Eco-Elite Hobnob in the Big Apple: Sustainability Becomes Chic

The Trend Is Near
Swanky New York event heats up the green scene
Grist Magazine, 26 Jan 2006 http://www.grist.org/comments/dispatches/2006/01/27/gertz/index.html?source=daily

Emily Gertz is a regular contributor to WorldChanging.com, and an internet
content and strategy consultant for nonprofits. She has written on
environmental policy for BushGreenwatch, and on the intersections of
environment, culture, art, and activism for The Bear Deluxe and other
independent alternative publications.

Thursday, 26 Jan 2006
New York, N.Y.

I have seen the future of the environmental movement, and it isn't street
demonstrators wearing polar-bear costumes. No, it is the Green Fairy: a very
attractive brunette clothed in an outfit more reminiscent of a Playboy bunny
than an Arctic animal, serving up tidbits of organic chocolate to a bar
packed with urban hipsters.

The Green Fairy was dispensing her delicious wares Wednesday night at
ICInyc, an event that billed itself as the first-ever gathering of "New
York's eco-conscious elite" -- or at least environmentally aware somebodies
from the worlds of media, fashion, arts, and design. These eco-modistes
flowed in and out of up-to-the-minute hotspot Libation on Manhattan's trendy
Lower East Side over several hours, sipping organic vodka and wines while
networking like crazy.

The party's atmosphere was green meets scene: cross the average Green Drinks
with the Vogue holiday party (or at least what you imagine the Vogue holiday
party would look like), add the booming stylings of a guest DJ, mix in the
roaming presence of an environmental-activist, fashion-model host clad in a
revealing bustier-cum-minidress, and stir liberally with a sustainably grown
bamboo swizzle stick. That was the ambiance at ICInyc, where the talk was of
fashion-forwardly saving the planet.

"We want people to experience sustainability in a new way," said Chuck
Heckman, who dreamed up ICInyc with four fellow eco-entrepreneurs: Summer
Rayne Oakes (she of the astonishing bustier), Remy Chevalier, Josh Dorfman,
and Graham Hill of Treehugger fame. "People want to have every facet of
their lives reflect sustainability," including their nightlife, said
Heckman, whose company, Delano Collection, promotes high-style apparel and
home furnishings made from sustainably sourced materials. And the wildfire
growth of ICInyc's guest list in the days leading up to the schmoozefest
seemed to bear that out: as news of the party spread, sign-ups surged from
about 400 on Monday to over 1,000 by the day of the party. By Wednesday
night, the organizers were expecting around 1,400 people.

Oakes, a model intent on combining sexiness, sustainability, and style,
spent the evening weaving her way around the animated crowd, posing for
photos and talking up the ICInyc message: designers can mix their passion
for cutting-edge aesthetics with ecological soundness -- and there's a
consumer market ready to purchase the goods that result, and read about them
in their glossy fashion and home magazines.

"We want to bring this to the level that the people at Elle and Vogue will
listen to us," confirmed Chevalier, who is editor at large and web editor
for Electrifying Times, an electric-car zine. (Chevalier pioneered the
mixing of hot New York nightlife and environmental consciousness, founding
the "Eco-Saloon" series at the legendary Tribeca nightclub Wetlands in
1989.)

Dorfman, whose Vivavi company also retails sustainable furnishings, said his
staff jokes about the "Burlap Sack Theory," namely that "ecologically sound
products have to suck." He hoped ICInyc would show that "being fabulous and
easy on the earth can be the same thing." That the five presenters might
generate some business for themselves in the process -- they've been
receiving inquiries about putting on similar events in other cities -- seems
perfectly in step with their eco-entrepreneurial approaches to changing the
world.

Not a polar-bear costume in sight.

So were the "eco-elite" trying to be heard over the music at ICInyc talking
about the latest in cradle-to-cradle materials, the rise of eco-fashion, or
even the ecologically correct vodka? It was hard to tell over the thumping
bass. But the place was packed; the party was a success, and its hosts had
clearly tapped into something. After all, who wouldn't want to save the
world by drinking a great glass of wine and networking into a cool design
job while surrounded by fabulously dressed people, instead of standing
outside yelling at a protest rally?

Kazuki Kozuru seemed like just the kind of person the ICInyc organizers
hoped to attract: a fashion designer living and freelancing in New York City
who had never before "come to something environmental." Standing above the
thick of the action on Libation's upper-level balcony, trying to spot the
friend who'd invited her to the party, she said (yelled, actually) that she
was interested in using sustainably produced fabrics, but "always thought
that organic cottons were all sort of granola, sort of hippie." If she had
to choose between style and eco-correctness, she said, she'd opt for style
every time. "But if you can make it pretty but also sustainable, why not?"

Had she made any good contacts yet at the party? "I'm waiting for something
to happen," Kozuru replied. "We'll see."