Seeing Green on the Runway

“Fashions fade, style is eternal,” Yves Saint Laurent famously said. Alas, the latter also applies to fashion’s impact on the environment. While the industry generates an estimated $300 billion a year, it has also been criticized for putting undue stress on the planet’s resources.

Vancouver’s Eco Fashion Week (EFW) aims to help steer the industry away from “waste couture” and towards more sustainable wear. Back for a third season, the event will put the spotlight on environmentally friendly designers and practices from Oct. 5 to 7.

The EFW takes place this year at the former Storyeum space at 142 Water St. in Gastown. Alongside runway shows featuring 21 local and international designers, the schedule includes panels and seminars on such topics as managing your business’s carbon footprint and ways to reuse in fashion.

Attendees will also have the chance to peruse some of the eco-friendly items for purchase. New this year is The Window, an eco-boutique showcasing some of the hottest fall/winter 2011 items from designers like retro-hip Gypsy Market Vintage, womenswear designer Nicole Bridger and Brooklyn-based rising star Titania Inglis. Shoppers will also get a preview of spring/summer 2012 looks.

As usual, the catwalk will be hopping. The opening runway show on Oct. 6 is all about chic swimwear, with Daub & Design, Curlee Bikini and Anna Kosturova on the bill, while the grand finale show features Tennessee-based eco-designer Jeff Garner and his line Prophetik.

For more information and tickets, visit ecofashion-week.com

— Eva Lam