Static images seldom do runway shows any justice, particularly when they’re as dynamic as Costello Tagliapietra’s Fall/Winter 2012 debut at New York Fashion Week. Watch our exclusive video to dive into the thick of any action you may have missed, from the kaleidoscopic, watercolor-inspired gowns that slid down the catwalk to the declarations of admiration from celebrities such as actress Susan Sarandon and Top Chef host Padma Lakshmi. Ecouterre also snuck backstage, where we chatted with designing duo Jeffrey Costello and Robert Tagliapietra about their “Beetlejuicy, Dr. Seuss-ish” lineup, how AirDye’s water-saving technology trumps standard dyes, and why they’re such champions of femininity and romance.
Watch Costello Tagliapietra’s Celeb-Studded Fall 2012 New York Fashion Week Show (Video)
by Brit Liggett, 02/22/12
Inspired by Braille, Laure Paschoud’s Ethical Garments are a Tactile Treat
by Kirin Rinehart, 02/22/12
Knit a Pair of Edible Undies From Licorice Laces (DIY Tutorial)
Photo by sparetime
Need to rustle up a last-minute Valentine’s Day gift, you slacker? Knit up a salacious pair of edible panties from licorice laces with this quickie (pun intended) tutorial from the crafty folks at Knitty. (Candy Tree makes organic, gluten-free sweets, by the by.) If you can’t CO—that’s …
Libertine Taps Into Punk Subculture for Fall 2012 New York Fashion Week
Photos by Amanda Coen for Ecouterre
Shove a ruby-slippered Dorothy Gale into a time machine, direct her to Studio 54 at the height of its hedonism with a pit stop in 1960s Carnaby Street and, with a little bit of luck, you might end up with Libertine’s Fall/Winter 2012 show at New York Fashion Week. The lineup of vintage threads, retooled by L.A. designer Johnson Hartig into punk-edge designs for men and women, beams with a mischievous exuberance, a giddy procession of mother-of-pearl-studded biker jackets, Muppet-pelt boas, and metallic paillettes that throb like miniature disco balls under the house lights.
Honest By: A Game-Changing Label That Offers Supply-Chain Transparency
Bruno Pieters wants you to pay attention to the man behind the curtain. The award-winning designer, formerly of Hugo from Hugo Boss, is launching a ballsy new clothing brand and e-tailer that promotes complete transparency in price and manufacturing. Honest By, according to Pieters, is the first company in the world to give customers a full cost breakdown of its products—the sartorial equivalent of speaking stark-naked in front of a crowded room. Pieters conceived of Honest By while on sabbatical in southern India, where he observed the way locals grew, wove, and stitched their clothes from sources they could identify. Returning to Antwerp, Pieters decided to explore that degree of transparency with luxury products on an international scale.
Mariclaro Upcycles Car Upholstery, Air Bags Into Durable Carryalls
Where do exploded air bags go to die? If you ask Mariclaro, they don’t. The Toronto-based accessories label salvages truck tarps, leather upholstery, seat belts, bicycle inner tubes, boat sails, and yes, exploded air bags, to create a range of road-tested laptop sleeves, messenger bags, briefcases, and backpacks. Of the materials that comprise each piece, roughly 99 percent was landfill-bound, according to co-founders Sven Schlegel and Willa Murray, who intercept the materials within 300 miles of their workshop. (“1 percent is made of notions and our logo, still unavailable in recycled,” Schlegel says.)
The “Flourish Approach” Uses Modular Construction to Unite Local Skills on a Global Front
For Sarah Dixon and Danielle Sponder Testa, what began as musings on sustainability soon evolved into a business model. The designers, who met as students at the London College of Fashion, developed the “Flourish Approach” to bring together community skills and resources from across the planet. By creating interchangeable components using techniques as varied as Estonian folk-knitting, Mayan weaving, and African batik, then seaming them together in one central location, Dixon and Testa envision modular garments that offer innumerable opportunities for customization.
Chanel Builds Life-Size Plane for Spring 2012 Paris Couture Week Show
Photo by Olivier Saillant for Chanel
As if fashion wasn’t already synonymous with environmental excess. Karl Lagerfeld commisioned a life-size aircraft to house Chanel’s Spring/Summer 2012 couture show inside the Grand Palais in Paris on Tuesday. Subtlety has never been the designer’s strongest suit—this is the man who flew a 265-ton glacier to the City of Lights on a whim, after all—but the display of such extravagance in a depressed economy feels gauche even by the most liberal standards. Set designers didn’t just spend five days constructing the plane (or at least, the innards of one) from anodized aluminum. They also outfitted it with an extra-wide 164-foot aisle, 180-degree swivel seats for 250 high-profile guests, double-C monogrammed carpet, a holographic cockpit, and a slatted roof that revealed a vista of clouds. Mon dieu!
7 Eco-Friendly (And Mostly Vegan!) Winter Boots to Conquer Snow, Slush
ALL-WEATHER WARRIOR
Even the icy plains of Hoth wouldn’t pose a challenge for the Nupste Fur IV by The North Face. Tootsies remain dry in a water-repellent sheath of down-insulated, recycled-polyester ripstop, while ankles stay extra-snug in a faux-fur swaddle of 100 percent recycled PET.
Note: May contain goose down.
“Shed Me” Clothes Reduce Need for Laundry by Shedding Like Snakeskin
Katie Ledger wants you to make like a serpent and molt—the layers of your clothes, that is. Inspired by the way a snake sheds its skin, London College of Art student envisions garments with layers that slough off without the need for frequent laundering. In addition to slashing the heavy energy burden that washing and drying entail—an average laundry cycle uses up to 40 gallons of water and 5,500 watts of electricity, according to the U.S. Department of Energy—Ledger’s “Shed Me” project imagines clothes that change color and even style with the removal of each successive layer.
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