Fashion Career in Portland
An annual fashion show in environmentally friendly Portland, OR, aims to save the planet.
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Fashion Career in Portland
Sustainable Portland Fashion Design Makes Waves
by Amelia Gray
Portland's residents probably weren't surprised when the city was declared the Most Sustainable City in the U.S. in 2006. Even on the fashion runway, Portland thinks green.
The fashion showcase is called "Locally Grown," a reference both to its local artists and the show's commitment to a sustainable planet. "Sustainable" fashion works on all levels of fashion design, from fair trade rules to ethical labor practices to sustainable textiles.
A Former Student's Green Thumb
Portland native Anna Cohen headlined the 2006 "Locally Grown" showcase. After graduating from a fashion design school, Anna went to work at Adidas and eventually began her own label. The Anna Cohen label combines the feeling of her beloved Italy with sustainable design essentials regarding shipping and material choice.
Anna Cohen's mission as a fashion designer is to move beyond the changing styles. Her mission statement expresses her objective: "To be on the forefront of moving both fashion design and the global fashion industry toward more sustainable practices that support environmental and social justice through creating cutting edge fashion apparel using globally responsible business practices."
Leather Goes Sustainable
Meanwhile, sustainable design at Locally Grown 2006 took a turn for the elegant with a line of sustainable leather handbags. Design house Entermodal creates stylish leather bags using techniques and materials designed to leave the smallest possible footprint on the environment. Entermodal's leather is vegetable-tanned, using dyes without heavy metal. The bags are bolted together instead of sewed, and aluminum components complete the recyclable nature of the fashionable accessories.
The result is beautiful bags with clean, urban lines in rich, solid colors. The idea of sustainable design is summed up well in Entermodal's fashion philosophy, which emphasizes that "design can be a force for positive and meaningful change." For fashion designers in earth-friendly Portland, sustainability is a vital concept.
Fashion Design and the Future
How can you be part of sustainable fashion? Students of fashion marketing can educate themselves in local or fair-trade markets, while merchandising students can benefit from finding clients looking for a sustainable market.
No matter where students of Portland's fashion design schools end up working, concepts like sustainable fashion should follow.
Source
The Portland Mercury
About the Author
Amelia Gray is a teacher and freelance writer in San Marcos, TX. Amelia earned a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature from Arizona State University.
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