Happy New Year! If you have been following the various word-of-the-year shortlists and design trends, you may have noticed that the Danish hygge has recently been dethroned by a new Scandinavian it-word – the Swedish lagom. Lagom is translated loosely into English as the Goldilocks principle of ‘not too little, not too much, just right’. While …
Scarves are among the most versatile gifts, suitable for anyone from a hard-working assistant to a hard-to-please mother-in-law. And what could be better than a scarf in which every stitch has a positive story to tell? Recently I have come across three brands, all founded by women with a connection to Switzerland, which offer chic …
Last weekend I was among the lucky visitors to the brand-new Louvre Abu Dhabi — a futuristic museum designed by French architect Jean Nouvel and the hottest new arrival on the global art scene. The museum’s concept is to show humanity in a new light, highlighting the commonalities across civilizations, cultures and religions. The crowd shuffling …
Recently a budding designer asked me about sustainable and luxurious packaging options, and it made me think about this important yet often overlooked part of the product offering. Packaging is an $11 billion elephant in the room, according to the Sustainable Packaging Association, and it is essential to communicating the brand’s sustainability commitment. Although brown …
When I first got into slow fashion six years ago, I noticed a huge gap in the market for sustainable and stylish business wear. There was a dearth of great looking, ethical clothes that fit into our increasingly busy lifestyles: ones that require no ironing, are machine washable and easily transportable in one’s hand luggage. …
Giving a talk at TEDxGeneva 2017 titled “Slow Fashion – Food for Thought?” was a dream come true! The experience was both nerve-racking and magical, and I am still under the event’s spell. It was a pleasure to work with the very talented and committed TEDxGeneva team and to bond with fellow speakers, each of whom had …
If, like many, you are left feeling disheartened by the recent decision of President Trump to pull the United States out of the Paris climate agreement, you might be also feeling powerless about what each of us can do about climate change. And yet surprisingly, your wardrobe might be a good place to start. Did …
Today is World Environment Day declared by the United Nations and Mongolia is its global host. The country may not be on everyone’s radar – nor does it usually make onto major fashion destinations lists – but hosting global environmental celebrations offers a great opportunity to learn more about the land of legendary Genghis Khan. … Continue reading
Let’s face it: fashion is among the most ageist industries on the planet. We are used to seeing models in their early teens gracing the catwalk, designers in their twenties taking on major fashion brands, and those in their thirties being referred to as veterans of the industry. When I started this blog at the … Continue reading
This week’s letter in the green-to-glam ideas challenge is ‘X’, and it is a special one indeed. First, because in the English alphabet ‘X’ has the least number of words beginning with it. Second, because it is the first letter of my first name: Xenya. A little while ago, I was extremely flattered to be recognized with … Continue reading
From wool and leather to perfumes and fine foods, wildlife is a major source of raw materials for the luxury industry. However, the very sustainability of this value chain ultimately depends on the survival of animals and plants in the wild. With one in four mammals and nearly one in five reptiles now threatened with … Continue reading
I have this very green-and-glam friend who has Italian style in spades with some French je ne sais quoi thrown in. As I was drooling over her zebra print bag one day, she nonchalantly said: “Oh, I have plenty more like these that my grandmother had left me”. Needless to say, I was intrigued. And … Continue reading
Let me tell you a secret: recycling is so last season. The new big trend in sustainable fashion is “upcycling”, which finds itself as the green-to-glam idea starting with the letter U. Upcycling means not just reusing something, but actually making it better by adding value. In other words, it is worth more in its … Continue reading
This week’s letter is T, and we are talking sustainable textiles! The subject is both timely and serendipitous, as I have just written my first piece for the Ethical Fashion Forum’s SOURCE Intelligence Magazine on this very topic! Titled ‘The Fab Five: Fabrics That Help You Cut Your Environmental Footprint‘, it is an interview with … Continue reading
OK, we are down to letter S in the green-to-glam ideas from A to Z challenge, and this week’s article is dedicated to style, as opposed to fashion. By its very essence, fashion is transitory, while style is timeless. Have you ever heard of anyone or anything being “out of style”? This is why choosing … Continue reading
It’s no big secret that Russian girls love fashion. In particular über-brands, sky-high heels and lots of makeup. Whenever I go back to Moscow, where I was born, I always feel slightly underdressed compared to the city girls. But is there room for sustainability in Russia’s growing appetite for fashion? This is the subject of … Continue reading
The key in the quest for green-and-glam fashion is to choose quality over quantity. This is the underpinning of the “slow fashion” concept, as opposed to the throw-away “fast fashion” mindset. That’s why the “quality vs. quantity” dilemma finds itself as the topic of this week’s article dealing with the letter “Q”. In Marie Curie-like fashion, … Continue reading
green stilettos 