Mark Liu goes scrapless

UK prodigy, Mark Liu, is approaching eco fashion differently. Concerned about the scraps of fabric and notions that end up on the floor and then in landfills, Mark Liu put his creativity to the task of reducing this waste. He not only creates stylish patterns, but he designs the pattern pieces to fit on a single piece of fabric like a jigsaw puzzle. This idea sounds more like a Zen exercise or art instead of wearable fashion. But his pieces are wearable and they look amazing. Beyond his creative pattern making, he also developed techniques which tailor garments to create zero waste. The result are complex, structured and unique garments.

Elsom

Elsom's spring collection is subtle, quiet and sophisticated. Men will find light, tailored suits and shirts, women will find nicely draped dresses. Elsom isn't bold nor boring, the Australian label designed by Sam Elsom pays attention to quality tailoring and materials. They are committed to not only using sustainable materials like organic cotton, but also being involved with the farmers who grow the cotton. I'm not sure where you can buy Elsom, but keep a look out.

A-list designers dabble in Eco

Grace Trance turned me onto this style.com page which is very interesting and encouraging. A-list designers like Versace and YSL sent some looks down the Future Fashion Show runway that were made of sustainable materials. Renewable, organic and recycled fabrics were transformed into elegant couture gowns as well as street wear. As a part of New York Fashion Week, this is the first show for Earth Pledge and they plan on continuing to raise awareness about sustainable living. Hopefully more of these designers will value the environmental impact of their materials as highly as the quality of them and in the process, really bring eco-chic mainstream. Unfortunatly it looks like they killed a whole tree for the runway :-|