Heirloom: Eco-fashion conference in NYC

Green designers and experts will discuss how past traditions can shape the future of sustainable style.

Tue, Nov 24 2009 at 2:58 PM EST

Photo of Deborah Milner for Aveda Ecoture's recycled silk Yawanama Dress by Manual Vason

Are you in the eco-fashion industry — or want to be? Here’s a new chance to rub elbows with eco-fashion movers and shakers while learning and discussing style and sustainability. A 2-day fashion conference dubbed Heirloom: Style, Materials, and Sustainability (PDF) happens Dec. 4 – 5 at the Graduate Center, The City University of New York.

The 11th annual Fashion Conference organized by Initiatives in Art and Culture, Heirloom will address “a central question for this century: how can the traditions of the past help us meet contemporary imperatives?” According to the event press release:

This examination will be inclusive, focusing not only on objects that are traditionally conceived of as heirlooms, such as watches, jewelry and wedding gowns, but also on materials and craft techniques used to create them (gold, pearls, natural fibers and dyes). It opens a discussion linking “heirloom” to sustainability and to stewardship of the earth’s finite and fragile resources.

Well-known fashion figures like designer Nanette Leopore, eco-fashion designer Deborah Lindquist, and Deborah Milner of the Aveda Ecoture collection will be at the event, alongside sustainable jewelry experts, green website and magazine publishers and representatives from eco-nonprofits like The Nature Conservancy.

Registration — which includes a photography exhibit reception for fashion photographer Lillian Bassman on Dec. 3 — costs $350. Full time students with ID can get in for just $100.

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