Once I was amazed by the title above of the famous international design magazine on March/April 2009 issue...(special green edition - Inspired by Nature)
As a person who spend most of my time designing apparels, I was astonished only to know more about it. Have I think about it especially in the time like this uncertainty of our current economy? Should I always include the 'green' issues that is so popular today, to stay exist in our creative world? One of the influence person in fashion said that creating an image is essential for designer today. Does this merely include broader thinking than just through fashion shows, advertisements, catalogs...for us, to gain more support on what the American called 'sustainable fashion'?
In this pretty bad economic climate, the consumer "lack - of
spending" attitude has brought us to a conclusion to create a more 'unique affordable items' ; or something a bit pricey,high quality, but timeless...
We still of course need to keep on reviewing costs and staffing while maintaining our customers on track and committing on investing in design and innovation, until this economy find its footing. While some people think that it is 'the opportunity for companies to steal market share from cowardly competitors'...and some think that it is the best time for innovation and development...but does this mean eco- or sustainable or green fashion is the way out?
Let's refer back to New York fashion week in January 2008, when they called it the FutureFashion, just to see how far 'green' design has come. Then, some designers have alternate their materials from traditional fabrics to sasawashi (japanese fabric made of paper and herbs), peace silk (process that lets the silkworms live out their full life cycle), and hemp. Even more, Martin Margiela drapped her three vintage wedding dress into a ball gown...
Still these conscious green designers are facing many challenges with what they called sustainable fabrics. They think there aren't just yet a comparable 'green' fabrics that can replace what they've been doing and what customers used to. For organic cotton, there are almost no difference when woven into a garment; In adverse, some popular synthetic, like stretch 'eco-friendly' nylon, still far from equivalent from normal fabric (Newsweek, April 14, 2008). So, is it merely important to follow?...Those who makes switch have gotten more support lately, even though nowaday still less than a percent of industry sales are going 'green', and among consumers only 18 percent, and they are mostly not aware whether the brand made of eco-fabrics or they should but eco-label product...
(Rob Loud/Getty Images,Newsweek, April 14, 2008)
As the Newsweek close its writing...even though 'green' haven't been in a lot of people mind today - one day it will be...So it is not wrong to follow the path of some eco-fashion forward label like: People Tree, Ciel, Edun,and Amana...
(http://www.edunonline.com/ , founded by Bono and wife Ali in 2005)
