Gallery: PROJECT EARTH DAY 2008: EGB E...

Eco-fashion loving New Yorkers came out in droves last Thursday night for the annual Project Earth Day green runway show/fashion design competition. The turnout was even more impressive than last year’s event, and the Teknion showroom was a teeming with Earth Week eco-chatter, the latest in fresh green style, and yummy organic treats and beverages. Slated as an eco take on Project Runway, this year’s designs and creations were impressively innovative as well as gorgeously tailored from the latest sustainable textiles and organic materials. It was totally thrilling to see the student designs light up the runway with the glow of their future-forward ideas as well as some real sustainable saviness already radiating from the next generation of young eco designers. (Gorgeous ‘green LED lighting’ by lighting designer Sarah Jakubasz of Lightswitch also provided that special Earth Day glow!). Read on for some of the night’s highlights as well as PHOTOS from both the designer runway show and the student design competition>>>

VIEW OUR PHOTO GALLERY OF THE EVENT HERE > One of our favorites was Alyson Fox’s slouchy dress from ‘A Small Collection’ – Alyson we love you!

Superstar designers from Rockstararchitecture put together the stunning runway, signage and installation for the whole event.

One of the most exciting aspects of the Project Earth Day Fashion Show is its unique interdisciplinary nature and the state-of-the-art green design collaboration across different industries. This annual NYC sustainable fashion event is put on by the Emerging Green Builders (EGB) NYC chapter within the USGBC (United States Green Building Council). Although it is organized by architects and interior designers, we love that this event always features interesting up-and-coming designers, and can hold its own with any fashion industry event.

Jill Fehrenbacher and the Inhabitat NYC team covered the event and mingled with the crowd throughout the night for a first-hand impression of the state of green fashion in our dynamic metropolis. As quoted from Rockstararchitecture, the designers of the event:

Project Earth Day embodies more than sustainable, chic, eco-fashion. It expresses and exemplifies the inherent connections that exist between all the creative fields. Architecture, Fashion, Product Design, Interior Design, and Graphic Design all share similar facilities in their respective approaches and end-products which, nowadays, are exaggerated by the need for sustainability and the creative and innovative processes involved in being as ‘green” as possible. Our goal was to show this latent connection, bringing it to fruition in the light of “green” design.”

This variety of design influences was stunningly apparent in the gorgeous line-up of eco-luxe and totally wearable fashion designs for the designer runway portion of the evening’s happenings. (I frequently overheard women in the audience saying, “I would totally wear THAT! – and we personally think that is the sign of a successful collection). Alyson Fox’s A Small Collection, Del Forte Denim, Ecoganik, the very sexy bamboo wrap jersey dresses of Lara Miller as well as local ‘organic’ favorites, Loup Charmant’s PURE Collection and Sublet Clothing, were some of the crowd pleasers of the evening.

A curated selection of sustainable style accessories and shoes were also sported on the runway as well as being featured in a showcased exhibit on the floor. HER Design vegan leather bags, Heather Heron luxe-hemp clutches, and Sid-Vintage one-of-a-kind reclaimed jewelry pieces were definite highlights as were the totally collectible hand-painted shoe and tee creations by Species by the Thousands.

All in all, the event was a huge green success and a special thanks should go to the evening’s sponsors, organizer/producer extraordinaire, Molly Garretson, as well as the totally amazing Project Earth Day Runway Stylist, Bahar Shahpar.

Congratulations to the event’s student competition winners as well – coverage of this portion of Project Earth Day will be featured in our upcoming ‘Sustainable Style’ installment! Stay tuned for an in-depth peak at the future of green fashion!

We cannot wait until next year’s Project Earth Day! The designs just keep getting better and greener each year!

Check out photos of some our favorite designs and eco-chic personalities on Inhabitat’s Project Earth Day Fashion Show FLICKR FEED>>>

+ Project Earth Day + Project Earth Day 2007 on Inhabitat + Photos from Project Earth Day 2007