Ecolution Fashion Gala: Interviews with the Designers
by Natalie Bencivenga & Andrea Stehle
June 1, 2023
Have you snagged your tickets yet for one of the most exciting events of the year? Ecolution, a unique sustainable fashion show featuring creations from local designers made from reclaimed materials, is almost here! To get us energized for the big night happening June 7 at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, we chatted with some of the designers who will be showcasing their Earth-friendly designs.
Pearlann Porter:
Why is sustainable fashion the future and why do designers and design houses need to get onboard? Fast-fashion creates “disposable” clothes, cheaply made, and meant to wind up in a landfill at the end of the season. It feeds into hyper-consumerism and the perpetual need to buy more and more and more.
What inspired you to be a part of Ecolution? I love the idea of creating ‘wearable art’ and creating looks out of things other people might otherwise see as junk.
What is your design process and what inspired this year's piece you will be showcasing? The past two years I have created fashion out of materials that were being thrown away — think old phone books, scratched CDs, and obsolete computer parts. This year, I’m creating a ‘fashion’ with things that are to be considered precious treasures: the bodies of dancers. No anatomy or organic materials, just the artistry of human bodies and I’m ‘choreographing’ the fashion design to be ‘worn’ by my model!
Brian Thompson:
Why is sustainable fashion the future and why do designers and design houses need to get onboard? I think sustainability looks different for everyone. Every choice we make has its consequences. For example, there is a vegan leather substitute on the market that has the look, feel, and strength of real leather. It's made from pine leaves and recycled plastic. It could replace most if not all our leather needs. But when the item made from the substitute has outlived its life and eventually ends up in a landfill, the substitute will never fully decompose unlike its counterpart. Sometimes our best efforts to be more responsible end up hurting us the most. The fashion industry is one of the leading producers of waste. It's an industry founded on excess and over production. Companies and fortunes were made on the ideas of “Fast Fashion” but this is just as much a consumer problem as much as it is a company problem. I believe the real answer is that both companies and consumers need to embrace the idea of buying less and investing in quality.
What inspired you to be a part of Ecolution? It's the meticulous nature of the builds that inspired me to be a part of Ecolution. Working with materials that were not originally intended for clothing brings a unique challenge to the process. It forces your mind to see things and the world from a different angle, that’s why I love this year's theme of “The Unseen World.” I can’t wait to see what small parts of the world the other designers and artists are going to shine some light on.
What is your design process and what inspired this year's piece you will be showcasing? Michelangelo once said ‘The sculpture is already complete within the marble block, before I start my work.It is already there, I just have to chisel away the superfluous material.’ I've always related to this quote. It's how I feel about fabric. When I see a piece of fabric that inspires me, I can almost instantly see what it's going to look like as a finished garment. It's showing me what it wants to be then all I have to do is put it together. The inspiration for my piece this year came from my own reaction to the materials I used. I felt they have outlived their use, and who would want them? They are not cost effective to make or easy to use. Everyone has them but no one uses them. Worthless to almost everyone but if you had enough of them you could be the richest person alive. It's affordable excess and capitalism at its best. Readers can see the finished work after the show on my instagram page at @briandaviddesigns.
Claudia Brownlee:
Why is sustainable fashion the future and why do designers and design houses need to get onboard? With the ramifications of the fashion industry’s pollution, designers and members of the clothing industry know finding sustainable solutions is critical to our well-being and survival. The impact has a lasting negative effect on our environment and our personal health. Designers from all industries who use fabrics and textiles should learn to regulate their production. Fashion has become fleeting compared to hundreds of years ago when people spent time improving their techniques and cherished their clothing. I believe in order to move forward in sustainable production we need to look back and learn how to care for our clothing. Taking the time to explore and improve on techniques that promote a circular environment.
What inspired you to be a part of Ecolution? Much like theater, I see Ecolution as a space to start conversations. If designers are going to prompt and inspire sustainable fashion practices, I feel it is essential to showcase our ideas and image and create together.
What is your design process, and what inspired this year's piece you will showcase? As a costume designer, my design process starts with research. For this piece, I used research from my thesis on sustainable practices to guide my idea. I wanted to create something unconventional but recognizable as something that could be worn every day and something we are surrounded by every day. That something was our Earth and the life cycles that exist in our organisms and plants that are usually overlooked. I wanted to create a biodegradable and recyclable piece to promote a circular economy and art form.
Christine Bethea:
Why is sustainable fashion the future and why do designers and design houses need to get onboard? This isn't just about fashion. It's about the Earth. As we are all part of the ecosystem, and the fashion industry is the third largest polluting entity on the planet, it is paramount that we contribute to sustainability efforts.
What inspired you to be a part of Ecolution? I have long been a fan of eco-fashion. Long before it was really ‘cool,’ and because funds for extras, like fashion, were lacking in my life. Upcycling and recycling were for me, a way of life. That this is more fashionable is affirming.
What is your design process, and what inspired this year's piece you will showcase? I don't tend to overthink when I design. What the item already is plays a large part in what it becomes. Textile samples are perfect for quilt-making; I love a luxurious wrap, and I'm crazy for Latin-American influences. Enough said.
Other designers featured at this year’s Ecolution include:
- Terry Boyd
- Brian David
- Virginia Nicoll-Hernandez
- James Houk
- Darrell Kinsel
- Michael Nolan Kouri
- Mila Muchnok
- Mossy Lane
- Randal Miller
- Bradford Mumpower
- Lana Neumeyer
- Suz Pisano
- Charlotte Reichman
- Rell Rushin
- Brandy Wank
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