Organic Haute Couture: Designers discover organic materials

13 labels in the higher price segment were on show in the Hotel Adlon Kempinski. The Green Showroom, held for the first time this year over four days, attracted only around 500 visitors, but the exhibitors were nevertheless very pleased with the response, in particular with the quality of buyers, agents and press coverage. The top priority of the young fashion designers in the Green Showroom is design itself, but in no way do they neglect ecological and social considerations. The collections are predominantly made of eco-materials, and fair social conditions in the production process are emphasised. The fine materials used in the collections in the Green Showroom were almost exclusively organic cotton, silk and vegetable tanned leather.
(Picture: Designer Jessica Reyes Rodriguez, Queen and Princess)
 

Awareness of environmentally friendly quality and fair conditions regarding both raw materials and production is frequently a matter of course for young designers. The approach of the Green Showroom:  “The products should not only impress in terms of fashion and high quality workmanship – they should also tell a genuine story about the impact on people and nature.” In the official programme, this exhibition was a part of the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. “The organisers welcomed our initiative,” says Jana Keller, one of the initiators of the idea from Basel (picture on right). Working with Magdalena Schaffrin from Berlin (picture on left) she wanted to use being green to make people aware that luxury, design, zeitgeist and sustainability can all go together.
 

In contrast to the hectic seasonal rhythm of the fashion business, the two designers are convinced that slow wear (global season) - the same models in warmer materials for the winter season – is substantially more sustainable than the usual four collections a year. “When you take a green approach, you think about every detail,” says Magdalene Schaffrin. The concept of sustainability led to the idea of not joining in the customary fashion circus with labels presented in trade fair halls that are styled at great expense for just a few days.
 

Schaffrin and Keller decided on a variation that saves resources: showing their collections in hotel rooms – slow fair. It created an intimate atmosphere, and the representatives of the media thought it was a great idea. Alongside fashion, three natural cosmetics brands were on display: Dr Hauschka, Snowberry from New Zealand, Les Ettes (perfume/picture) and the chocolate manufacturer Goldhelm from Erfurt. With the first three days reserved for the media and specialist visitors, on the final day this platform for ecological high-end fashion was open to the general public.
 

“The market is ready for green fashion,” says Jana Keller. She creates bags and jewellery (picture) from vegetable tanned leather – the brand is Royal Blush. She got to know Magdalena Schaffrin, who designs women’s and men’s fashions, at a fashion competition. Both had the feeling that the conventional events did not offer them what they wanted, so they looked for a new form of presentation that came to fruition with the Green Showroom. As Keller points out, Germany in general and Berlin in particular are exciting places to be for eco-fashion. In her view: “We have a lot of catching up to do regarding sustainability in the fashion industry, and there are loads of opportunities to get on with it.” Many retailers think this is a market with a future. And they both think “green is the only way”. For this reason the concept of the Green Showroom is to be developed further, and green haute couture by more labels will be on display at forthcoming events. According to Jana Keller about 100 brands worldwide come into this category. The next Green Showroom will be held from 1 – 4 October in Paris.
 

On the very first day, the designers in the Green Showroom were very happy with the interest shown in their creations. All the important fashion and lifestyle magazines paid a visit, and the exhibitors had plenty of opportunity to explain their sustainable fashions. An example is Liv Lundelius, who creates exclusive wedding dresses in her Berlin studio (picture). The name of the label for her avant-garde models is Blushless. For Lundelius, doubtful materials are taboo. “For me the main thing is design, but I have to feel at ease with the look I create and be able to reconcile the materials I use with my conscience,” she says. The innovative looks of the label, that was founded only recently, can already be bought from a Californian online store. She is still looking for partners in Europe.
 

The Collection of Hope (picture) by the international fashion college Esmod Modeschule goes even further. Not only ecological raw materials but also the charity concept play a crucial role in their collection. The symbiosis of lifestyle and social responsibility lies behind the idea of selling T-shirts individually designed by the students in organic African cotton (18-30 €) and donating the net profit to the organisation I-Magine – no more fear. I-Magine transfers the money to a self-help group near Nairobi. The shirts are currently being sold by Lafraise, Lafayette and Chabeau plus shops in Hamburg and Beijing. A part of the proceeds from the main collection for children and adults goes to the aid organisation. (Picture: Maridi Schrobsdorff was the representative of Collection of Hope in the Green Showroom)
 

The collection Queen and Princess for mothers and daughters by the Spanish designer Jessica Ryes Rodriguez is made from fine organic and fair-trade cotton (picture on left at top). The label, that was founded as recently as early 2009, wants to bring together luxury and green thinking. Rodriguez, who worked as a designer in the textile industry for a number of years, comments: “You can see the social change going on. Lots of designers and consumers as well are thinking what effect they have when they buy certain things. Every one of us can take a short step in the right direction.”

Hess Natur has been going down the green path for the last 30 years, and it offers a comprehensive selection of sustainable eco-fashion. This German pioneer company exhibited in the Green Showroom. Star designer Miguel Adrover, the creative director at Hess Natur, says: “A social message has always played an important part in my design work. And there can be no greater role than caring for people and nature.”
 

Julia Starp (picture) from Hamburg has still not quite reached the stage of a 100 % organic collection. Some of her materials still come from conventional, but European and fair, production. Starp collaborates with a workshop for disabled people. The models for her Butterfly Story collection are, however, made from hand-painted, hand-woven organic cotton and organic silk (the cocoons are from wild collecting after the butterflies
have emerged). The exclusive models are interchangeable and can be used in various combinations, which makes them even more sustainable. The label So Pure by Sense Organics, for which Starp creates designs, was also represented in the Green Showroom. The brand is already on sale in shops in Hamburg, Heidelberg, Hildesheim and Amsterdam.
 

The Dutch brand VanMarkoviec has been on the market since 2005. The brand describes itself as being inspired by the Slow Fashion movement and applies seven principles to reduce waste of resources, overproduction and environmental pollution (for example, recycling and the use of leftovers from industry). The materials made from certified organic cotton come from the Japanese company Avanti, and the brand also makes use of hemp and other innovative materials. Creative director Kasia Markowska (picture) explains that, in a project supported by the Dutch government, a group of experts and practitioners is collaborating with the Design Academy in Eindhoven to create guidelines for consumers (Clean Clothes) that are intended to help people make eco-friendly choices when they buy clothes. Other brands in the Green Showroom were Reet from Latvia (picture below) and Roshanak Salim from Los Angeles.
 

You could also see green fashion at one of the main events at the Berlin Fashion Week. The fashion fair Premium has had a green area for two years. In the Green Lifestyle Area around 50 companies established in the eco-fashion and lifestyle sector welcomed specialist visitors. From the organisers you hear that fashion firms and retailers cannot survive if they ignore social responsibility. They say that more and more businesses have recognised the signs of the time and are turning to ecological and sustainable production and fair trade. The Dutch company Made-By is a partner in the Green Area. The company has developed a traceability system for the whole supply chain so that social and environmental standards are being improved stage by stage, and manufacturers and retailers are being helped to communicate this message to customers.
The symposium Green Brands & Styles was held in the context of the Premium fair.

A selection of the labels represented:

Anzueglich, women’s fashion, new collection from fairly traded organic cotton, collaborates with a project in Peru where Anzueglich was supported by a social project for deaf people.
 

Bioshirt company, producer in Berlin, T-shirts from organic cotton, the message “I love my Planet”, already discovered by celebs.
 

Finoslo, Norwegian fashion company with the label Eco Lux
 

Kolam, French brand for responsible fashion, certified by Ecocert.
 

Privatsachen, Hamburg. Fashion from natural fibres
 

So Pure – by Sense Organics, Hamburg label
 

Odd, New York company, natural materials and recycling, member of the organisation
“1% for the Planet”
 

Milch, Austrian label, operates the principle of upcycling (fashion from discarded clothes) for artistic products
 

Inka Koffke Organic Couture, Munich, combination of everyday couture with sustainably produced natural materials
 

Göttin des Glücks, collection from fair trade cotton by a designer duo in Vienna
 

Caroline Raffauf is an expert in environmentally friendly and socially sustainable fashion; functionality and environmental compatibility belong together in outdoor clothing and rainwear; only if we are every bit as good as synthetic products can we protect the environment long term.
 

Made-By, the Dutch traceability system for eco-fashion, is already found on the labels of  a number of brands, for example Kuyichi, 100percentorganiccotton, Komodo (picture), Intiknitwear, Imps & Elfs, Edun, Nomad, Intoxica.
 

Other areas: Organicavenue, room fragrances, The Very Essence, shop in Hamburg, natural and organic cosmetics and wellness
 

Media: Ecofashion Junkies, Utopia, Slow Fashion, agency for sustainable design