Eco Chic: Stylish and Sustainable

The Paris Haute Couture shows may well have provided plenty of column inches with the o-so-stylish of late but just over the border at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, a groundbreaking event ushered in the International Year of Biodiversity.

Tackling style and sustainability firmly on the chin ‘Eco Chic’ presented creations by 52 prominent fashion designers hailing from around 40 countries. The catwalk show featured one-off designs from the likes of Diane von Furstenberg, John Rocha, Manish Arora, Ziad Ghanem and Thakoon. Sustainable labels such as Noir, EDUN and Ciel also added impact to the cause.

Attending the 2-day event and catwalk show were over 450 influential figures from government, private sector and non-governmental organizations. The key objective of ‘Eco Chic’ was to promote the positive impact that fashion could have on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. The high-fashion ready-to-wear and couture garments were made from a variety of biodiversity-protecting fabrics such as hemp, bamboo, alpaca, soya, organic cotton and organic silks.

Current processes such as cotton production, leather tanning, bleaching and dyeing use large amounts of water, energy or toxic chemicals, and emit effluents. They are profit-driven processes which harm the environment as well as the health of those that work with them.

Christina Dean, organiser of the ‘Eco Chic’ fashion show and founder of Green2greener, said “We hope that this event will push the point that sustainable fashion can be both high-end and mainstream, showing to consumers that they can look gorgeous whilst also helping the environment. Our collaboration with the United Nations proves just how important these issues are.”

Thakoon Panichgul, fashion designer commented: “I supported the event because any attention to this green cause from the fashion community is a must. I hope the fashion industry will continue to develop sustainable natural options for consumers.  It is both interesting and exciting. My primary goal was to create a dress that is beautiful first, and it is even more beautiful because it is ‘ecochic’. It is always nice to participate in something that is good for our world and the environment.”

Fashion designer Ziad Ghanem also added: “When I received the invitation to feature at the Eco Chic event I knew instantly that I wanted to take part. Not only to raise awareness but to show that sustainable fashion has long moved on from its scratchy hemp, vegetarian hippy stereotype.”

While consumer trend reports may show increased awareness in ethical and environmentally-friendly products there is concern that the industry at large is not doing enough. With this mission in mind Eco Chic presented by Green2greener is set to go global with stops scheduled this year in Mumbai and New York.

www.ecochicfashions.com

www.green2greener.com

JoJo Iles