Brigid Catiis, Ruffle Playsuit with Scalloped shorts; Velvet Leaf, Juliette Dress in Pink Silk; Velvet Leaf, Beatrice Romper with Hand Painted Silk Ballerina Skirt
I attended the GenArts Fashionably Natural Event as a part of LA Fashion Week, mostly to check out the scene but I actually was very interested in seeing what eco-friendly designers had to offer. Besides, if I was going to go to an LA Fashion Week event, I wanted it to be very LA and this was definitely VERY LA. First of all, it was presented by Maggie Gyllenhaal, who is a known environmentalist. And all the girls in attendance were in super personality driven outfits. A huge tent was erected on top of the Peterson Auto Museum’s rooftop parking, which was almost as impressive as the tents put up on Bryant Park (I said, almost).
The two designers that struck out as being different from my mental image of eco-friendly fashion were Velvet Leaf and Brigid Catiis. I think of environmental fashion as organic cotton jersey t-shirt dresses but some of these looks were obviously way beyond that. I mean, it is by no means “couture” but definitely wearable without making huge sacrifices for the sake of eco-friendly. Brigid Catiis uses all vintage fabrics – she sifts through thousands of pounds of fabric in rag houses, and she has to find enough similar fabrics to produce the entire line. The results are nothing short of astonishingly for the originality and labor of love that you cannot help but recognize. Her prints of course all have to be different, like the ruffle one shoulder shirt above. I love the idea that I am getting a one of a kind! The look is very young but that is her audience, the generation that has to live with the calamities caused by pollution and waste. Her price points are really incredible, between $170 (for tops like the one shown) to $290 (dresses).
Velvet Leaf is another that struck me by pleasant surprise with their array of dyed silks and prints. I worked in fashion, there is nothing environmental about dying and printing. The limitations are obvious but their creative spirit is not. The designers, sisters Becky (23) and Laura (21) Carter, use low impact dyes so they cannot achieve bright vivid colors, but the soft pink is lovely and sweet and in no way cheats the look. My favorite and the piece that is the most imaginative is the bubble silk ballerina skirt with black paint print. They hand painted all the fabric by hand! So, I was wrong, it is closer to couture than I thought! Price points are $90-$300. Both of these lines are available at Revolve Clothing.