This weekend, Designers and Agents, an event that brings small(er) designers and buyers together, is happening in LA — and even has a D&A Green Market showcasing eco-friendly fashions.
Unfortunately, the Green Market is sort of ghettoized to the 11th floor of the Cooper Hewitt building, set apart from the “conventional” fashions on the 8th floor. And even more unfortunately, these are not the best economic times for retail business.
Still, many eco-fashionistas turned out for the D&A Green Market launch party last night to sip on drinks and nibble on organic food from Green Truck while checking out the latest in eco-fashions. The big names — Loomstate, Edun, and Stewart+Brown — showed next to newbie and less well-known green designers.
Lots of gorgeous clothes were on display, but what really got my attention was the pretty jewelry. Above’s a beautiful necklace by Eko-Lab — made with a recycled Heineken bottle and hand-crocheted yarn!
I also loved the jewelry by Deanna de Vries (right), made with recycled gold and silver. Unfortunately, Deanna doesn’t have a web store or boutiques carrying her designs yet, though you can email her directly at deannadevries@gmail.com with inquiries. Prices for earrings begin around $50.
Also popular with the crowd were the Sea Bags (below), made with reclaimed sails and decorated with cute nautical themes.
Of course, there were some eco-fugly things too. Proof below.
Planners clearly tried to make the party as eco-friendly as possible. Unfortunately, the party ran out of clean wine glasses rather early in the evening, and the recycling bins were undecipherable. Can anyone figure out for certain what the bin at the far right’s intended for? If so, illuminate everyone who was at the party and confused….
Everything was tasty though, and all who got a gift bag left the party with one of my favorite treats: a bar of organic, fair trade chocolate from Theo.
D&A Green Market’s still happening now! Get to the 11th floor of Cooper Hewitt Design Space, 860 Los Angeles St., Los Angeles before 6 pm today to check out the Green Market. Admission’s free with a business card.
Very cool looking jewelry! Another great place I found for unique eco-friendly jewelry is All Wired Up jewelry http://www.allwiredupjewelry.com. Everything is hand made which I love!
Comment by Jessica — October 19, 2008 @ 3:40 pm
Love that eco-friendly choices are coming to a store near you. If they aren’t there yet, check out http://www.TurningLife.com eco-friendly webstore. They carry several lines of women’s apparel…and none of it is “Fugly”!
Craig
TurningLife.com
Comment by Craig — October 19, 2008 @ 4:49 pm
There was a shortage of wine glasses rather early. I don’t think they anticipated the demand for wine versus tequila or sake or margaritas. I hope you all enjoyed the wines from the hottest boutique (and organically-sustainable) winery out of South America!
Bossa Premium Wine Imports
Importers of Vinedo de los Vientos URUGUAY
http://www.bossawines.com
Comment by Bossa Wines — October 19, 2008 @ 7:57 pm
Yay! Its great to see those pictures. My friend Tina was there with her giant 8ft. sequoia tree…Where are there more pics of the event?
Comment by Amelia — October 20, 2008 @ 12:19 am
not that project runway is LA specific or anything, but this post reminded me of the winner of season 5, leanne marshall. she said the fabrics from her final collection are “sustainable,” and the judges responded positively to that. i know it’s been blogged to death, but yay to PR for bringing eco fashion to a national audience. :)
Comment by calitexican — October 20, 2008 @ 3:32 pm
As a retail buyer attending the show,I was very inspired and happy to see a lot of fresh innovative designers.I can’t wait to get in my spring orders and make a major eco fashion statement in LA
stay tuned…
Until then,eco minded fashionistas should check out my one stop eco chic boutique on Melrose in West Hollywood.There’s plenty of great stuff already out in the market that you my not know about.
:):)
Comment by Magda — October 21, 2008 @ 12:48 am
In Response to the writers query:
“Can anyone figure out for certain what the bin at the far right’s intended for? If so, illuminate everyone who was at the party and confused”
All of the three cans pictured above of our recycling stations are labeled.
Large is TRASH as posted on its side
Middle can is labeled PAPER on the lid
Left can is labeled PLASTIC AND GLASS on the lid.
FYI, D & A is the first trade show perhaps in the world to have installed recycling stations with dedicated garbage pick up at our trade shows begining 3 years ago.
Comment by Barbara Kramer — October 22, 2008 @ 12:56 pm
Jessica — Thanks for the link. I rarely wear gold — and it doesn’t seem like the gold used at this company is recycled — but the store seems interesting —
The wine was yummy :)
Amelia — Try searching for more posts about the event on Technorati. Maybe they’ll have more pics –
calitexican — I love Project Runway! I watch the seasons when they come out on DVD — so no spoilers!
Magda — Thanks for stopping by :) Hope all’s well at Visionary! I hear you got some new bamboo sunglasses in?
Barbara — The middle and left cans that I saw were definitely not labeled on the lid, unfortunately. Both myself and a guy also trying to figure out where to put what saw any words on the lid…. Also, while I figured the TRASH bin was landfill-bound, the designation “trash” is unclear to most people, who usually think about everything they throw “away” — including recyclables — as trash…. Glad to hear about D&A’s commitment to recycling though.
Comment by Siel — October 28, 2008 @ 11:11 pm
OOOOH the bamboo sunglasses yes…
they are cool and with each pair purchased,the company sponsors a sight saving surgery for someone in the 3rd world! And you thought Tom’s was good…
How Visionary!
Come visit and see!
Comment by Magda — November 7, 2008 @ 9:22 pm