There is nothing like the clarity of ‘being in the Nau’ to guide you through the rugged terrain of today’s challenges. This evergreen activewear label is more than just a fashion phoenix reinventing itself during tough economic times, but also an innovator of sustainable fashion pieces that perform well technically and look street smart, too. If you are considering adding only one item to your fall wardrobe, consider the versatility and scope of Nau’s latest offerings as a way to add new dimension to your layering system as well as your attitudes about style as a catalyst for change.

In the ongoing quest to dovetail sustainable style with carefully sourced materials, it is refreshing when a designer makes it easy to fall in love with and feel good about soulful green design. Add to this, lyrical lines and soft contours that envelope and rock your world, and you have the perfect home furnishings solution. Northumberland designer Jolyon Yates has mastered the art of design poetics and visual lullabyes with his latest Series 3 ODEChair and Stingray Stools. Exquisitely handcrafted from renewable wood that the artist lovingly selects, these are elegant design pieces meant to last for generations, in an ode to form and function.

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There is no doubt that for some, Milan, Italy is synonymous with ultra chic living as a cosmopolitan capital of innovative design and fashion trendsetting. With grand architecture and historic beauty at every corner, there is also a lot to be proud of as Italy’s second largest city. Why would one want to break with design tradition when you have architectural monuments like the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and the Duomo di Milano as part of your urbanscape? Enter this first-of-its-kind eco urban residence in the heart of Milan’s fashion district. Sustainably renovated and uniquely energy efficient with its Finnish soapstone fireplace and green rooftop, this eco casa has set new design standards for Milanese city dwellers who are eager to green their views.

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Urban restoration projects are definitely the new agrarian frontier, as city dwellers rethink the possibilities for crop production in zones formerly deemed barren or simply too gritty. One can no longer be oblivious to the mediocre quality of fruits and vegetables, the costly trucking of fresh produce, or the senseless, landfill-bound packaging involved. It is high time that food production solutions sprout up in one’s own backyard or on windowsills or rooftops that can also patch together a vibrant community. During the summer of 2009, the public art project, Sharecropper, aims to create a united system of agricultural production in the heart of NYC via a fresh interpretation of the landowner tenant agreement. This micro-farming initiative by artist Leah Gauthier might inspire New Yorkers to view wild edibles as agents of change, thanks to the parcel owners who have donated their unorthodox growing spaces for the greening of their real estates.

As the kick off to a sizzling summer of 2009, we are thrilled to report that the June issue of Vogue is highlighting some gorgeously green designs and super fresh eco fashion picks. Loyale’s Jenny Hwa has her super-hot Barstow bikini featured on the chiseled bod of Gisele Bundchen on Vogue’s page 68, a sign perhaps that even Anna Wintour has acknowledged that green fashion has real resonance with fashion-forward readers. Summer style really does not get any hotter than this, and honestly folks, who would have guessed that sustainable style would be heating up a fashion glossy’s pages on the curves of a Brazilian supermodel?

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Sustainable style groupies all know about Project Earth Day and Leanne Marshal of Project Runway’s Season 5, but what about Project Blue, a new eco fashion initiative that has further democratized an American textile staple by recycling used denim into ultra-tailored couture by hot fashion designers? Julie Gilhart, Barneys New York’s sustainably-minded Fashion Director, recently teamed up with ELLE and non-profit Oceana, to promote a unique collection of one-of-a-kind pieces crafted out of worn and faded blue jeans. Eight high-profile designers offered their supreme talent for Project Blue’s charity auction to benefit the international advocacy group, Oceana. These unique eco fashion designs are currently available to the highest bidder in an exclusive e-bay auction through tomorrow night, Sunday, May 10!

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The annual Project Earth Day runway show is definitely a great way to showcase the latest trends and innovations in eco fashion, but the night’s festivities really take their style cues from the student design competition as future stars of sustainable style give us a preview of their talent. Last year’s standout grand prize winner, Amira Marion, truly epitomized just how knowledgeable and inventive contemporary fashion design students are. We loved the feel-good spirit of Amira’s textile-rich and funked-out knits. Her award-winning ensembles were absolute crowd-pleasers and totally convincing in their wearability and signature appeal. Eco-geeky, super crafty, chic and fun, Amira Marion’s designs captivated every ecofashionista on Project Earth Day’s runway sidelines.

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PROJECT EARTH DAY IS APRIL 23RD – 6PM

With Earth Day less than a week away, it seems as if everyone is swapping invites to green parties and earth-focused events here in NYC. The third-annual Project Earth Day fashion show is perhaps the hottest ticket in town, and the Inhabitat sustainable style team will be onsite to cover the night’s festivities at the Openhouse Gallery in Manhattan’s Nolita neighborhood. As with last year’s stellar line up, Project Earth Day 2009 will highlight a student competition as well as a runway show featuring some of the brightest stars in eco fashion design. Read on for details on the April 23rd runway show, as well as highlights from Project Earth Days past.

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As we transition from winter to spring here in NYC, there is no doubt that we all are looking for signs of sparkly renewal and regeneration. Our Spring Greening Contest is certainly one way that we are sprucing up our abodes and the clutter in our lives by making things fresh and new again. One of the most impressive submissions we received for our DIY design contest was this eco sparkly recycled plastic jewelry by Kumvana Gomani. This innovative Swedish designer has found a a great way to turn recycled soda and water bottles into snowflakes and crystallized leaves that radiate green chic bling.

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New York Fashion Week has come and gone but the slow fashion Alabama Chanin caravan just keeps on rolling between ‘The Factory’ in Florence, Alabama to Birmingham, Nashville, and back to NYC again this April. Listen up folks, as we can think of no better designer and do-it-yourself enterprise to help you combat the current recession blues. From folksy embroidered skirts to hand-stitched, organic cotton tees and true indigo denim, Alabama Chanin’s Fall/Winter 2009 Collection inspires you to pick yourself up by your very own boot straps and deal, sustainably, with the bumpy road ahead. Natalie Chanin and her talented team of artisans are all about homespun values and banding together to share the beauty of small town roots when lasting solutions are imperative. Future-forward fashion has never looked so attainable and fresh now that we have true sustainability sprouting up in our own backyards.

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With daylight savings time just around the corner, the temptation to simply turn back time is certainly an alluring one. Who wants to lose an hour of sleep, particularly on a chilly Sunday morning, when there are so many winks to still savor. For all of you sleepyheads and music lovers out there, The Grateful Thread’s recycled vinyl wall clocks will make you feel as if time is in your hands with these very cool, retro albums re-fashioned as custom-designed wall pieces.

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It’s amazing to think that February 2009 marked the sixth season of London Fashion Week’s estethica showcase of ethical fashion. The initiative of the British Fashion Council (BFC) has become one of the hottest invites in town, and the enthusiasm perhaps mirrors the public’s current fascination with all things green and eco stylish. Some of our favorite designers exhibited at esthetica this past week – Ada Zanditon, Beyond Skin, Del Forte Denim, Elena Garcia, From Somewhere, Izzy Lane, Junky Styling, Marc Lui, NOIR, and Veja – to name a few. Eco fashion is edging its way into the lexicon of fashion forwardness in ways that are becoming truly synonymous with chic, timeless style. The folks at BFC and estethica are definitely working hard to insure that each season’s runways and the lifecycle of our clothes extend a long way into the future.

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It’s officially New York Fashion Week here in New York City, and despite the glum economic outlook, there are some definite bright spots shimmering on the streets of the recession-battered Big Apple. Inhabitat is joining the brigade for ‘runway optimism’ by highlighting NYC-based eco fashion talent and innovative designers. We are genuinely inspired by the sustainable style efforts of several fashion houses slated for stardom in 2009. We view fashion week as an opportunity to further examine clothing and the vital role it plays in our lives, not only as an expression of individuality, but as a shelter that sustains us. What better opportunity to support designers who create socially and environmentally responsible garments, than by doing your consumer homework during fashion week hype. With this in mind, we are kicking off our fashion week coverage with a sneak preview of Sublet Clothing’s playful and smart, eco-chic Spring 2009 collection.

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Michelle Obama – are you reading this? Green your gown for Inauguration!

It is with much anticipation that we are waiting to usher in this era of change with President-elect Obama’s inauguration on Tuesday, January 20. All eyes will be on the Obama family (new puppy included) as they begin their reign in Washington, D.C. and beyond. Some of us are hoping for a bountiful organic garden on the White House lawn, thanks to The WhoFarm.org, or a newly-created green collar job. Michelle Obama, First Lady to-be, is already under close scrutiny in terms of how she will spend her days at the White House and balance her poised lawyer self with diplomatic demands. Global fashionistas have been speculating about what Michelle Obama will be wearing to the inaugural festivities, and given her maverick attitude, we, too, are excited to see if she opts for some eco-chic sparkle for the historic day. Below we’ve picked out some stunning eco outfits for Michelle – read on and let us know which you think would look best on her!

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For some of us, the growing clutter in our lives often results in tall stacks of unwanted papers or un-filed documents that migrate around the home or workspace. For sculptural installation artist Susan Benarcik, old newspapers and recycled papers are precious materials for her tactile sculptural pieces and evocative wall treatments. Part printmaker and part sculptor, Benarcik searches for evidence of life in the most basic organic materials and then cleverly alchemizes these finds into assemblages of deep patterning and hypnotic rhythm. The artist’s handmade elemental forms suggest new possibilities for sustainability, materiality, and our ability to adapt successfully to both the natural and built world.

Home heating price increases have certainly been a major concern for recession-strapped households in northern climates, but the possibility of having one’s heat completely shut-off in this new era of natural resource ‘muscle flexing’ and bitter political show-downs is perhaps a whole new energy policy boiling point in Europe and beyond. Russia’s decision this week to turn off the flow of gas from its Gazprom pipelines to the Ukraine, which in turn forced many European countries to rely on their (in some cases virtually nonexistent) gas reserves, demonstrates the dire need to identify alternatives to Siberia and the Middle East for our massive oil and gas dependencies. Given that my family and I are currently in Bulgaria for six weeks, we are experiencing the Gazprom gas cut-off crisis first-hand. This issue will not be going away any time soon, despite the band-aid patches that will crop up over the next few weeks and months.

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It’s no surprise that we love our sustainable style here at Inhabitat, and 2008 has been a particularly exciting year with bold new directions in green fashion and eco-textile innovation. From pollution sensitive dresses to ‘grow-your-own’ Icelandic moss jewelry, the frontier of eco fashion is continually digging deep to put a new spin on material resourcefulness and recycle-chic. ‘Be eco chic’ and ‘green is the new black’ may have been over-used mantras of 2008, but we all know now that sustainable style can be synonymous with sexy, must-have fashion that looks and feels totally fab. Read on for some of the best eco-collections and sustainable styles from 2008.

Nothing says ‘warmest wishes for the holidays’ like cozy knitwear that is lovingly crafted and sustainably produced. Eco knits make a great holiday gift, as they remain stylish from year to year while also keeping us cozy and cutely bundled from day to day. We have handpicked a few great finds from our favorite eco boutiques, Etsy crafters, and our new Inhabitat Shop as a toasty warm-up for your gift-giving list. Spread the cheer of sustainable style with eco knits that add a unique and fun twist to chic green layering.

Being resourceful is definitely a virtue these days, and sharing your craftiness with others is perhaps the best way to sprinkle the seeds of good design. But an eco chic accessory that is crafted from 100% recycled materials while also promoting fair trade employment? Well, this is a brilliant scenario for advancing sustainable style while also reducing needless waste and litter.

We have been big fans of Escama recycled aluminum pulltab handbags and totes ever since we spied them on some of the savviest eco babes in town. We are excited to announce that our new online Inhabitat Shop will feature a hand-picked assortment of supercute Escama bags as a means to aid our gift-giving readers and the Brazilian women who handcraft these beautifully original designs.

There is perhaps no better wardrobe investment for Winter 2008, than a super stylish pair of eco chic boots. Shoes and accessories should carry over from year-to-year, so it really pays to do your homework when selecting covet-able footwear that will keep you looking fab for more than just one season. We have picked out a few of this season’s cutest vegan and ethical fashion finds so that you can easily ‘boot up’ in sustainable style while also keeping the wintry slush at bay.

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