In my article London Fashion Week: Doubly Green, I featured four menswear designers that exhibited at estethica—the green initiative of London Fashion Week, which requires participants to adhere to the three guiding principles of organic, fair trade, and/or recycled.



After posting the article, I had the extraordinary privilege to interview Isobel Davies of Izzy Lane, a voice crying out in the wilderness for the sanctity of animals that can only baa or bleat. When I spoke by… Continue

Several weeks ago I posted an article entitled, London Fashion Week: Doubly Green, in which I presented several eco-brands that debuted at estethica—London Fashion Week's green initiative.



One of the companies featured was Veja, a Paris-based company that designs comfortable shoe wear inspired by 1970's Brazilian volleyball styles and produced by coops in the remote Amazon. Intrigued by Veja's three pillars of ethics, I requested an exclusive interview, to which the company responded… Continue

After having written my first article on Under Castle, Japan: Much Closer than Mars, I received an email from designer Shinichiro Shimojo, stating:



"I have read your article about my 'Cross Wear' and was glad that you understood my concepts deeply. I enjoyed reading it very much, indeed! I will introduce another 'Cross Wear' for my 2009 a/w collection in Tokyo for the week of March 23rd."



Shimojo and I have been in corresponding ever since! Shimojo is not only an… Continue

After posting my 2-part interview with sustainable designer and artist John Patrick, I received an email from his Dutch friend, Anco Sneep, director of Rubia Pigmenta Naturalia, which produces a natural red dye that dates back to over two millenia:



"A world without colour is barely conceivable for us. Nature provides for colour all around and anything we create, we create in colour. And–we’ve been doing so for thousands of years. Primeval human beings already used colours to outline… Continue

John Patrick is actually a man of many hats!



His first was a beanie of macrobiotic foods when he grew up in the counter-culture revolution of the 60's. But he soon exchanged that one for the cap of communal living in the 1970’s.



With no formal training or experience, John Patrick launched his career in 1982, literally from the top down, by making head wear out of vintage finds. He sported the chapeau of women's fashion designer for the next 20 years.



In 2002,… Continue

What are your thoughts on sustainability and menswear; for example, are green trends making inroads?



"You raise valid questions regarding green and sustainability, but my contention is that menswear is inherently sustainable. Think about it compared to women’s wear, which is pretty much disposable clothing. What a woman wears one season, you will not see the next (of course, this is a generalization but one that holds truth). Whereas menswear, you invest in pieces—a suit, sport coat,… Continue

Intrigued with John Patrick's pioneering work in the green apparel movement, I sent him an email with several questions. John responded immediately:



"First and foremost, the organic dialogue is what I set about to discuss when I first started doing the organic collection in 2003. Not many people were talking about this in that moment, and there was very small selection—almost nothing.



In each collection I use organic cotton and, in winter, organic wool. I also started to… Continue