Eco Fashion Week(end) Exclusive: KeoK’jay’s Net Worth
KeoK’jay organic cotton Sangsa dress and Wrap Vest made from upcycled materials and bamboo thread on our home page; photo credit The Gallery LA. Part Two of Four.
If you believe Vogue, Fashion Weeks in New York, Milan and Paris are simply an excuse for models to drink copious amounts of champagne and dress completely inappropriately for the season. Not so at eco-fashion events like the Green Humanitarian Shows in Los Angeles, which, as we reported last week, can make or break an up-and-coming designer.
That’s because the invites don’t just go out to celebrities and press, but to buyers at behemoths like Bloomie’s and Neiman Marcus who—if they discover something they like—not only support the designer, but the eco-fashion industry as a whole.
So we pay attention to people like Colleen Sherin, Fashion Market Director at Saks Fifth Avenue, who was quoted in the Los Angeles Times recently on runway trends that translate to the rack. One of her call-outs? “Open-weave knitwear in natural white, ivory or beige crochet, macramé, mesh or fishnet, as seen at Rag & Bone, Alexander Wang, Jason Wu for Tse, Alberta Ferretti and Celine.”
We hope Colleen took a look at L.A.’s Green Humanitarian Shows, because we the aforementioned weave was all over the runway. But unlike mainstream designers, these visionaries are not only on-point with market trends, they adhere to an ethical manufacturing standard as well. And isn’t that where fashion should be going?
Take KeoK’jay, a fair trade project created by Rachel Faller, whose primary goal is to provide jobs for marginalized HIV-positive, Cambodian women through the production of handcrafted fashion. The designs utilize environmentally friendly fabrics like organic and upcycled cotton, accented with painstakingly gorgeous details such as hand-carved vintage buttons.
As we reported previously, fair trade fashion does more than simply affect the community at hand: “Focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism,” wrote Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times journalist Nicholas D. Kristof.
Abso-frickin-lutely.
Want to know what Green Humanitarian headliner Emily Factor did with the longer hemline trend? Check out last week’s story. And for more Spring 2011 trends and runway looks from eco-designers Kristinit and Jonano, check in here next week!
