The Supermodel and Me

I'm very lucky in my job. It can be challenging, exhilarating, frustrating -- but it's never dull, and the reason for going to work in the morning is all around me. But it's rarely belly-laugh amusing. Last Thursday was an exception, as I co-hosted "Be EcoChic," a glitzy fashion show being held as part of New York Fashion Week. My cohost, supermodel Angela Lindvall, was dramatically more glamorous (and taller) than I am, but the cause, trying to make sustainability and environmental sensitive design glamorous and cool, was important. The venue, the Museum of Natural History's marine mammal display, was very cool; we had a huge crowd, and a stunning number of cameras and media. I was quite agog the whole time.

But my opening line was utterly authentic: "Angela," I said, "this was a sacrifice. I never knew that going EcoChic meant shopping." (Truly how I feel about retail therapy!) But I must concede that the shirt I was wearing, made of seaweed fabric, was probably the most comfortable I've ever worn, and the whole scene had a genuine passion for walking the walk that was commendable. Angela made it clear to the organizers that she was not OK with having us go onstage with a throwaway shopping bag -- so we found a reusable bag made from recycled plastic in the museum's gift shop.

No, I didn't become a fashion maven. And couture is not one of the quantitatively huge stresses on the biosphere. But if we are going to transform our culture, we'll need to transform all of it -- even realms that are not really my personal cup of tea.

Follow Carl Pope on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CarlPope

Comments

[RemyC]

Pictures? Go to www.rockthereactors.com

Carl, your last line:
"even realms that are not really my personal cup of tea."
Fashion sets the trends...
What Lola wants, Lola gets! ;o)
Which is what the French have always known.
Which is why France has remained the center of fashion and international politics, and sadly, now threatening to destroy what's left of the planet with a new wave of nuclear commerce. Our only saving grace may be Carla Bruni.

Fashion will save the world, because fashion is the prime mover of society, more powerful than business or politics, because fashion is about emotion... it's what happens when an issue gets so complex, reason alone can't solve the riddle. which is why all movements take on a look, and when it's right on... it catches on... and it changes everything, for the better or the worse, No laws can stand in the way of a fashion revolution... everything just shifts.

You also write:
"couture is not one of the quantitatively huge stresses on the biosphere"
Couture might not be, but clothes sure do!
isn't cotton responsible for 35% of all pesticides used in agriculture? Carl, you should really have a talk with Katharine Hamnett.

The marriage of BeEcoChic and Sierra Club can be an extraodinary one. I welcome the breath of fresh air in an environmental movement that once again needs to capture the imagination, like Dorothy skipping the yellow brick road on her way to the Emerald City.

[Adrienne Williams - Huffpost Blogger]

Great behind-the-scene look at this event. Thanks,

[mamacat]

Interesting subject, but where are the pictures?