farm to fork fashion

I watch a lot of ‘foodie’ shows while I work at home.  There has been a strong push towards the local, organic and slow food movement for a while now.  This is proven by the growing popularity of farmers markets  and local restaurants.  As I watch these shows I have noticed that there are strong similarities to what is beginning to happen in the fashion industry.

farm to fork (eat local) = (shop local) source local

organic food = organic clothing

slow food = slow fashion

nose to tail eating = no-waste pattern-making

As I watch these shows I clearly see the benefits of eating locally sourced, sustainably harvested, organic in-season food.  As a New Yorker it means I would have give up pineapple, mangoes and (yikes!) coffee in order follow this mantra.  But even that makes sense to me.  Why should the food I eat (organic or not) have to travel so far when I can find perfectly great eats right here (sometimes on my fire escape if the summers are kind).  But applying this same logic to fashion is a little harder for me, maybe because I’m much closer to the industry.  Yes, I can find great factories and great sustainable fabrics right here, or at least within the US.  But does that mean I have to give up working with beautiful fabrics from Japan because of their carbon footprint?  And more importantly, should I just be selling locally in order to reduce my own footprint?  If that’s the case – and I can certainly understand how some would see it that way – then I would have to content myself with only selling to those around me.  And that philosophy is counter-intuitive to my desire to put my work out into the world, to showcase it on a grander scale (yes, deep down I’m a chauvinistic designer, just as you may have suspected!).

Or could I have my (organic local bakery made) cake and eat it too?  Maybe I could produce locally in all countries where I sell?  If Japan decides it loves my collection, instead of shipping off a box of clothing, I ship myself and set up a small production run there to meet their needs.  Hmmm… I’m starting to see the problems with this scheme already!  So here’s the major problem: as designers, how do we export our ideas without leaving a huge dirty footprint? SANS may be on the right track. Or maybe there is no right answer and we all have to do what’s right for us individually, as long as we’re all doing our part.

On a personal note, would this also mean I couldn’t, in principle, support some of my favourite foreign designers unless I travel to their cities to purchase their clothing?  Is this how a locavore chef feels when he or she is faced lychee or Alaskan cod?

Sample sales!

I like doing sample sales.

They allow me to meet my customers in person and see their reactions to certain pieces.  They offer me insight into what my customers want, don’t, what fits, what doesn’t.  And they allow me to sell one of a kind pieces that I may not have been able to offer to people otherwise.  Customers get great deals, I make a little money.  All around a good situation.

But I also hate them.

It takes a lot of energy and time to pack up a rack full of clothing, transport it to the location, set it up and make it look presentable.  And then you just have to smile and hope customers will like what you’re selling.  It’s tiring and stressful.  And I do about 6 of them every year!

But last night was a little different.  It was in a fancy place (NY’s Tribeca Grand Hotel) for a good cause (Apex NY) and I was surrounded by talented designers who also happened to be friends, so we had a chance to catch up.  The spirit of shopping for a good deal in NY seems to have returned, at least it did last night.  That’s not to say people were throwing around money, people were being very selective about what they bought.  But they still bought, and that was encouraging.  I’m going to choose to remain naive about this and hope that maybe things are looking up for Spring, and just maybe we’re coming out of the dismal don’t-buy-anything-at-all winter.  Fingers crossed.

Thank you to everyone who brazed the freezing cold NY weather last night. If you missed the sale last night you can still find great deals on Cut Drop.

The little serger that could

This may come as a surprise to a lot of people,  most fashion designers don’t actually sew their own collections, despite what we see on Project Runway. That’s not to say we don’t know how, we all learn basic sewing and pattern-making techniques in school.  But most designers have sample rooms, factories or tailors to sew their samples for them.  That includes me.  I haven’t sewn much since finishing school, despite loving the craft.  And I became very accustomed to sending detailed spec sheets off to factories and having perfectly sewn samples come back to me a few weeks later.  Samples I probably couldn’t have sewn myself.

But there’s something therapeutic about making a finished product with your own hands and putting it out into the world.  Yes, it’s time consuming and tedious and often I’m frustrated by not being able to perfectly execute all finishings, particularly when I know how well it can be done by others.  I’ll admit I’ve been spoiled by working with excellent factories who work quickly and never complain to me when the thread breaks, or the seam isn’t perfect and has to be redone or the pattern doesn’t make sense (that would be my fault, every time).

But due to time constraints, budget constraints and an attempt to get back to my design roots, I have started sewing the samples for my Fall 10 collection.  As slow and laborious a task as it is, I love doing it.  Partly because it provides me with a deepened sense of respect for the people who work tirelessly at the factory, partly because it gives me a greater understanding of my product, and partly because I get to use my trusted overlock machine.

I have had it for over 10 years, since school.  My grandparents bought it for me with their Sears card because I “really, really needed it”.  I was spoiled then too.  Now, everytime I use it I think of them.  It has followed me around the world and has always worked perfectly (thank you Kenmore!).  So I guess a little nostalgia while I work is worth more than the ease of mass production.  Though I may have a different opinion after I’ve finished all 30 samples!

Study for Apex Online

For a limited time only you can buy new Study styles online! A percentage of all online sales will go directly to Apex, so it’s a great cause and a great reason to start shopping again!

And if you’re in New York, please join myself and APEX for the first major shopping event of the season at the Tribeca Grand. This Friday- Jan 29th, from 5-9pm, 11 designers will be selling resort, holiday, and pre-spring collections at great prices, serving a great cause. Treats will be served up by hecs kitchen, music by DJ Heart Beats, drinks and more. This event is a WIN-WIN; you get to shop, drink, be merry, and APEX can continue to fund their work.

Along with the amazing designers showing, we will present selected works from artist Jayson Atienza through out the space, http://jaysonatienza.com/. The event is open to the public; so please invite your friends.

Cutdrop.com will be hosting the sale online, from January 27th-29th, so if you are unable to attend, please visit the online pop up shop.

APEX is a non-profit organization that serves inner city youth providing mentoring, and other after school programming. It is vital to the sucess of the future to support the kids! www.apex-ny.org

Time Out New York Listing:

http://newyork.timeout.com/events/shopping/322813/designer-sale-at-the-tribeca-grand-hotel

Designer Listing:
Home: Kim Seybert
Accessories: Bliss Lau
Ready-to-wear: ULURU, Study by Tara St, James, Doo.Ri, Ideeen, Secta, Risto, Mary Meyer, Meg Cohen, H Fredriksson

I look forward to seeing many of you there!

Ugh! Today was very frustrating. I am trying to cut a cape from some of the deadstock wool I ordered, but instead of making a pattern first and laying it on top of fabric, I marked out the pattern directly on the roll and started cutting. I thought I was being crafty and clever.

I wasn’t.

The pattern itself is pretty simple, which is why I thought I could just mark it out on the fabric and cut, but I kept forgetting to add seam allowances and extra bits for the folds. So I ended up cutting one of the front panels THREE TIMES! What a waste, now I have about 2 yards of half-cut pieces of fabric. Luckily I also need to make a skirt with this fabric and I think I’ll be able to use most of the waste for this skirt, but I still feel very wasteful.

Maybe from now on I should force myself to carry around all the pieces of fabric I waste in my purse, so I learn not to cut impulsively. On a happy note, I’m halfway to finishing a great cape that I’m really excited to show you. My sewing machine broke on Thursday so I’m waiting for a spare part to come in, then I can finish the collection. But right now I’m going to leave the studio, go home with my scraps and try to make a skirt so I’m not carrying around 2 yards of wool tweed in my purse.