Fashionista

How to Make It in Fashion: June 21, Dream Hotel Downtown, New York

Earth Day

Sunday April 28th, 2013

John Galliano Is Back, Kate Middleton’s Baby Bump Was Everywhere, and Nasty Gal Has Some Competition
Week In Review

John Galliano Is Back, Kate Middleton’s Baby Bump Was Everywhere, and Nasty Gal Has Some Competition

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John Galliano Returns: John Galliano (who’s sporting a new grunge look) got a new gig at Parsons, teaching a master class on the “challenges and complications of leading a design house.” But not everyone is happy about it.

Let the Kate Middleton Baby Bump Watch Commence! Whether it’s a $1,750 silk Erdem number or a $76 Topshop polka dot dress, we’re keeping our eyes on how the Duchess is dressing her royal baby bump. (Could she be hinting at something with the color of this frock?)

In The Aftermath of the Boston Marathon Bombings: Nike scrambles to pull old “Boston Massacre” t-shirts from stores. Now, however, that same shirt is going for $150,000 on eBay.

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Published at 4:00 PM

Monday April 22nd, 2013

The Top 5 Sustainable Fashion Design Programs in the World
Is Sustainability the New Frontier in Fashion?

The Top 5 Sustainable Fashion Design Programs in the World

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If you’ve been paying attention to the fashion industry the past few years, you know that sustainable design is more important than ever.

Our clothing consumption has reached an all time high, and in response, advocates for mindful, more eco-friendly design are screaming their message louder than ever. And it seems the fashion industry is finally listening: The CFDA recently created the first-ever sustainability committee , Levi’s and Zara have committed to going toxic-free, and H&M has unveiled a series of ambitious sustainable design projects.

The growing trend towards sustainable and ethically designed clothing is not only helping to create a greener planet–it’s created a whole new job market, one where having an education in sustainable design may give you a considerable edge in the industry. Here are the best sustainable design programs out there.

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Published at 6:23 PM
9 Awesomely Dirty Beauty Products You Should Try
Dirt Don't Hurt

9 Awesomely Dirty Beauty Products You Should Try

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We’ve been told all our lives that dirt is bad. Bad to eat, bad to track into the house, and, especially, bad for your pores. Most beauty cleansing products are designed to eradicate dirt from your skin, but there are actually benefits to having a little bit of it in your beauty routine. Earthy ingredients with dirt bases, like clay and volcanic ash, actually clarify and cleanse your skin in a non-drying way that soap just can’t.

In honor of Earth Day, we’ve picked out some beauty products that actually celebrate dirt, whether it be as a cleanser, scent (yes, really), or color inspiration–and work really really well.

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Published at 5:30 PM
Cute and Easy Ways to Repurpose Your Fashion Throw-Aways
Get Inspired

Cute and Easy Ways to Repurpose Your Fashion Throw-Aways

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You don’t have to start an organic cotton farm in your backyard to do your part in making fashion more sustainable. In honor of Earth Day, we put together an illustrated guide to making your home—and life!–a little more green. With minimal tools and money spent, these crafty eco-friendly solutions are easy to assemble, pretty to look at, and kind to Mama Earth. Oh—and you definitely don’t need a garden to get these guys growing. We all live in NYC and, yeah, we are not living that garden lifestyle.

Ready to get recycling? Click through for inspiration!

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Published at 4:00 PM

Sunday April 22nd, 2012

Friday April 20th, 2012

Loomstate’s Designers Bike Ride Drunk (for the Environment!), Convinced Winona Ryder To Stop Washing Her Jeans
Collection

Loomstate’s Designers Bike Ride Drunk (for the Environment!), Convinced Winona Ryder To Stop Washing Her Jeans

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Just in time for Earth Day on Sunday, the fashion crowd went crunchy (well, as much as they could) last night at the charity concept store Treasure & Bond in Soho when Rogan Gregory and Scott MacKinlay Hahn of eco-fashion line Loomstate took over to debut their Loomstate 321 line.

This capsule line of reversible and versatile multi-colored tees, tanks and dresses fashioned from one knit, man-made fabric Tencil will appeal to the environmentally conscious, frugal and laundry-challenged alike. One of the light, mega-layered and color-blocked dresses that Rogan Gregory showed us can be worn in eight different ways.

Design partners Gregory and Hahn live and breathe by their eco-conscious beliefs–incorporating them not just in their designs but also in their daily lifestyles.

“To reduce my fossil fuel footprint, I ride my bike every day and I’m as healthy as I was 20 years ago,” Gregory explained to us. “Sometimes, it’s after midnight and I’ve drank like three beers. It’s kind of like, ‘Ah, I don’t want to get on the bike.’ But you get on the bike and you can feel good about it for so many different reasons.”

Wait, what?

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Published at 4:30 PM
10 Eco-Friendly Fashion Brands We Can Get Behind
Designers

10 Eco-Friendly Fashion Brands We Can Get Behind

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Nowadays in fashion, the words “eco-friendly,” “organic” and “sustainable” get bandied around a lot. Which is a good thing. Except that sometimes it can hard to tell the difference between a brand that’s actually helping to make the planet a better place–and one that’s just riding the eco bandwagon with a less-than-well intentioned “organic” label.

“Yes [companies are cashing in on consumer's growing environmental awareness by labeling their clothes "green", without actually changing their production process too much],” Timo Rissanen, Parsons‘ Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and Sustainability, told me. “The industry on the whole and marketing in particular have little integrity.”

“‘Green’, ‘eco’, ‘sustainable’ and the rest are nice but meaningless, feel-good marketing terms,” he added.

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Published at 3:00 PM

Friday April 22nd, 2011

Could You Cut Your Shower Time Down to Three Minutes?
Beauty

Could You Cut Your Shower Time Down to Three Minutes?

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Earth Day is all about guilt, so here are some quick statistics for you: the average American uses 70 gallons of water in a 10-minute shower, but 34% of people polled think that a 10-minute shower only wastes 10 gallons of water. A bit of a disconnect there. (And in case you were wondering, 70 gallons is 1,120 eight ounce bottles of water.)

The Body Shop, one of the original eco-conscious brands, has issued the “Earth Lovers Three-Minute Shower Challenge” just in time for Earth Day. Yes, they want you to commit to taking three-minute showers. To help time yourself, the company suggests playing a three-minute song and trying to finish by the end. Or, you could always count to 180 slowly.

Could you do this?

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Published at 4:27 PM

Thursday April 22nd, 2010

Monday April 5th, 2010

Do You Even Care if Your Clothing is Eco-Friendly?
Rants

Do You Even Care if Your Clothing is Eco-Friendly?

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April 22 marks the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, and the “green” press releases are beginning to infiltrate our inboxes. While we’re not opposed to conserving for the earth’s sake, we are opposed to greenwashing. That’s the term for marketing something as “eco-friendly” when it’s not really that eco-friendly. H&M’s been criticized for this in Read more →

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Published at 4:01 PM

Thursday April 23rd, 2009

Fashion Is Fun

Free Jeans For Being Green

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Remember Mavi Jeans? They’re working their way back into the denim world with their new organic line. And in honor of keeping Earth Day going year round, because it doesn’t count if you’re green for a day, they’re giving you a free pair of totally organic, totally awesome jeans. Well, one of you. Tell them Read more →

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Published at 10:49 AM

Wednesday April 22nd, 2009