EDUN - CATWALK REPORT - New York Spring/Summer 2012

By Lorna

EXCITING TIMES!!!!!! New York fashion week is going on as I type and London Fashion Week starts on friday (16th). Most of my friends are frantically cutting patterns, sewing together final outfits, printing lookbooks and sending out invites. One of the New York shows I was most looking forward to was ethical label EDUN. Since Sharon Wauchob took the creative direction reins, this label has had a profound injection of style and craftsmanship. The SS12 show featured a skillful mash-up of iconic florals overprinted with african patterns, mesh sportswear references and a beautiful optomistic pallete of red and blue hues. Edun supports six factories accross Africa where 37 per cent of the women's line is made, the label's ethos being ''Trade not Aid''. I LOVE IT!!

A beautiful boutique

by Naomi

I discovered a great ethical find, whilst in the gorgeous city of York (which is really worth a visit!).

I don't think I would have chanced upon it, had I not got completely lost, but I'm glad I did!

Tucked away down a cobbled side street is......

the One Responsibly Gorgeous Ethical Boutique.

It is bursting at the seams with lovely ethical treats. My heart skipped a beat when I spied a stunning cropped bustier by Deborah Lindquist, made from vintage kimono material. It was delicious.

I couldn't find similar online, but the brand does some pretty cool other bits including this sexy Racquel shredded organic cotton t-shirt at $160.

I was also hankering after the jewellery by Kate Hamilton Hunter and Just Trade, and the clothing by Patchouli Fair.

They also have a website here, if you can't get to York anytime soon!

xx

Some delicious autumn classics

by Naomi

With every new collection my love for Stella McCartney's label grows. Today I am going to show you three reasons for that love:



1 - Stella McCartney Dark Grey Charcoal Front Pleated Dress £575.



2 - Stella McCartney Peplum Long Sleeve Top £310.



3 - Stella McCartney Ipsen Patent Pump £445.


Beautiful eco fashion that can be worn in lots of different ways: Stella McCartney = perfection! I also LOVE the sizzling lace Stella McCartney dress that Rihanna wore here. Wow!

x

Facts: Stella McCartney Autumn classics - find out more about the label's eco policies here.

A holiday must-have Monday treat

by Naomi

So I just got back from an absolutely gorgeous wedding in Sardinia, and wanted to share a little beauty find that has become an essential for holidays...

Being something of a sun-bunny (when I get the chance!) I am always on the look out for good moisturisers to keep my skin peachy on holiday. I do love Body Shop Body Butters - particularly coconut which smells like holidays in a pot! - but sometimes you need something a little lighter as well.

And so on this balmy Monday evening, I bring you Steam Cream!

It is an all-in-one moisturiser that smells yummy, due to the fact that it is made from natural, vegan ingredients like lavender oil, orange flower water, almond oil, rose oil. It is very concentrated - a little goes a long way - but absorbs quickly. It can be used on hands, face and body, and comes in handy 75g reusable tins - which means no more trying to cram loads of different products into your hand luggage allowance!

Oh and did I mention the tins look like this?!

There are also some pretty sexy designer tins by the likes of PPQ and it will only set you back £10 a pot (at time of posting there are some even cheaper on ASOS!).

Stockists include Boots, ASOS, John Lewis, Fenwicks, Selfridges and Oliver Bonas - alternatively a full list of stockists can be found here.

P.S. If you are going abroad on your hols, don't forget there are things you can do to make it a more environmentally-friendly adventure such as offsetting your carbon if you are going somewhere that requires flying.

Have a great week!

x

Facts: Steam Cream: vegan and natural, versatile moisturiser. Designer reusable tins, essential oils.

A fashion-fabulous health conscious Monday treat!

by Naomi

Wow - what beautiful sunshine this weekend brought us Brits! Everyone was out enjoying the heat and delving back into their summer wardrobes for the first time.

The sunshine always inspires me to try and get fit (try being the operative word!) and be a bit healthier in my lifestyle, so it's quite timely that this week's Monday post is about two new collections supporting some important health campaigns.

H&M's soon-to-launch Fashion Against Aids 2011 collection will be hitting shops on April 26, and is all about the androgynous street style mixed with casual essentials. 

Lots of celebs are supporting the campaign, including Keri Hilson, Selma Blair, Penn Badgley, Akon, Ginnifer Goodwin and the Scissor Sisters, and 25% of the sales are being donated to the charity Designers Against AIDS (DAA) and various other international HIV/AIDS prevention projects.


Ginnifer Goodwin (T-shirt £19.99)

 

Keri Hilson (Jumpsuit - £29.99)

Some of the pieces certainly aren't for the faint of fashion-heart, but that's kind of the way we like it here at Eco Goddess! The great thing about the collection is that it incorporates designs for those that want to wear their heart on their sleeve, and stylish essentials for those that just want fashion that gives to a good cause!

So you can say it loud and proud...

Vest - £6.99

 Or just have a warm glow in your heart knowing you have made a difference and got a lovely item of clothing at the same time...


Trench Coat - £34.99


There are plenty of pieces for the boyshapes and girlshapes as each design has been interpreted into menswear and womenswear.


Penn Badgley (Hooded Jacket £24.99, Scarf £6.99)


The new limited edition Tommy Hilfiger bag, supporting Breast Health International, has also just been launched, with Renée Zellweger as the face of this year's campaign. Made from vegetable-tanned leather, with a soft suede finish, it is the perfect everday bag, and €100 from each sale will be donated to the Fund for Living, supporting those affected by breast cancer.


Plenty of food for thought! -x-

Facts: Fashion - health campaigns; Fashion Against Aids and H&M - available from April 26; Tommy Hilfiger and Breast Health International, limited-edition handbag made from vegetable-tanned leather.

London Fashion Week! Vivienne Westwood sees RED...

By Lorna

If you ask any fashion student/designer (myself included) which designers they are most inspired by and Vivienne Westwood is sure to come pretty high up the list. An extravaganza of colour, volume and textural experimentation is evident but behind the showmanship of the collections lie Westwood's anarchistic punk roots.

Even now, with international acclaim, Westwood uses her skills and notoriety to continually highlight and protest ethical issues. For A/W 2008 a model walked with a placard protesting for the rights of Guantánamo Bay prisoners and Westwood took her bow in a blouse covered in protest badges. Also in the collection was a famous pair of orange pants (reminiscent of the fluorescent orange jumpsuits worn by detainees at the U.S. prison camp) with the slogan 'FAIR TRIAL - MY ARSE' 

For SS/11 Westwood worked with the International Trade Centre's Ethical Fashion Program of the United Nations to make oversized recycled eco tote bags. Handmade in Nairobi, these bags are made from recycled materials by marginalized communities of women. The Ethical Fashion Program supports the work of over 7000 women who live in conditions of extreme poverty but who have a strong desire to improve their lives.

Also for S/S11 Westwood has designed a stunning heart necklace for the charity Reprieve - who use the law to enforce the human rights of prisoners, from death row to Guantanamo Bay, they provide frontline investigation and legal representation to prisoners held outside the rule of law around the world. 

This week at London Fashion Week is no exception; Westwood has teamed up with Red Nose Day to design a range of 100 per cent Fairtrade organic cotton charity t-shirts to raise money. The t-shirts feature classic prints with bright red noses and are now available at TK Maxx from £9.99. Whilst not all her garments are organic/fairtrade, Westwood is certainly a fiesty woman who stands up for what she believes in and ensures her collections do the same. Bravo Dame Viv!!

Facts: Vivienne Westwood is a legend! 2011 Westwood Red nose organic cotton T-shirts £9.99
Learn more about International Trade Centre's Ethical Fashion Program here
Buy a Westwood Red Nose Tee here 
Buy a Westwood Eco tote or Reprieve necklace here

Eco Party Dresses: Prepare to drop jaws in Dazzling Dior!!

By Lorna

A couple of weeks ago I set myself the challenge of finding lots of perfect Christmas party dresses. My intention was to provide you with a multitude of stunning cocktail dresses (all ethically made of course) which you could rock with glowing pride for your work Christmas party’s. I’ll be honest... its not been an easy task. Whilst everyday chic looks are something the ethical fashion pack are great at, proper party dresses seem to get a bit overlooked. Perhaps this is because as we strive to be more ethical in our lives, the idea of buying an expensive dress to wear once and then have it relegated to the back of the wardrobe does seem a tad at odds.

This is why I am super excited to tell you about my first find! It’s an AMAZING resource for eco fashion savvy girls wanting a taste of iconic fashion history. Lucy in Disguise established this summer by Lilly Allen and her sister is a beautiful store, which claims to have  ‘more drop dead gorgeous gowns than you could shake a feather bower at!’  We at EcoGoddess likee!

Lilly and her sister, Sarah Owen share a love of fashion, sourcing and hording vintage finds and have put their talents to excellent use! In Lucy In Disguise you can find everything from whichever decade you choose! Beaded flapped dressed from the 20s, 30s evening gowns, 40’s tea dressed, 50s prom dressed, Ossie Clark and Biba from the 60’s and 70’s, sequins and sparkle from the 70’s and 80’s... this really is a vintage wardrobe from heaven!

Their aim is to make vintage style attainable and to bring the highest quality pieces of iconic fashion history direct to the customer for their special night out. In hiring a piece of fashion history everyone can afford to look a million dollars!!!

There is also a lovely video of girls getting ready for a night out (which we all know is half the fun!) on the website, watch it by clicking here.

Calling all EcoGoddess’s -please email us pictures of your best Vintage looks at ecogoddess@live.co.uk

FACTS: Vintage, Hire, Lilly Allen, Christmas Party, Dresses, Biba, Ossie Clark, Yves Saint Laurent, All Photos by Rankin.

Best of the Boots...

By Lorna

Yes Ecogoddesses, it's that time of year when even if the sky looks okay in the morning by the time you come to leave the office/Uni/day job in the evening the tide could have turned and you could be wading through puddled streets with squelching socks! Depressing, eh!? well... it would be if you hadn't invested in the most BEAUTIFUL WINTER BOOTS you had ever seen! Think about it, even if you are sloshing through what feels like pavement tidal waves, just looking down at your new boots make you smile!! : ) This is the way I felt about a pair of boots I bought last year from eco shoe masters WHERE. I have worn them endlessly... so much so that I am now anchoring for a new pair of on trend weather proof boots so I can alternate. This desire resulted in me scouring the internet to share with you my top finds for the best winter boots!


Stopping the rain at no 1: BOURGEOIS BOHEME - VEGAN BLACK PATENT KNEE HIGH BUCKLE BOOT £120

Putting a spring in your beautifully veg tanned leather clad step at no 2: Its the LANA boot from TERRA PLANA (with brand new non-toxic biodegradable gel pad for superior comfort!) AT £220

Stepping up the style ranks at no 3: NEU AURA- SUNBIRD OVER THE KNEE BLACK VEGAN BOOTS at £222.00

Availability: In stock.

PLEASE SPECIFY THE FOLLOWING DETAILS :

Keeping toes toasty at no 4: NEU AURA -BLACK VEGAN RIDING BOOTS at £156

Sustainable wooden soles at no 5: SANITA - AYA CONE ANKLE BOOT at £149

Winner of the style stakes at no 6 (not as practical!!): NINA DALCETTI- BEV 

Click on the description below for a link to the shoe of your wintery dreams....

BOURGEOIS BOHEME- VEGAN BLACK PATENT KNEE HIGH BUCKLE BOOT at £120
TERRA PLANA- LANA BOOT AT £220 

NEU AURA- SUNBIRD OVER THE KNEE BLACK VEGAN BOOTS AT £222.00
NEU AURA - BLACK VEGAN RIDING BOOTS at £156
SANITA - AYA CONE ANKLE BOOT at £149
NINA DALCETTI - BEV 


Facts: Winter boots, Ethical, Vegan, Puddle Proof, Veg tanned leather, sustainable soles, toxic free biodegradable gel inserts, Bourgeois boheme, Terra Plana, Neu Aura, Sanita, Nina Dalcetti

She Died Of Beauty.

By Lorna

At Eco Goddess, we love it when we see famous models using their positions on global beauty pedestals to promote chic ethical fashion. Erin O’Connor has always been a model that supports smaller brands and issues she believes in but she has now taken it one step further... London Fashion Week 2010 saw the launch of a new brand designed by Erin and her long-standing friend, stylist Kate Halfpenny – She Died Of Beauty.

The range is a simple and concise collection of monochrome organic cotton typographic t-shirts and bags which play on the brand’s name. The inspiration behind the collection comes from the desire to make “a teasing yet affectionate tickle_ at the fashion industry we continue to love, honor and serve”.

The signature style of She Died Of Beauty is witty, purposeful and un-apologetic – in their own words,

“the very visual nature of fashion is to manipulate and exaggerate almost everything. We loved the idea of twisting a polite sentiment into a naughty yet, frivolously funny statement that we hope will appeal to all.”

The core brand philosophy is based upon ethically and organically sourced materials important to both Erin & Kate. All products are manufactured solely using sustainable energy generated from wind and solar power. “after all, there’s no reason why style and conscience can’t co-exist!”, say the design duo. Amen to that girls!!

From £20 per bag and £40 per t-shirt, you can check out all the styles here.

Facts: She Died Of Beauty, Erin O’Connor, Kate Halfpenny, Organic Cotton, T-shirt & Bags, LFW 2010.