Environmentally friendly fashion is the reason local businesses Time Warp Boutique and Noelie Harmon are traveling to the Big Easy on Saturday as participants in New Orleans Fashion Week’s Eco Fashion Day.
Clothing from the boutiques will be featured in a fashion show at 1 p.m. in Washington Artillery Park, next to Café Du Monde, along with other eco-friendly businesses and local artists.
“Buying vintage is recycling,” said Joshua Holder, owner of vintage clothing shop Time Warp Boutique. “You are not putting any waste back into the environment by recycling.”
Holder said he is aiming to take vintage clothing and make people realize it’s modern through the fashion show. He said adding pieces, such as a modern-style jean, make vintage styles look relevant and fashion-forward.
Holder said he doesn’t think the eco-conscious movement has gone mainstream in the fashion industry yet, but it is becoming more relevant with each season. He said lots of clothing is being made from 100 percent cotton, and more vegan brands are popping up that abstain from using fabrics like leather.
Many designers today are inspired by the historically preserved, one-of-a-kind designs of vintage garments, Holder said. He said styles from the ’70s have been prevalent for the past few years, and television shows like “Mad Men” have generated an interest in style from the ’50s and ’60s.
Holder’s own line of clothing, H.I.P. Vintage, will be included in Saturday’s fashion show. Garments include shorts, skirts, bow ties and halter tops.
He creates these garments from unused vintage fabric. Holder calls this process “upcycling,” defined as taking something vintage and reworking it to make something modern. He does this without using any new materials to prevent waste.
Saturday’s fashion show will also feature the jewelry line HEAVYmetalbyLW, created by University alumna Lauren Weiner. All of Weiner’s pieces are made from recycled metals and found items.
Amy Strother, owner of Noelie Harmon, said she thinks many major designers of the fashion industry have begun embracing eco-friendly consumption in the past ten years. But she also said the South, specifically Baton Rouge, could do a better job at promoting and supporting eco and vintage fashion.
Noelie Harmon calls itself a “conscious boutique,” a term Strother said is directly related to being a conscious shopper.
“If you were to walk into Noelie Harmon, no matter what product you buy, you can buy it with your conscience in check, knowing that it’s a responsible product,” Strother said.
Strother said every product carried by Noelie Harmon is a responsibly made product that benefits the environment, fair trade, charity or the local community, but different products support different causes. She said the categories collectively relate to being a conscious shopper.
She said she originally opened the boutique as a way to give back to the local community or environment, but also to educate people about responsible shopping, which is what she hopes to do at Saturday’s event.
“It’s always great to show people that vintage and eco fashion can be high fashion,” said Strother, “It’s not just hippies.”
Strother said her boutique’s mobile shop, the “Rollie Noelie” will be in the Fashion Market of the French Quarter on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. She hopes the mobile shop will further educate people attending Saturday’s show and demonstrate that almost any product can be a responsible purchase for the environment.
 
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Contact Haylie Navarre at [email protected]