In an era of working from home, the legacy of the women’s power suit lives on at New York Fashion Week as designers showcase their Spring 2021 Collections. Trending on several runways, live and virtual, whimsical suits are bringing play and hope to the future of the fashion industry.
Read MoreFashion is in a weird place these days, with people leaving their homes less than ever, and many designers still in flux, but there is one way we can still make a huge fashion statement, and do a bit of good with it: a mask!
Soo many amazing brands are coming out with super cute masks these days that it is actually hard to decide which to go with! So, we tried to make your job a little easier. We found 12 great designers who are producing not only fashionable masks, but they are sustainable/give back in some away.
As always, it is important that we look amazing while we save the world. Remember, not all superheroes wear capes, but they do all wear masks!
The Diné (Navajo) community, along with many other indigenous communities, have suffered greatly due to Covid-19. In fact, the Navajo Nation actually surpassed New York State for the highest infection rate in the US. Yet, they are seeing less help than most areas! Devastated to see her community suffering, indigenous fashion designer, Amy Yeung, founder of Orenda Tribe, has been working non-stop partnering with Outdoor Voices and NDN Collective to bring aid, food, water, masks, PPE, supplies, and awareness to these populations in need. Jejune had the pleasure to do an Instagram Live interview with Amy, which can be seen here (Part 1 and Part 2), but we at Jejune wanted to highlight some of the takeaways here.
Read MoreJust like thousands of college kids across America, our social media intern Emade was forced to leave her school’s campus because of COVID-19. The abrupt end of the semester was something that Emade did not foresee, but nevertheless she continued her studies at home. While she was working on finishing the semester, Emade decided to buy a sewing machine and start learning how to make face masks. She found some scrap fabric at home, began sewing and sent out the face masks to her relatives. Soon after, Emade decided to give back to her community and donated face masks to health care workers in her city. In this tutorial, Emade will show you how to make your very own handmade face mask with a filter pouch. Her step by step tutorial is easy to follow and made for all levels of sewers.
Read MoreIf you tuned in last week on Art & Social Activism’s Instagram Live for their online socially aware art and fashion festival, which Jejune was honored to be apart of, you would have gotten a chance to meet the lovely Misa Miyagawa, designer and owner of sustainable fashion brand Botanica Workshop. I got the pleasure to ask her about how Botanica Workshop is weathering COVID-19, and how she is taking the opportunity to change directions, for a little bit, to focus on making zero waste masks for the population and essential workers.
If you didn’t, you missed out on seeing our beautiful faces, but you are lucky, because Misa was kind enough to answer her questions here as well. Please read further to learn more about Botanica Workshop and how they are making the world a little safer right now.
We are talking a lot about how fashion brands are being affected by COVID-19, but what of their workers? Factories around the globe have been closed down and orders are being cancelled and unpaid for. If garment workers are still working it is to make masks, and they are often not given PPE. What can be done? How can we help? Learn more here.
Read MoreWhen I had the pleasure of meeting Daniel Kahalani, earlier this year at Coterie, I was thrilled to see his booth filled to the brim with a neat, colorful assortment of trainers that resemble a hybrid cross between Vans and Keds. However, most intriguing, was a sign with the image of a shoe and a plastic bottle, emblazoned atop read the text, “This Was A Bottle.”
Daniel is charismatic, knowledgeable, and, most importantly, passionate in his work. He excitedly spoke to us about DNA Footwear and their new sustainable collection “This Was A Bottle.” From up-cycled textiles, including plastic bottles, ethical manufacturing, recycled packaging, and much more, DNA Footwear is a product of love, pride, and hope for the future of ingenuity regardless of profession or industry. Please read here to learn more about DNA Footwear.
There are very few fashion brands as dedicated to sustainability as ECOALF. In every step of the process, from production, manufacturing, fabrics, to packaging, ECOALF (and founder Javier Goyeneche) have carefully considered their impact on the environment. They even started a subsidiary non-profit organization called The Ecoalf Foundation. The Ecoalf Foundation’s main objective is to promote the recovery of waste in order to recycle it for their clothing and avoid its harmful impact on the environment. In layman’s terms, one of the things this incredible brand is doing is pulling plastic trash out of our oceans and turning it into beautiful fashion! They are doing this “Because there is no planet B”, which is also one of their collections. I’m totally obsessed with it. Please read more to learn about ECOALF, its founder, and their efforts towards sustainability.
Read MoreTransfixed in her own realm, Romanian designer, Bianca Georgescu challenges common sense, creativity, and design. Her specialization is within handcrafted footwear and accessories using traditional materials, such as leathers and suedes, often finished with Georgesu flair — incorporating intricate embroidery, semiprecious stones, and a myriad of other unconventional elements.
Georgesu's most recent collection, D-Cycled, is an intimate shared duty towards sustainability between consumer and designer. D-Cycled is about zero-waste and sustainable fashion. The denim heavy collection sources premium discarded and consumer sourced denim to create new, original, and fully sustainable designs. Please read the Jejune exclusive interview here to learn more about Bianca Georgescu and her work.
Joyce Penas Pilarsky’s beautiful designs give her the power to help transform orphan children’s lives. To learn more, please click here.
Read MoreIt is designers like Article22 that really make me thankful for starting Jejune, which lets me be aware of and share with the world these amazing people! Article22 goes to Laos and takes the old bomb scrapinal from the Vietnam war and, while working with the local artisans, turns it into beautiful jewelry. They then sell this jewelry and help the communities in Laos come back from the incredible amount of damage this war had on it’s people. What a beautiful idea. I don’t think I need to say more. To learn more about Article22 and Peacebomb, please read our exclusive interview here with founder Elizabeth Suda.
Read MoreAs a woman who works out, well, lets just say a lot, and is in fashion, the boring gym clothes get old really fast! I need something with personally, creativity, will make my butt look good, and if it has a few unicorns, that’s an added bonus! This is how I came across WodBottom, but what I didn’t know is that WodBottom does all those things and is a huge advocate for domestic violence victims. What a beautiful mix. Females in fitness getting stronger, which in turn gives them confidence, helping to fight domestic violence. It is perfect! To learn more about WodBottom, please read Jejune’s exclusive interview here.
Read MoreIt is very important to buy from ethical designers, but how are these designers sustainable? Where do they get their fabrics? Who is making them? Well, the answer is companies, people, and amazing ethical manufacturers, like Sonica Sarna Design. Sonica works predominately with Indian women to make ethical/sustainable/eco-friendly/organic fabrics and clothing for designers all over the world. To learn more about Sonica Sarna Design, and her approach, please read Jejune’s exclusive interview here.
Read MoreWith the start of NYC Fashion Week on us, it is exciting to see fashion brands who have social causes on the brain and clothing! When fashion makes environmentalism trendy you can have a movement that spreads like wildfires, but wildfires of good. The Wild Soul Project is trying to do just that. They wish to communicate the importance of our plant in an easy approachable way that can become sexy, not just terrifying. And they are doing that with slow fashion, sustainable fabrics, and giving back!
Read MoreYoungeun brings her edgy South Korean style to New York City in a sustainable way. To learn more about her and her creative designs, please read our exclusive interview here.
Read MoreDeaf designer, By Mara, uses American Sign Language (ASL) signs on her clothing to celebrate her language and culture. To learn more about this passionate artist, please click here!
Read MoreGetting your “time of the month” doesn’t have to be so bad anymore with the help of Thinx. Learn more about these sustainable, comfortable, and cute period panties here!
Read MoreIndigenous, defined by google is originating or occurring naturally in a particular place. What a name for a clothing brand. Click here to learn more about this amazing brand, that was sustainable before that was a thing, and how they help improve the lives of the local native populations in Peru.
Read MoreHow is hope made? Well, in this case, it is by Columbian weavers. Fashion brand, Hope Made, makes beautiful fashion, and in the process they are give hope to different communities across South America. To learn more about this inspiring band, please click here!
Read MoreBeautiful, timeless, and inspired by one of the coolest women alive, Stevie Nicks, Sisters of the Black Moon (SOTBM) is an instant classic for any wardrobe! Click here to learn more about SOTBM in Jejune’s exclusive interview.
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