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 …
This week’s green-and-glam idea starting with “P” is dedicated to the pioneers of sustainable fashion. Well before “eco-“, “ethical” and “conscious” fashion became du jour, they were blazing the trail, pushing the boundaries and teaching us some important lessons on how to bring desirable and sustainable together. For this article, I profile three such pioneers, … Continue reading
With this week’s letter being “O”, it is hard to avoid talking about all things organic. Since a lot has already been written on this topic, I have chosen to look at the kind of lessons the beauty & fashion industry can learn from the organic food movement, at the same time separating facts from … Continue reading
My maiden post The Green Stilettos Have Landed asked the big question in the quest for harmony between fashion and sustainability: are the industry and consumers ready for it? After this week, I am slightly more inclined to answer affirmatively. Hence the theme for this week’s blog post dedicated to letter “N”: something NEW. There is … Continue reading
It is Mothers’ Day in the UK, which makes for a perfect occasion to celebrate motherhood, green-and-glam style. Many women first turn to eco-fashion when they become pregnant. Naturally, we all want the best for our baby, so we opt for organic food, avoid pollution, and so on. Eco-fashion is all about wholesomeness and earthliness … Continue reading
The latest announcement by Gucci teaming up with Livia Firth to create the first-ever fully traceable luxury bag, and a host of celebrities including Stella McCartney and Leonardo DiCaprio campaigning on wildlife trade this week sent my PR brain into overdrive about other possible match-made-in-heaven celebrity+good cause ideas that (could) put glam into green. Here they … Continue reading
After the mega-post last week, I am taking a break from my alphabet challenge this week in order to report – as promised some time ago – on the latest developments in greening the red carpet. Of course, it was the 85th edition of the Academy Awards, better known as “The Oscars”, last weekend and, … Continue reading
Ok, we’ve finished the hors-d’oeuvres and the entrée, and we’re sinking our teeth into the main course! When I started this blog on green-to-glam ideas from A to Z, I never thought I would get beyond A, B and C. But here we are, half-way through the alphabet and onto letter “L”, which deals with … Continue reading
It is Valentine’s Day and chances are that somewhere tonight some lover would pop the question – and back up the proposal by a little something that sparkles. If you live in the United States, that little something has four out of five chances of being a diamond, largely thanks to the timeless and ingenius … Continue reading
Ubiquitous. Essential. Versatile. Iconic. There are so many ways to describe jeans, which went from humble beginnings as workers’ clothes to present day’s runway fixture and wardrobe staple. It is for this reason that jeans find themselves as the subject of my green-to-glam idea starting with “J”. Legendary designer Yves Saint Laurent, for one, held … Continue reading
“Nature is our most important designer,” said Tiffany &Co.’s Chairman and CEO Michael J. Kowalski announcing the company’s commitment to the environment last November. I am sure many other fashion and luxury CEOs could sign up to this statement. Since its dawn, the fashion industry has drawn inspiration from nature. Think, for instance, about the … Continue reading
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