Every season of project runway (and I’ve watched them all twice) has challenges where they deal with uncommon fabrics. One of my favorite season three challenges was when they took the contestants to a recycling center and had them compose outfits from the "waste" materials they found there. That brought a win to the fabulous Michael Knight and a pass-over-but-should-have-won to the genius and overall winner of the season Jeffrey Sebelia. Michael created a lovely ensemble from peanut sacks with a wrap made of plastic bag. Jeffrey created an incredible dress out of paper, but, in my opinion did not win because he used so much paint to create the final product (including the cutest tromp l'oeil belt), while Michael used the products as-is.  

This season, project runway made the leap from recycled materials to "green fabrics." Interestingly enough, I didn't know they were going to do this when I blogged last week about sustainable fabrics. Guess I must have the finger on the pulse…


The episode was a bit of a disappointment, mostly because the designers complained about the fabrics the entire time, didn't even call them by their proper name and in the end created some butt-ugly garments, giving the impression that green fabrics are hopeless and frustrating. I for one wish they had saved this challenge until they had weeded out some of the less-than-top-notch designers among the bunch.

But I’m thrilled they included it. It shows that green design is really garnering a place not only in the design world, but among Hollywood folks, who are all big fans of the show. It was also a relief to see that it illuminated some of the key challenges faced by eco-designers.

The challenge allowed the models to shop for the designers, and the garment at hand was to be a cocktail dress for a young hip woman (the model herself). It was great to have the models shop based on what they liked-- as the consumer is such a key part of the design process. On arriving at Mood Fabrics in LA, the models discovered what all eco-designers do-- a bunch of jersey knits, obnoxiously bright colors, and three colors of hemp-silk (a natural beige-y shade, black and a copper). Several models chose the hemp silk (shiny!) and returned with the same fabrics for their designers.

I happen to have some of that copper hemp-silk hanging in my studio in consideration for my fall designs. I've decided not to use it, not because of the problems it posed on the show, but because I’ve been told by the supplier that it is in limited quantity, and it's also quite expensive. This too was an issue for the Project Runway challenge as many models arrived with only 2 yards of the fabric, and thus several very short dresses were created. The fact that I actually have a sample of the fabric that they used on Project Runway for a challenge shows me how limited the supply of sustainable fabrics are.

***spoiler alert*** if you haven't seen the episode, watch it on YouTube,
because I’m about to tell you who won.

In the end, one designer emerged way beyond the rest. Suede, who oddly talks about himself in third person, did a beautiful design that tickled the pants off guest judge Natalie Portman, who looked like she was ready to peal the thing off the model and take it home. This design, by the way, will be sold on BlueFly.com, and if the work entailed is any indication, it's not going to be cheap. Suede won because he wasn't at all intimidated by the fabrics. He mixed the light hemp-silk with a red jersey knit, and didn't exclude the jersey as "non-high end" as other designers did. He finished with a toile (which I question the sustainability of), and created a cute little number that even Heidi Klum would wear (if she were ten years younger, she claimed). His model, who had shopped solely on her taste, was thrilled with the product. The designers who argued and fussed with the hemp-silk, which even Michael Kors called "satin," were foiled not by the fabric but by their own lack of courage and imagination.

This is exactly the challenge facing sustainable design.  There's tons of jersey fabric, much of it in ugly colors. In current design jersey is often limited to causal clothing (as one PR designer put it "this is t-shirt")  and frequently sewn overseas. Designers and production houses alike have become as spoiled on petrol as have American drivers. Several sewing houses I interviewed to sew my garments complained about the jersey and the organic factor, blaming their sewing mistakes on "this fabric...this fabric." Two refused to handle jersey at all and one sated "no one sews jersey anymore except in Asia." However when you move into wovens the selection becomes even more limited, in style and supply.

This is also why sustainable designers are some of the most creative types around. Working with limited resources is what every Project Runway challenge is about and those of us in sustainable fashion do that every day that we sit down to create a new garment for our collections. It's an incredible and fulfilling challenge but not for those short on ideas, patience, or courage. As Matisse once said "creativity takes courage" and that is what Suede showed in his incredible creation in this episode. He also did it all without panic or complaint.

I'm excited that this episode aired, though I wish they had done more to explain and showcase the fabrics, and that they had highlighted some of the really good designs that came out of the challenge-- as there were several that were innovative, chic and highly wearable. I hope that this helps textile designers see that the demand for eco-friendly fibers is high and that the selection increases as a result of this fantastic exposure.

I also hope that Project Runway continues to examine eco-friendly design in their line-up of challenges. I'd love to help them do a "scrapology challenge" where they are required to make a new garment out of all the scraps that they didn't use from the previous several challenges. It would be a great way to show that re-using and conserving are as much a part of eco fashion as are hemp, soy and bamboo.