All eyes during the past week were on the much anticipated Fall 2008 fashion shows here in New York City, but we also wanted to draw attention to what has been happening with one of our favorite cutting-edge designers, Danish label NOIR at Copenhagen Fashion Week. We previously covered NOIR’s Spring 2008 collection and were impressed by their innovative use of eco-friendly fabrics such as organic and African cottons, silks and oeko-tex certified fabrics, though their use of leather surely keeps them from being a fashion-fave amongst vegans. That said, we are really excited by their Illuminati II initiative, which is sure to raise continued awareness of the campaign to bring organic and Fair Trade cotton fabrics to designers and the market. NOIR‘s recent Fall 2008 Collection presentation was definitely a rockin’ show with a rockin’ agenda.
You may have spied photos in the fashion blogosphere of Shalom Harlow looking sleek, seductive, and totally reborn in the NOIR Transparency collection, but we think that it is equally sexy that NOIR lists affiliations like the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN’s Global Impact Principles, ILO Conventions, and ICC’s Business Charter for Sustainable Development on their website’s home page. This is all in line with NOIR‘s “code of conduct” principles by which founder Peter Ingwersen aims to design and manufacture. The newly launched Illuminati II initiative is a luxurious fabric brand that will supply the highest quality organic cotton fabrics to NOIR and other luxury brands under the umbrella of Global Compact principles and ILO whilst ensuring sustainability of The Humane Business Model from the heart of Africa.
Whether or not NOIR‘s design aesthetic appeals to you, you have to give them credit for taking a stand on how business should get done, and how people everywhere might also feel good about the future of fashion and fabric production and sourcing for the industry.
NOIR – ” In Darkness All Colours Agree”
+ Noir – Illuminati II
+ Noir – Illuminati II Fall 2008 Collection at Copenhagen Fashion Week
+ Inhabitat’s coverage of NOIR’s Spring 2008 Collection
Photographs: Sacha Maric
Unlike Yoli, I personnally love the clothes.
I am all for the environment and I give Kudos to organic fashion. These presented here are just plain ugly. I hope talented designers can designing organic so it can take off.