World Textiles On The Runway And Beyond

Suno S/S 2012 inspiration board via FS magazine and WWD

Please enjoy my recent article, World Textiles on the Runway and Beyond, a special fashion week feature on Goodlifer – includes an overview of HAND/EYE magazine issue 05 as well.

Fashion Weeks Come And Go

Kaelen presentation at NYFW (photo: Jeannine Tan)

As mentioned in my previous post, I did not return to New York City for (sustainable) fashion week at the start of September due to travel to Eastern Bulgaria and the Turkish border. News of fiber and textile expressions showcased during fashion week have already circled 'round the globe and will surely generate sustained dialogue about the role of handcrafting and slow fashion methodologies on the fashion landscape.

Ivana Helsinki print for 'Indian Summer' S/S 2012

Some of my favorite finds from the NYFW shows can be found on my blog, Ecco*Eco, as well as my visual journal, Lost in Fiber.

Poster for Yield with dress by Caroline Priebe of Uluru

Installation view of Yield: Making Fashion Without Making Waste

(photo courtesy of the Textile Arts Center)

When back in the NYC for a visit later this fall, I definitely plan to see the zero-waste fashion exhibit, Yield: Making Fashion Without Making Waste, which opened last Friday with a private viewing at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn. Amy DuFault of EcoSalon did a fantastic review on the timely mission and thoughtful curation of the show.


Another outstanding show which opened during fashion week is Principles of Design: Pratt Fashion Alumni curated by Sarah Scaturro of Fashion Projects and Exhibiting Fashion. Read the review by Jennifer Barckley of Organic Girly on assignment for EcoSalon.


Stay tuned for information on two more art / fashion related exhibitions that I will be reviewing during my time in NYC later this fall.

Plarning A Better Future

image via Virtual Tourist

Despite the temptations to return to New York City for fashion week and other celebrations that officially launch today, I have decided to remain in Eastern Europe and Italy throughout the month of September (and into the fall) as I initiate new art projects and do a bit travel.

Historic building in Malko Turnovo, Bulgaria

A handcraft collaboration that I am particularly excited about is my small-scale project with local Tsigani ("Roma") women in Eastern Bulgaria who are recycling and twining plastic shopping bags into "plarn". This very simple and resourceful technique of turning discarded plastic into skeins of fiber is a great way for a non-biodegradable material to stay out of the region's pristine landscapes and village streets while also providing income for women who are currently unemployed in this region of Bulgaria. 

I have commissioned my first delivery of plarn by the meter, and I will drive to the rural corner of Southeast corner of Bulgaria tomorrow evening to pick it up and stay for the weekend. This material will be used in new fiber forms that I am creating for exhibitions during 2012. While others are celebrating Fashion's Night Out in cities all over the globe on September 8th, I will be staring up at the night sky in Malko Turnovo dreaming of 'plarning a better future' for  talented women and artisans everywhere.


Stay tuned for more photos and updates on this new collaborative project.

Lost in Fiber: The Backstory

Studio Specimen No. 6 (Abigail Doan)

I cannot believe that today is Labor Day. My summer in Sofia has been phenomenal, but it has also passed so quickly. I love the slower pace of life here and the view of Mount Vitosha from my terrace – it makes for the perfect counterpoint to NYC and its dynamism.

Journal via Dirty Cheap Deeds

I have an assortment of new projects underway for the remainder of 2011/start of 2012, one of which is my new visual journal, Lost in Fiber. Many of the images were included in last Spring's talk, Fashioning Self and the Environment, at FIT in NYC. Whether as an art, fashion, fiber, textile, or environmental window – all are meant to build bridges between freer personal expression and ecological awareness. I am doing a lot of research these days on land art as a richer context for highlighting sustainable fashion ideas. You might recognize images from historic land art projects from the American West as well as remote landscapes globally. This is all part of a residency project that I am planning for Spring 2012.


Wishing you all a beautiful and creative start to Autumn 2011, or the inverse of this, depending upon where you reside or choose to roam.