The Be EcoChic campaign, conceived by a hybrid group of innovative fashion luminaries and environmental leaders, will celebrate its global launch with a star-studded runway show that kicks-off New York Fashion Week.The group fashion show will take place on Thursday, September 4th at the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History and will help redefine the runway in a universe that is going "green."
Leading names in fashion, including Carmen Marc Valvo, Chado Ralph Rucci, Christian Cota, Del Forte, Donna Karan (DKNY), FORM, Red Carter, Vena Cava and many more, are lending their support.
All designs will feature innovative fabrics that are environmentally-sensitive, sustainable, low-impact or recycled. To complement the designs, celebrity makeup artist, Matin, will create a chic eco-inspired "look" for the runway show.
"Being fashionable and environmentally-friendly are no longer mutually exclusive," says Fern Mallis, Be EcoChic Advisory Committee member and Senior Vice President of IMG Fashion.
"With forward-thinking creativity and a new generation of sustainable fabrics, designers have taken 'green' fashion to an entirely new level. Eco-fashion is not a trend but rather a new category we can anticipate seeing a lot more of on the runway."
The designers' eco-inspirations will be modeled by celebrities and/or environmentalist who have joined the cause, including former-Miss USA and model-actress Susie Castillo, environmentalist Jayni Chase, Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin, performer Coltrane Curtis, Gossip Girl's Tamara Feldman, supermodel Patti Hansen, actress Lauren Hutton, Ugly Betty's Mark Indelicato, environmentalist Mary Richardson Kennedy, author Tom Kostigen, Desperate Housewives' Joy Lauren, LipStick Jungle's James Lesure, Red Hot & Green's Carter Oosterhouse, This Might Hurt's Alex Menenses, models (and daughters of Keith Richards) Alexandra & Theodora Richards, High School Musical's Olesya Rulin, environmentalist Laura Turner Seydel, actress Dominique Swain, Law & Order: SVU's Tamara Tunie, supermodel Alek Wek and many others.
"This campaign brings eco-lifestyle mainstream by raising awareness of how making small, meaningful changes can have a positive impact on the environment," says Angela Lindvall, Be EcoChic event host, supermodel and co-star of "AlterEco" airing on Discovery's Planet Green. "To 'be eco chic' not only applies to your wardrobe but also to your state of mind."
Research conducted by ecoAmerica shows that 86% of Americans express concern about the environment, yet only 1% see it as the most important problem facing America. It also shows that Americans view the environmental movement as traditional, dated and out of touch with current society.
The research concluded that the environmental movement would be well-served by creating a "personalized" call to action that demonstrates value in simple, incremental changesin personal behaviors.
