I WOOD LIKE THESE!

The Fashion Week hype is heightening with all eyes on Berlin for this week and I decided to follow an invitation by startup concept-store LNFA to start off in style with a blogwalk party.  Following recent events and especially a great conference in Hamburg at designxport I've been finding out a great deal about new sustainable materials in the product design scene from one of my fellow speakers - Dr. Sascha Peters.
So I was extremely excited to see that there are similar efforts being made by emerging fashion brands when I ran into a maze of wooden sunglasses hanging from the massive concrete ceiling at the Bikini Berlin based space.
Made by Kerbholz, a young accessory brand from Germany the glasses (and watches) are mainly constructed from wood, come in all the right shapes & look incredibly sharp.  I was absolutely taken by Leopold, made from ebony & cellulose acetate!!
But what I loved most about them was that the designers put in considerable amounts of effort into developing a product which ends up in the earth rather than on top of it.
For me, as a designer that has become imperative - and I am absolutely certain that biodegradable & sustainable innovation packaged with compelling aesthetics will be the longest lasting trend, not just for this season ;)

GREEN PASSION

Just your usual Friday night hang out I found myself sitting at the house of Representatives in Berlin next to an impressive set of stairs forming the centre piece of a lush catwalk.  As a finale to GREEN PASSION DAY the hosts, members of Germany's Green Party teamed up with Lette - Verein's fashion design class and staged a dazzling runway show featuring key aspects of low-impact fashion.
Designers sensationally mastered their different objectives ranging from using GOTS certified fabrics via upcycling preluved men's coats/ jackets to questioning the demand for fast fashion and creating timeless & effortlessly chic pieces. Follow their tracks & feel the passion ❤

Also massive congratulations to upcyclists Carina Bischoff and Arianna Nicoletti from UFS Berlin for their involvement at Green passion day discussion panels and for being a driving force for sustainable fashion in Berlin!

WATER TO WINE BERLIN

Forget Zara&Co and open your mind/heart for a new fashion aesthetic.  Step inside 'Water To Wine' and be amazed by the imagination & mindful approach of the designer labels sold here.  As promised in my previous post about the new upcycling fashion boutique on Auguststrasse 82 in Berlin-Mitte the shop opened for the first time last week. 

At the opening party last Thursday Sarah, the manager gave me a little tour navigating through white painted retro shelves & chairs hanging on the wall stocked with cool customized denim jackets by Wilfried Pletzinger, bottle top bags from Portuguese label Há de Haver, gorgeous sturdy totes made from old tents by Margarete Häusler and some beautiful one off vintage skirts.  I've put out a couple of upcycled panelled Tshirts for ROHstoff as well as the pieces I made for Berlin Stadtmission fashion show two months ago - yeyh! 

To shop here is rewarding for your conscience too as some of the money from the purchases goes back to Berliner Stadtmission and will be used for their charity projects. The accessories label Beliya is topping that by offering children in developing countries school education for a year if you buy one of their creations made from upcycled sofa leathers!
 This is what I love about low-impact fashion, it's set out to ponder where a product comes from, how it is made and what will happen to it once it's served its purpose.
Check it out!

ROHstoff ❤ CPH

For the last week end of Summer my man took me to Copenhagen for our anniversary.  What a fabulous idea that was!  I was instantly hooked by the laid back charm of this amazing city and its friendly and truly individual inhabitants... 

I always liked Danish design with its classic-with-a-little-twist take on fashion which makes you look instantly cool - well the Copenhagen girls on the streets did anyway.

My first stop was the Acne Archive on Elmegade, it's their outlet store where you can get out of season samples or imperfect sales stock that didn't make it to the store for half the price or less! I treated myself to a gorgeous pair of skinny jeans which I'm soo excited to show you in my next post.

After that we grabbed coffee just around the corner at the Laundromat Cafe.  It's a launderette turned coffee shop turned library with fresh & immensely tasty brunch treats. LOVE!

In the evening we had a reservation at Fiskebar, a buzzing restaurant in the very cool meatpacking district (Kodbyen) with a strong opinion on taste, local produce quality & sustainability.  Shortly we were giddy with contentment...

ETHICAL FASHION WEEK BERLIN - PART II

@ Elsien Gringhuis

@ Elsien Gringhuis

@ Aliki van der Kruijs

@ Elsien Gringhuis

Straight after I finished my facebook post about the british upcycling showroom I went down to check out the green showroom at Adlon hotel which showcased sustainable luxury & high-end labels.  Here I revisited label Elsien Gringhuis which I had already discovered at last season's fashion week. The unusual but rather glamorous venue provided the perfect contrast to the designer's sleek & modern designs. Aiming for low environmental impact from minimal waste pattern drafts to conscious choice of natural materials Elsien's creations have a timeless quality to it which makes them credible long time wardrobe classics.  The beautifully tailored trousers & boxy jacket for their S/S14 collection are the results of collaborating with textile designer Aliki van der Kruijs who creates prints through a technique called hydrography which allows her to capture water movement - in this case rain!   I also got to try on this amazing hooded cape made from beeswax coated cotton. I love the unexpected texture and sculptur-like silhouette, with a little tuck you can change your entire look....❤

Check out Elsien Gringhuis' recent collection here!

ETHICAL FASHION WEEK BERLIN - PART I

My second time at Ethical Fashion Show Berlin got off to a brilliant start with the 'British Upcycling Showroom' - an amazing demonstration of British 

award winning & cutting edge fashion labels with resourceful skills pushing the boundaries in low impact fashion.

Massive congratulations to the team at Upcycling Fashion Store, concept store for upcycled fashion in Berlin for hosting this fab installation which included exclusive clips of collections from British designers 'From Somewhere', 'Goodone', 'Antiform' and 'a case of...'  

as well as a dance performance by independent dance group 'zeitgetroffen-KOLLEKTIV'. To watch their steps follow the link.

ETHICAL FASHION WEEK

@ Elsien Gringhuis

@ Elsien Gringhuis

clean cuts & gorgeous fluidy eco tex silk at Elsien Gringhuis

(F/W 2012 ‘ONE OF THESE DAYS’ campaign) 

Elsien Gringhuis at Ethical Fashion Week Berlin January 2013,

the GREENshowroom

lush accessories from ROYAL BLUSH such as chunky knotted bracelets made from vegetable tanned or even fish skins

looks very similar to snake skin and you can wear it with good conscience as they are a by-product of the food industry- amazing!!!

GREEN fashion had a strong presence at this season’s Berlin Fashion Week.  There were some impressive brands showcasing key developments in sustainable fashion.

It was spread over several venues, E-werk being the main site and the five star Adlon Kempinski hotel hosting labels with luxury appeal.

Perfect to discover the latest in sustainable fashion style.