Haute on Wheels – Trending in the Fashion Industry

Though not exactly an initiative that is driven by eco-friendly sensibilities and the driving forces behind the implementation of sustainability in the fashion industry, a trend has recently taken root in the United States, taking shape in what can be best described as “Haute on Wheels”.

With an increase of American retailers ditching the traditional “brick and mortar” venues, a number of converted delivery trucks have been fitted as mobile boutiques, showcasing a diverse range of fashion and accessories products.

Haute on Wheels

New York-based fashion designer Joey Wolffer stands to be one of the many proponents of the “Haute on Wheels” trend, recently converting a 20-foot truck into a mobile store that showcases a unique and diverse range of vintage scarves, leather goods and singular jewelry items. Maximizing the upsides of a “mobile boutique”, Wolffer’s creations have been brought to further distances, reaching as far as Montreal and the rest of the Eastern Seaboard.

Propelled by its novelty value, as well as further “advertised” through the positive reception of its customers via online social media channels, the “haute on wheels” trend is gaining positive critical and commercial reception, a novel idea that inspires the “Why didn’t I think of that?” dictum.

With Wolffer being among the many brands and fashion houses implementing its mobile approach in showcasing fashion and apparel products, its applicability in the area of the eco-fashion industry cannot be ignored, with certain tweaks (say, perhaps the use of hybrid automobiles as opposed to diesel trucks), one which promises to be effective in furthering the goals and objectives of eco-fashion standards and trends.

Deepika Govind’s Denim Green

Designer and textile-maker Deepika Govind recently celebrated the launch of a wide range of eco-friendly denims, dubbed as “Denim Green”.

Primarily adding a new entry into her established line of eco-friendly clothing, apparel and fabric selections, Govind’s Denim Green comes in ready to wear cuts, as well as optional selections for made to order cuts for those who’re more inclined to have tailored wear options.


“It’s a project that I have been working on for the past four and a half years. But it took me some time to bring it onto the shelf. I think the first need to start developing denim was that a lot of clients would see some of my designs and ask if I’d make that in denim for them. And I’ve seen the forecast; it’s denim and denim and more denim for the next four or five years,” shares Govind.

Utilizing organic cotton with environment friendly dyes, Denim Green denims are not bleached, with its indigo denim hues processed using variant modes of vegetable dyeing procedures.

Affordable, the highlight dyed denims by Denim Green may not be 100% natural in terms of their coloring modes, but the selection wears have passed a number of safety and eco-friendly certification standards and requirements.

Apart from the iconic jeans, Denim Green also showcases denim dresses and tops, along with a selection of bags made with the same eco-friendly fabrics utilized in all Denim Green products.

As an organic jeans option, Denim Green efficiently satisfies eco-friendly fashion and apparel pretexts, bundled within reasonable price terms ideal for the average jeans-wearer.

If organic denim is your thing, check out what Denim Green has and find out what the brand has in store for you.

Jack Wolfskin to go all-organic by 2013

When it comes to outdoor apparel brands, Jack Wolfskin is a trusted brand, famed for its take on quality outdoor gear made to withstand the rigors of Mother Nature’s temperamental tendencies.

Tuned in coming out with quality products made to protect wearers against rough trails and strong winds, Jack Wolfskin is also attuned to Mother Nature’s current plight, and as such, announced that it will be going all-organic with its cotton-based lines beginning with its Summer 2013 Collection.

Established in 1981, Jack Wolfskin is the Germany-based makers of quality outdoor wear and equipment, with specialty products suitable for various outdoor excursions.

From sleeping bags to tents and rucksacks to gear packs, the brand has made a name for itself in its line of extreme outdoor clothing and outdoor leisure clothing lines. Footwear items are also produced by Jack Wolfskin, and as clothing and apparel items, the brand is quite popular, not only found in outdoor situations and scenarios but also in urban settings.

Since the opening of its first store in 1993 in Heidelberg in Germany, the brand has successfully sold its products via retailer channels, reaching over 4,000 retail venues based in different parts of the world.

With 400 franchises in existence, one would think that Jack Wolfskin, as a brand, would do well in chilling out and bask in the reputation and followers it has successfully gathered, but no.

By going all-organic with its cotton-based wears, Jack Wolfskin continues to remain abreast with the challenges of a fast-paced changing times, implementing current innovations and standards which maintain the brand and its products as relevant with the times.

Come Summer 2013, the new Jack Wolfskins promise to be more than just outdoor wear items, but solid examples of how well a brand can contribute to the best practices of environmental sustainability.

Spun

The Essentials

Spun started from a father’s entrepreneurial mindset that inspired his daughter to found her own label. Sara Seumae spun her own story by indulging her fashion craving and creating a line of organic basics. Sara’s quality clothing is based on her personal three F’s: it fits, flatters and is fashionable. Her scoop tee, raglan pullover and low V-necks in different colors are the ultimate essentials for everyone aiming for a clean look.

Ethic-Chic

Launched in February 2008, Spun is one of the newest brands on our eco fashion planet. Each piece is proudly made in the United States using high quality 100% Certified Organic Cotton which is dyed using environmentally safe low–impact fiber reactive dyeing processes. Spun is a member of 1% for the planet and supports the Organic Trade Association.

Pictures & Video


Find & Flaunt
Shop online at Fashion Ethic and 90210 Organics or find selected stores at Spun.

Soham Dave

The Essentials

Soham Dave has established his contemporary womens clothing line, followed by a handbag collection and handmade jewelry line. Soham Dave is an eco-friendly lifestyle brand in New York City, fusing the old and the new, classic and contemporary, and ancient organic and urban lifestyles.

Ethic-Chic

Soham Dave combines the dual roles of environmentalist and social entrepreneur by promoting local artisans, using traditional eco-friendly production techniques, and fair trade to offer a contemporary range of lifestyle products for the conscious urban consumer with a focus on biodegradable fabrics, recycled materials, and hand-crafted items.

Soham Dave found his niche in combining fashion and craft during his time at SEWA, an NGO company working with marginalized craft artisans. There he explored heritage Indian skills, including hand embroidery, hand block printing and hand weaving, and creatively applied them to contemporary silhouettes.

Soham Dave currently works closely with local artisans from remote villages in India where workers are paid a fair wage.

Pieces of fabric that are left over from the apparel line are transformed into jewelry items.

Pictures & Video


Find & Flaunt
Check online at Soham Dave.

Sistahood

The Essentials

Sistahood is a women’s eco knitwear label inspired by the desire to create comfy, funky street styles in an earth and people conscious way. Simple, soft and playful, the sistahood style ranges from sophisticated mini-dress to street flavored harem pants, tanks, tees and sweatshirts.

All garments are made in limited edition, which makes them unique, hand-designed pieces, made with lots of love and an eye for detail.

Ethic-Chic

All Sistahood garments are made from 100% organic cotton, are custom-dyed with GOTS approved inks, and are printed & manufactured in New Zealand. Sistahood uses as little packaging as possible during production, and merchandising is done on recycled paper whenever possible. Sistahood is committed to exploring and pushing the boundaries towards making 100% sustainable clothing.

Pictures

Find & Flaunt
Check online at Sistahood.

Origin of Organic Fashion

What the heck is organic fashion? The truth is I didn’t even know what it means until I came across stories about drop dead gorgeous Brad Pitt and other Hollywood celebrities who have actively involved themselves in campaigns for saving the planet and going green. Fashion enthusiasts define organic fashion as a growing philosophy in trend sustainability. To put it simply, it is taking environmental impact and social responsibility into consideration for creating products such as clothes, bags and accessories.

And out of curiosity I began to ask who invented it in the first place. To my surprise, organic fashion is actually not an entirely new fad. Believe it or not, it was introduced just as regular clothing was made known to mankind. This means that this kind of clothing can be traced back in history when cavemen had started wearing clothes and definitely right before harmful substances such as pesticides, antibiotics and other genetic modification were introduced. The most organic of its kind are the skins of the animals that they hunted as well as large tree leaves that women had sewed together during prehistoric times, used to cover their bodies and protect them from the heat of the sun or the cold at night.

However in the modern sense, organic clothing was re-introduced around 1990. Recently, the use of alternative fibers has been accepted as a new trend. Organic bamboo and hemp are being used as fabric. Natural fibers such as cellulose and plant fibers are are also being used as they are abundant and are non-petroleum based. Others use reclaimed fibers made from scraps of fibers collected from clothing factories. These are processed back into short ones for spinning into new ones

Looking back at how this kind of fashion trend has taken flight in the 90’s and how it has become a widely acceptable craze in the market today, I believe that environmentalist cause to save mother earth and battle cry for social responsibility is slowly paying off. Personally, it has opened my eyes to a few realities which includes proactively understanding how my clothes are made and buy those that do not contribute to environmental degradation.

If you have thoughts to share about organic fashion, feel free to put your comments on the box below.

Shazia Saleem

The Essentials

Shazia Saleem’s sexy collection starts with luxurious hand woven fabrics. Shazia studied fashion in Florence and London making her designs a seamless fusion of British edge, Italian glamour and Indian heritage. Shazia was nominated ‘Designer of the Year 2008′ by Asian Woman magazine.

Ethic-Chic

Shazia Saleem specializes in creating designs from fabric that has been woven by hand on wooden looms, uses organic cotton, and cruelty free and wild Tussar silk. This silk is collected from the forest after the moth has hatched.

Pictures & Video



Find & Flaunt
Check online at Shazia Saleem.

Newtown Celebrates Opening of Organic Salon

Sycamore Salon, dubbed as Newtown’s first ever organic hair salon, recently celebrated its grand opening, standing for a new dimension in organic options and alternatives.

Featuring a wide range of organic-inclined hair styling products matched with organic-inclined services and features, the salon is the brainchild of Candis Krzaczyk, an internationally trained stylist with a penchant for eco-friendly approaches in hair care.


From coloring to cuts, everything about Sycamore Salon is organic, from the use of PETA approved products, to styling methods and practices known to adhere with eco-friendly practices of services.

Free from propylene, sodium lauryl sulfate, paragons, and glycol, Sycamore Salon’s preferred styling materials work without having any potentially harmful ingredients, free from negative impact and implications on the environment and on people. The venue works with styling products by NEUMA and Onesta, along with organically derived conditioners, shampoos and hair styling products.

Featuring permanent hair coloring services, Sycamore Salone utilizes certified natural ingredients, extracts and ammonia-free products. The venue’s organic options allow for the creation of various hair-tone hues, which clients could mix and match without having to worry about chemical damage or scalp irritations.

“Studies have shown there are too many potentially harmful chemicals used in hair styling today. But there’s no reason to sacrifice style for safety anymore. Sycamore Salon’s mission is to give our customers, as well as our employees, a better ‘Organic Option’ for achieving beautiful hair. We’re proud to be the first salon in Newtown to offer this type of fully organic service,” shares Krzaczyk.

All in all, Pennsylvania residents now have an organic salon to go to, to match with organic views on fashion and food choices.

Sans Soucie

The Essentials

What’s in a name? Katherine Soucie calls her label Sans Soucie, a play on the French phrase for ‘without a care.’ The hand crafted clothing and textiles exhibit a rather sincere appreciation of technique and design. Sans Soucie transforms a unique material: recycled hosiery, into whispery garments that float along the body. Offering impressionistic one of a kind and limited run collections, Sans Soucie reflects a modern take on texture and textiles with gossamer-thin layers of expertly dyed and patterned nylon that is both delicate and sensual. The accessories line is equally popular with arm bands, knee high socks, and hand painted footless tights.

Ethic-Chic

Sans Soucie transforms a waste material, nylon hosiery, into durable, machine washable clothing. Fabrics are treated with non-toxic pigments and low impact dyes.

Pictures

Find & Flaunt
Check online at Sans Soucie.