and edgy wearable piece of art. I was intrigued by what motivated and inspired Jocelyn to first, work with these kinds of fabrics, and also to find out how she made the big break to start her own business.

What made you decide to pick these thrift store shirts and reconstruct them?

I've always been a thrift store shopper. I started out collecting vintage while I was in junior high school (who didn't?) I would come across amazing vintage pieces with just one horrible flaw (like a stain or hole), and couldn't resist buying them for the material. Eventually I started anthropomorphizing the clothing and feeling really sorry for the things that I didn't think anyone was buying-- mainly the "boring" stuff such as button-down shirts, blazers, pleated wool pants. So I bought a few shirts with no ideas in mind and just spent some time draping them. I actually have no idea what was going through my head when I initially cut the sleeves off and made the ruffle yoke with them. But this is how I work--just very instinctively.

When did you first start "playing with clothes?"

My mother is an amazing seamstress and made a lot of clothing for my sister and me while we were growing up, but I never exactly had sewing lessons from her. Even when I was a kid I was way more into hand-sewing and draping, or altering existing clothing. But the fact that my mother made clothing so frequently and nonchalantly made it all seem really accessible to me.

How did you end up starting your own business?

Even though I'd been making things all my life, I never thought my craft could be a business that could sustain me. Then early, early one morning, after staying up all night putting together a job application I got an email from Scott and Harris, the guys who put together the Hayes Valley Capsule Festival. It was a last-minute call for designers for their next show. In my totally sleep-deprived state I went ahead and applied for the show even though I wasn't making ANYTHING tangible at the time. So I spent the next month and a half filled with dread and panic, working every minute I had outside of my regular full-time job, making things for the fair. The response was amazing, and I got a lot of leads for boutiques and other shows out of it. I spent the next year or so doing shows and selling to stores while still working full time. Eventually I realized I had to either quit my job and go all out on the business, or I had to quit the business and find something that could be a career. Of course, I chose the business and I have no regrets.

You don't have a formal fashion design background - how do you find the tools to execute your vision?

I studied photography in college, which sometimes comes out in my design process. Reconstructed pieces are a lot like photography in that, to me, they are much more about editing than creating: you choose your materials from existing objects, and then you put them together or take them apart, but you don't work from scratch The end result is so much more than the sum of its parts.

What are your thoughts on sustainable fashion?

Creating sustainable clothing is really important to me. I actually do my own rounds of thrift stores, searching for and hand selecting everything that I reconstruct. It's much more time-consuming than just ordering exactly the amount of whatever material I need, and knowing that the quality and characteristics are going to be the same every time, but that is part of the fun. It makes me feel good to know that I am taking things that people discard and turning them into something extremely desirable. My clothing means more to me, piece by piece, than it would if I was just designing samples that would be reproduced by the thousands. I also love the unpredictable nature of the process, from searching out the materials, reconstructing them (and, though I do virtually the same alteration on all the shirts and vests, each piece really looks different depending on the original structure of the garment), and then eventually finding the right person for each piece.

What do you think about the state of eco-conscious design in San Francisco?

I think there are a lot of different ways to be an eco-conscious designer (whether it be rescue-and-reconstruction, or using green materials, or even running other aspects of your business sustainably) and there are many examples of each kind in San Francisco. We're lucky that being green is something that people are not only constantly thinking about in San Francisco, but actually practicing. I also have to add that there is a disproportionate amount of amazing smaller designers in San Francisco, and it has a lot to do with the support the indie design community gets from the public. It's a nice symbiotic relationship that really benefits everybody.

Finally, how did you come up with the name "Nous Savons?"

It came to me out of nowhere. It's a bit of a joke-- it popped into my head as the snottiest name possible for a clothing line before I even had a clothing line. It's funny to me to see (a) who knows what it means and (b) who understands that it's a joke. Sometimes people take it a lot more seriously than I do.

You can find Nous Savons at the new Etsy shop (clothes to come soon), and in San Francisco at Needles & Pens, The Mission Statement, Still Life, Arkay Workshop, and soon at Bell Jar.

Coming Up: Week of November 17th

2008-11-16T17:23:00.000-08:00

This is the big week for the next Innovative Fashion Council Mixer! Please stop by the W Hotel on Wednesday, the 19th between 6:30-9:30pm for cocktails and networking with the San Francisco design community. Be sure to arrive early as we'll have a panel of media experts talking about the state of sustainable fashion in today's economy, plus fashion shows featuring local designers. For more information and to purchase a ticket, click here.

Fashion Group International host their Annual Scholarship Fundraiser to benefit young design students on Thursday, the 20th from 5:30-8pm at The Academy of Art University Art Gallery. There will be a silent auction and a video presentation of the Spring 2009 Ready-to-Wear collections. For more information, click here.

An Evening of Yves Saint Laurent with ArtPoint

2008-11-16T09:09:00.000-08:00

ArtPoint, the young professionals arts organization of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco celebrated the new YSL exhibit at the de Young Museum on Thursday night with a sparkling cocktail party and private viewing of the exhibition. Almost 1,000 attendees showed off their best YSL-inspired fashions across the main floor and exhibit area, as well as the private lounge on the top floor Observation Deck. For this unseasonably warm and clear night in San Francisco, the view made it extremely hard for me to tear myself away from the party. But the drama of YSL below could wait no longer.

First, I must confess that when I think of YSL I always see the designer with his trademark glasses first - and after that, visions of black with Le Smoking and form-fitting vixen dresses to vamp up the night. Gliding across the top of the park in this magnificent building with the black of night reflecting against the champagne glasses and jewels of party dresses, I had to think of YSL and his feelings on the color black: “But for me, Black is a refuge because it expresses what I want. With it, everything becomes simpler, more linear, more dramatic.” The freedom to use black and not color as an expression for what you're wearing is so much bolder and has left such an imprint on the wardrobes of women. We always turn to basic black because it's the easiest way to convey professionalism, neatness and elegance at the same time. But do we think of it in relation to our environment and the places we go? YSL loved this idea, but when creating against the grey backdrop of Paris it makes sense that he consistently brought pops of color into his collections.

The retrospective at the de Young covers an enormous span of YSL's life and influences, including the very first pieces for Dior, still in the older style of trapeze dresses and swingy skirts. His take on Masculine-Feminine dressing is represented, including his pantsuit with YSL logo glittered on back and original sketches of Le Smoking. His color-blocked and still widely replicated Mondrian dresses were present, and his most far-reaching departure, the Morocco collections, where he discovered and experimented with a new color palette. Unexpected and exquisite were his Flora inspired gowns from his 1990 summer collection - a tribute to his childhood in Marrakech and Tangier. Adding even more whimsy, there is the wedding dress of roses carefully placed and originally worn by Laetitia Casta in the 1999 collection. The retrospective is worth a second trip alone just to absorb the many visions and inspirations. Never simply an outfit, YSL's designs were a manifestation of his dreams and memories - movement and elegance wrapped together in fabric and nostalgia.

All About Yves

2008-11-09T20:48:00.001-08:00

The flurry of fashion events stemming from the retrospective on the late Yves Saint Laurent at the De Young Museum this month has hit San Francisco on a large scale. Opening festivities might be past, but the exhibit is on view until April and is not to be missed.

On November 1st, The Innovative Fashion Council had a chance to attend a very special symposium at the Koret Auditorium on the life and cultural influence of Yves Saint Laurent. The elite group of speakers included Hamish Bowles (European Editor-at-Large for Vogue), Florence Muller (Fashion Historian, Professor and Editor for Surface Magazine), and Farid Chenoune (Fashion Historian and Author) - each with a unique perspective on how YSL shaped modern fashion for women. Pierre Berge, longtime business partner of the late YSL, provided the opening remarks.

Hamish Bowles focused his presentation on the early years as a young apprentice to Christian Dior to "The Three Fates" that led to YSL taking over the couture house and his dramatic move to open his own atelier (with the help of Berge, his devoted clients and "muses", and loyal Dior staff). While critics declared his first collection "underwhelming," Coco Chanel named him her only true heir, and the rich hues influenced by his travels to Morocco were on the way. With his new muse Loulou de la Falaise, YSL united the aristocracy with bohemianism in his collections and became the designer of his time. When he moved his couture house to the grand Avenue Marceau, YSL declared "I need opulence as others need oceans or mountains."

Farid Chenoune focused on what might be the greatest revolution in women's fashion -the debut of "Le Smoking" in 1966. This elegant take on the tuxedo for evening wear essentially gave women the power they had lost in the feminine frills of the "Mad Men" world and trapeze dresses. YSL made it possible for women to have sex appeal without the vulgarity. Chenoune further pointed out the timeless appeal of this iconic look in the example of the French fashion chain La Redoute introducing Le Smoking in its 1995 catalog. So while "Chanel gave women freedom, YSL gave them the power." And the power of this outfit couldn't be conveyed any stronger than in the uber-chic style of famed YSL muse, Betty Catroux, who was also in San Francisco during the opening of the exhibit.

In the final presentation, Florence Muller gave her own interpretation of how YSL revolutionized the world of women through her own experiences in his pieces for YSL Rive Gauche. In her own YSL ensemble, she shared the secret of YSL, which is style to help you define your own personality - not make your personality. In his spirit for modern sportswear (begun by Chanel in the early 1900's) YSL stated, "My dream is to give women the basis for a classic wardrobe, which, escaping the fashion of the moment, will give them greater confidence in themselves." And what greater gift can a designer give a woman than confidence? Muller mused that it's increasingly harder for modern designers to make the same impact as YSL, because now that women have it all, what's next?

And what is next is the impact YSL will continue to have on style and elegance. While the presenters answered many questions on the mystery and delicacy of YSL and his talents, their insights opened the door to even more musings- who is the YSL of today and would he/she even have the means to make such an impact?

There's more to come on YSL in San Francisco. Thursday night ArtPoint host a VIP party and private viewing of the exhibit and coming soon, we'll have more from Florence Muller in Paris.

Innovative Fashion Council Mixer and Media Panel Event

2008-11-08T09:39:00.000-08:00

The IFC is hosting another fashion-filled cocktail party/mixer event at The W Hotel on Wednesday, November 19th from 6:30-9:30pm. Bertrand Pellegrin (Retail Strategist, Gensler Design Worldwide and author of "Branding the Man: Why Men Are the Next Frontier in Fashion Retail" will moderate a panel discussion with local fashion and media professionals on fashion and sustainability - "Does Eco-Fashion Matter in a Down Economy?"

Panelists include: Samantha Durbin (Editor, FabSugar.com), Nerissa Pacio (Associate Editor, Fashion and Beauty, 7x7 Magazine), Melissa Davis (Founder, Ruby PR and Past Contributing Editor, Lucky Magazine), Dino Ray Ramos (Fashion and Entertainment Contributor, AsianWeek Magazine, 944, and StyleHive.com), Riley John-Donnell (Founder and publisher, Surface Magazine) and Audrey Mansfield (Style Contributor, The View from the Bay).

There will also be a fashion show featuring Eco-Designer brands Kailia Italian Footwear, Del Forte Denim, JenDarling Eco Lux bags, and select looks from Carrots Boutique in San Francisco and Hearts Desire Jewelry in Oakland.

Don't miss this opportunity to network with the San Francisco fashion community and learn more about the future of sustainable design from the experts in the industry.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click here.

Optimism Graces the Runway at Fresh Faces in Fashion

2008-11-01T09:49:00.000-07:00

Local designers presenting their Spring 2009 collections at the Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion Show held Thursday at the Regency Center proved there is adequate space in fashion for vibrancy and lightness despite what the evening news might say. Following suit with trends seen at the major Spring collections shown in September, the designers presented a variety of views that show optimism still reigns supreme on the runway.

Christopher Collins opened the show with his collection of modern Elizabethan silhouettes in luxurious fabrics, incorporating ruffles, organza and chiffon in the tiny details. The show opened strong with a soft neutral ruffle collar sleeveless top paired with a pin stripe short and Elizabethan jacket. A champagne sleeveless cocktail dress with a folded tulle-lined collar was sweet and demure, while a palace blue and emerald floral chiffon/charmeuse dress with a rouched waistband presented a flirty modern take on a sheath. The show closed with my favorite look – a blue and green print on white full skirt with fuchsia tulle below the hemline and a silk organza top with shirred collar that just floated the model down the runway.

Serial Cultura, designed by Jennifer Jennings, provided a stark contrast to Collins with more close to the skin shapes and experiments in digitally printed silks and chiffon. It’s important to note that all of the prints and graphics incorporated into the clothing are designed from original photographs and inspired by abundant elements in the environment. A large percentage of the fabrics used are sustainable and produced in less environmentally hazardous methods. Particularly interesting looks from the collection included a digitally printed silk mini-dress in bold colors of the season – lemon, fuchsia and black - over a pale lavender canvas and a matching print pleated triangle top and skirt hand silk-screened on sophisticated hues of blue and lavender.

The only Menswear collection at Fresh Faces, üba was all about utility and function. The color palette didn’t stray far from khakis or army greens, but the focus was on the usefulness of the clothing, urban wear to the hilt. Models marched down the runway with iPod ear buds (I couldn’t help think of Project Runway’s Jay Carroll and his final “headphones” show), showcasing utility jackets with shoulder-strap pockets and detachable waist pockets, cargo pants with detachable cargo pockets, and finally eliciting the most attention from the crowd, short sleeve shirts with detachable chest, waist and sleeve pockets. Throughout each look, models sported “why-not-peace” T-shirts in different languages - a reflection of the company’s goals and a current project of üba’s designer Rajesh Ananda. According to the company’s web site, “over 50% of üba’s profits are channeled to non-profit organizations focused on the promotion and protection of peace and human security” with input from the company’s customers.

From streetwear to “sweetwear” next up was my personal favorite – OdileOdette - designed by Stephanie Bodnar and Nicole Kreglow. The collection was green and sustainable and completely chic – think Parisian café society meets the French Riviera. The range of fabrics used was astounding – the first looks showed an asymmetrical pencil skirt made from blue hemp/recycled polyester denim with red tagua nut (vegetable ivory) buttons going up the front of its high waist. Paired with a simple ivory gathered open-front top and wedge heels, I could be equally comfortable in this ensemble on the weekend and at work, paired with a dressier heel. Much of the collection had a summery feel with lots of bare legs and shoulders. Mixed in were high-waisted asymmetrical sailor pants in 100% hemp herringbone paired with a green and white striped sleeveless knit top of organic cotton; a beige chevron hooded jacket also in hemp herringbone with ivory tagua nut buttons and for the finale, a wedding gown made in ivory hemp/silk charmeuse and ivory cotton Chantilly lace.

Sofie Ølgaard presented a sophisticated and supremely wearable collection of mostly knits and silks in dusty purples and greys most likely inspired by her homeland of Denmark and the melancholic Scandinavian landscapes. A two-tone pink/taupe dress in silk/cotton with a belted waist could work equally well in summer or kept later for cool weather layered with a little cashmere. A knitted dusty purple silk dress with a detachable bow was daring and very bare, while a taupe empire waist pant paired with a black silk/cotton tie-back top was as crisp and breezy as a day in Copenhagen. And a cropped black jumpsuit with buttons along the front, hidden pockets and a detachable belt could be the outfit of the season for a girl and her bike in the city.

The final collection by Louisa Parris was a bonafide swirl of long flowing yet wispy dresses in saturated hues of pink, blue, green and orange. Every look was ripe with drama from the first blue, grey and black double silk georgette gown that billowed around the model’s legs to an almost completely open black and cream silk charmeuse gown with a silk chiffon underskirt. In addition to her bold use of color blocking, Parris showcased a tiny collection of delicate black hats that paired with a burnt orange, grey and black silk charmeuse might be a bit over the top, but worn to an intimate masked ball somewhere in a castle in the English countryside seem perfect.

Fresh Faces is known to be a springboard for fashion’s emerging design talent, including Zac Posen, Rebecca Taylor and Philip Lim. Here’s hoping that at least one or all of these local designers receives an opportunity to travel through wide-open doors while keeping the spirit of San Francisco alive in their practice and aesthetics.

To see more pictures of the show please visit The Innovative Fashion Council on Facebook.

Coming Up - Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion Show

2008-10-26T10:47:00.000-07:00

Gen Art's biggest fashion event, Fresh Faces in Fashion, returns to San Francisco on Thursday, October 30th. The group's anchor event has been a showcase for some of fashion's biggest emerging talent - Zac Posen, Philip Lim and Rebecca Taylor have all shown their designs on the GenArt runway. This year's event features cutting-edge Womenswear, Menswear and Accessories designers who will have the opportunity to showcase their work on a 60-foot runway in front of key industry people. This promised to be a fashion-packed night with a VIP reception and an after-party with live music to celebrate the fashion ingenues.

The event is at the Regency Center at 1300 Van Ness @ Sutter and starts at 7pm with a runway show at 8:30. Advance tickets are no longer available on the web site, but can be purchased at the door in cash for $50. For more information on the event and other GenArt programs click here.

Appel & Frank Eco-Chic Shopping Event This Thursday

2008-10-22T21:50:00.000-07:00

Don't miss a chance to shop with friends, sip wine, and get a complimentary makeover at the Eco-Chic Shopping Event on Thursday, October 23rd from 5-9pm at the Regency Center. Over 65 eco-friendly designers will be there with their stylish goods and a portion of the ticket sales will go to Friends of the Urban Forest. Tickets are $10 per person at the door or 2 for $15 if you purchase online. And the first 300 guests receive a reusable goodie bag filled with all kinds of eco-friendly products. For tickets and more information click here

Capsule Design Takes Over Hayes Valley

2008-10-16T20:33:00.001-07:00

On a brisk and cold Sunday in San Francisco I decided to check out the Capsule Design Festival in Hayes Valley Park. Capsule puts on a number of design happenings throughout the year, but the autumn event spanned the length of almost five blocks and included fashion, jewelry and handbag designers plus a variety of other artists selling their handmade crafts. And with DJ's spinning music all day long, shoppers and design enthusiasts bundled up and came out in droves. It doesn't hurt that Hayes Valley is also the center of some of the most innovative boutiques in the city.

My favorites were from local jewelry designer Colleen Mauer and the fabulous wool coats from De Novo, designed by Elizabeth Holliday. Given the type of day we were having, I gravitated straight into the coat rack. Her coats are made of the most plushy warm fabrics from Europe that she gets through designer overstock. So you could be wearing the same wool as Burberry, but have a coat that is designed and manufactured in the Bay Area. If you're looking for a classic statement piece with a modern edge check out the De Novo collection.

Colleen Mauer's collection of delicate chain necklaces and stacked metal rings had an elegant simplicity and refinement that stood out among some of the more outlandish designs at the festival. Colleen spent a great deal of time traveling before she ventured out on her own with the business and it's clear that her travels gave her a broad scope of vision. If you missed her at the festival, her designs are sold in San Francisco at The Mission Statement, Secession Art and Design and The Chrissy Bee.

It must be getting close to the holidays because there is yet another eco-centric shopping event coming up this Thursday. Appel & Frank host an Eco-Chic Shopping Event at the Regency Center from 5-9PM at 1270 Sutter Street.

The Eco-Fashion Epicenter of San Francisco

2008-10-14T20:11:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the blog spot for The Innovative Fashion Council! We are a not for profit fashion trade organization in San Francisco dedicated to promoting sustainability and environmental awareness in fashion design. Our mission is to bring together like-minded designers and to create a fashion district in the center of San Francisco dedicated to eco-fashion. Call us the "slow food of fashion" if you like. Just don't call us boring. Our goal is to show you that sustainable fashion is not only chic, but also more meaningful than what you'd find in a mainstream store.

In addition to attending our monthly networking events, IFCSF supporters can connect via our Facebook page or at local events posted on this blog. We'll also be posting interviews with local San Francisco designers and information on who's doing what and where. As our group expands, so will this blog. We'd love to hear from you, even if you are based outside of the San Francisco Bay Area. And if you travel to faraway places let us know what's happening in those communities. It's time for San Francisco to take its place in the industry as a center for sustainable fashion.