Eco Road – My First Fashion Week Part I

Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

Image: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week

I parachuted into NYC just in time for the beginning of my very first Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Of course, I’ve been focusing on the eco designers. Thus far I have been to three shows: Organics by John Patrick, Rachel Comey, and Kaelen.

The John Patrick collection was a study in grays and blacks with pops of red vegetable dyed leather, cherry blossom pink on silk as well as colorful kaleidoscopic prints also on silk. Cuts were roomy giving one the sense of a life done with comfort in mind. His show was small, almost intimate, punctuated by a few high-powered editors. Most of his collection was made with organic materials or vegetable dyed leather. Yummy. If I were going to buy and wear leather the leather jumper and sleeveless shirt and skirt combo would be my choice.

The Rachel Comey show later in the evening was completely different as it was double the size at a much larger venue. Her entire collection as a whole was stunning. I especially loved the bright persimmon wool coat done 60’s style in a large architectural style. The black sheath dress with plastic spaghetti straps that window-paned halfway down the back also caught my attention and would not let it go. The lighting in her show made it look like the models were coming out of a cloud of white light which was awe-inspiring, but it made it nearly impossible to photograph. See the video on her website to see what I mean.

I love, love, loved the Kaelen show. It was a standing show, which was a dream to experience. You could actually fully take in all 20 pieces like you would at a gallery. Black and white color blocking on silk dresses, add in gray for the wool suits and silk jump suits and you have the bulk of the collection. Then there was an amazing gold metallic sheath dress that draped beautifully down the back that I could barely keep my eyes off of. I was also delighted by a black and white dress with long front and back panels connected by a shorter panel on the sides. Brilliant!

Overall, I’m seeing a lot feminine silk and some 50’s style cocktail dresses and a continuation of the retro structural style from last Fall but with a more muted palette.

Image: Oceana Lott

My personal experience of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is like much of life, complicated. The fashion scene as it manifests in NYC is definitely a youthful realm. It’s targeted to the young and beautiful. Even those who are not seem squished into versions of themselves that allow them to safely inhabit this realm, if only in their own minds. Generally speaking Fashion Week is one long commercial on one level. Like me. Buy me.

On another level it’s art. Indeed I have seen breathtaking creations in contexts that have lifted the story of the collection to a level that tickles thought and fancy. I’ve been really enjoying the thoughtfulness the designers and producers have put into some of these shows to create a deliberate and often idyllic experience.

Once a designer has been relatively well-accepted, then a kind of authenticity takes hold. The newer ones are about getting recognition. They’re out their selling, building a brand. The older established ones are now locked into their once authentic voice that is now weighed down by the business of fashion.

In that in between state is where I found the most aliveness and gratification. In the two days, I’ve been here, I’ve covered the spectrum. As I wait for another round of shows to start, I find my enthusiasm waning. My middle-aged ears don’t really want to hear anymore pounding techno music. But I am open to being inspired like I was at the Organic by John Patrick and Kaelen shows.

I think the independent shows sucked the life out of me. There were five to six hungry emerging designers in both shows and only one or two compelling stories among them. So much life got sucked out of me that I lost the mojo I had to get into shows. By the time I got rejected for Cynthia Rowley I was not surprised though a bit disappointed.

One thing I have discovered is that eco-fashion is nothing if not the promise of a good story, which is precisely that which is has ignited my passionate interest in the genre.

I’m going to try to make the M.Patmos show and then call it a night and dream of the Green Shows tomorrow. I’m betting that will be lovely and inspired.

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Oceana lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with the love of her life and their dear kitty, Jazzy. She enjoys writing about fashion for grown-up women who are not only comfortable with how long they’ve been around, but also care about the Earth. Oceana turned her focus to eco-fashion as a new area of exploration in her life on New Years Day 2012 and shares her journey here each Friday. You can also follow her blog bodyascanvas.tumblr.com.