The Green Runway: New York Fashion Week Fall 2010

A great synergy seemed to be taking place on The GreenShows' opening night held at 311 E. 11—the first LEED-Gold certified building in the East Village. Gary Harvey presented “fashion with a conscience,”  a collection of dresses inspired by vintage couture made entirely from recycled garments. The shows, produced and created by Eric Dorfman, the founder of EdMedia Inc., give fair evidence of just how far eco-fashion has come.

A sense of fantasy with a dash of humor permeated the collection of dresses inspired by their original incarnations. Whole garments could be identified in certain pieces like a denim dress with denim vests for sleeves and a hem of Levi's back pockets (not entirely inappropriate for a creative director who has previously worked on Levi's advertising). Intact trench jackets composed the full bustle skirt on a collared trench coat dress. A satiny cream gown could well have originated from several generations' worth of weddings.

The pièce de résistance however, was the featherlight, and completely flammable Newspaper Dress, a frothy concoction worthy of its own Heidi Klum–emceed TV show.

The sponsors on hand were also of the sustainable and fair labor variety: Weleda and John Masters skin care products, DEX New York cruelty-free makeup, Cold River Vodka (great straight over ice, I might add), and Sambazon Açai beverages.

GreenShows Eco-Friendly Initiatives

The GreenShows' design team will produce the entire event using 100% environmentally-friendly, energy efficient, sustainable, recycled, recyclable and compostable materials wherever possible. From the runway to the lighting, from the marketing to the invitations, The GreenShows will tirelessly devote itself to working with materials that are of the highest green standards available on the market.

The GreenShows pledges to: locally recycle all materials used in production; locally compost all possible foods, products, and compostable materials; donate all reusable goods to charities and organizations after use; work with local vendors for production to limit the carbon footprint, and use alternative energy sources whenever possible.