• The French know cool, and Waiting for the Sun has unleashed some new styles, including my favorites, LA UNE & 24.6g, in bamboo and teawood. Drool. 130 EUR at waitingforthesun.fr
Getting Framed
Cool Vs. Cruel 2010
I was asked by the Humane Society of the United States to be a Judge for their annual fashion student competition, Cool Vs. Cruel. I swung by Showroom Seven yesterday to have a peek at the finalists’ entires and pick my 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners, who all based their work on four inhumane designs by Zac Posen, Giorgio Armani, Burberry Prorsum, or Thakoon:
Choosing the winners was difficult, because I could see all the effort and love that went into each garment. When talented students go out on a limb to both challenge industry ignorance and heartlessness as well as take an ethical stand, I want to award them all! The whole rack looked incredible, and it took me well over and hour of deliberation as I inspected the construction, aesthetic, functionality, and even made the lovely ladies at Showroom Seven put on some of the garments.
Visit the Art Institute’s competition page and view last year’s winners, and join the Cool vs. Cruel Facebook page for the latest updates and happenings.
DUSTY Men
The Finnish designer, Marjut Uotila, started the men’s label, DUSTY in order to combine traditional menswear with art-oriented aesthetics and ecological and local Finnish craftspeople. The ‘Ruoste’ AW/10 collection features organic and recycled cotton sweaters, jackets, and accessories, and are available online at Unconventional or click here for a list of stores.
Ashton Michael Black Label
When was the last time that dressing like a rebel was actually rebellious? Ashton Hirota, founder of the Ashton Michael label, first made his debut at Los Angeles Fashion Week in 2002 and has since taken the fashion and entertainment industry by storm with a black-book of clients you wouldn’t believe. Hirota is pushing boundaries and always redefining counter-cultural aesthetics, remembering that being counter-cultural requires digging deeper than visuals alone. As a stylist and designer, Hirota’s most recent collection, Ashton Michael Black Label, featured garments constructed entirely of fabric made from recycled water bottles (PET) provided by Reth¿nk Fabrics, tencel, bamboo, and coconut. The collection was inspired by post punk, androgyny, and military masculinity – an uncommon combination of the power and intimidation communicated in military and punk fashion with a truly urgent (and rebellious) need to shift how we acquire and produce raw materials. Click HERE for my video interview with Ashton!
NOHARM’s Brougues Come Out & Elephants
• NOHARM’s elusive wingtips and brogues are finally available in several styles and colors. These are some of the finest quality men’s shoes out there, fairly handmade in Italian factories using eco-friendly and sustainably leather-free materials.
• In Defense of Animal’s continual work on behalf of elephants is crucial. Forced to perform tricks and give rides to children while sick with Tuberculosis, a Massachusets elephant who was named Dondi, died recently. Her autopsy revealed the illness, and the scary truth that TB is transmissible from elephant to human. Please click this link to send an e-mail to Southwick’s Zoo President Justine Brewer, urging the zoo to end the use of elephants for rides, performances and display. Find out more ways to help elephants here.
Uhuru Designs New Museum Sustainable Cafe
UHURU, a Brooklyn-based design + build furniture company dedicated to sustainability has crafted some gorgeous furniture for The New Museum‘s cafe. The cafe’s new design will feature communal tables, as well as intimate settings for conversation, enhancing the New Museum’s Lobby as a gathering place for visitors and the creative community. The newly designed tables and stools were commissioned especially for the New Museum. The stools are made from scraps of hardwood collected from local wood shops and the tables are crafted from high-percentage, post-consumer recycled steel and aluminum and finished with a zero VOC powder coat. Attentive visitors will notice the shape of the New Museum building playfully seeded in the top of each puzzle-like Stoolen. The cafe’s counter top, which displays baked goods, is IceStone, a durable surface made of 100% recycled glass and cement, also manufactured in Brooklyn.
After looking at the cafe’s menu (designed by Birdbath, an “environmentally conscious” division of City Bakery) I noticed that livestock products like butter and eggs were still being used in the baking. Here at The Discerning Brute, I applaud any effort to further sustainability, but I also must point out that the largest impact for sustainability exists within the food itself, and whether or not dairy is local or organic, the impact that the livestock have ecologically can simply never be considered sustainable. The ease with which those products can be replaced with more sustainable options is nearly seamless. Here’s to hoping they include their vegan on the menu also! Heck, why not go all the way and make the entire menu vegan?
PINNACLE: Reinvent The Icon V.1
Happy Fashion Week! I am thrilled to officially announce the launch of PINNACLE. PINNACLE is a collaborative initiative for designers, artists, and other creatives who want to craft an accessory that symbolizes the growing anti-fur sentiment.
Our first digital-tabloid is available online and can be downloaded and shared (a full-screen option will pop-up by hovering your cursor in the center):
The PINNACLE website, ReinventTheicon.com provides all the details about how to get involved and showcases contributions from designers, models, photographers, and artists. The gallery section is currently highlighting our maiden editorial story featuring wardrobe by Stella McCartney and John Bartlett and our spokesmodels, Karolina Babczynska and Adam Wallace (Ford Models), Photography by Gregory Vaughan, Styling by Joshua Katcher, Makeup by Brian Duprey, and Hair by Alejandra Nerizagal.
Please pass this magazine along.
As the weather grows colder, our fire grows fiercer.
Joshua Katcher
April 77′s Runes, We Love Fluevog, Revolution & Trousers 5A
April 77, created by our favorite rock-n-roll, vegan, Parisian designer Brice Partouche, is cleverer than everer. Their new collection features runes-style codes that let you download exclusive music tracks!
John Fluevog does it again. My favorite leather-free shoes from last season are back in a smart navy, tan, black and red plaid. Knock em’ dead with these and a pair of fitted jeans, khakis, or a navy suit. Resin and wood soles, faux-suede interior, cotton uppers and all ethical handsomeness. $189
ADBUSTERS’ “The Revolution Issue” is a must-read for anyone who wants to change the world.
“It may be hard to imagine a revolution erupting tomorrow, but we need to remember that human history is one of resistance, riot and rebellion. In this issue, Adbusters #91: The Revolution Issue – I, Revolution, we provide a look back at history’s greatest struggles as well work from some of today’s freshest radical thinkers.”
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Trousers London offers an adaptation of the classic T5 – 100% Raw Organic Denim with a premium shirting fabric used as lining in a lighter, brighter check, with the piping detail on the side pockets. $294
The End of Leather
My mind is officially blown – Suzanne Lee is making waves – of green tea. This could be the biggest breakthrough in cruelty-free leather to date! Just think – an organic, cellulose-based leather, colored with vegetable and fruit dyes, and patterned with oxidization. The cruelty to animals and ecological devastation inherent in all leather production (including those greenwashed “vegetable-tanned” leathers) can be avoided, and as this technology grows (pun intended) so will the versatility of these cellulose skins. Now that’s a rebel jacket I could put on…
“Material growth after 10 days showing formation of mat on surface of liquid - bubble is the result of trapped oxygen produced during fermentation process. Mat removed from growth bath after 2 weeks and placed onto wooden board for drying.”
BioCouture aims to address ecological and sustainability issues around fashion.The BioCouture research project is harnessing nature to propose a radical future fashion vision.We are investigating the use of bacterial-cellulose, grown in a laboratory, to produce clothing.- Fashion Futurist
SHABD: Galactic Tie-Dye is Big. Bang.
Shabd, a Brooklyn based label, features 100% organic cotton, hand dyed tees inspired by celestial and galactic imagery. Tie Dye never looked so good, and it’s definitely back in a big-bang way!
