{"id":82538,"date":"2023-10-25T14:31:33","date_gmt":"2023-10-25T14:31:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=82538"},"modified":"2024-03-20T19:37:04","modified_gmt":"2024-03-20T19:37:04","slug":"collina-strada-club-green-book-eco-friendly-fashion","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/collina-strada-club-green-book-eco-friendly-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"Collina\u00a0Strada, Club Green"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Collina\u00a0Strada\"
Collina Strada Fall\/Winter 2021. Photo by Charlie Engman\/Courtesy Rizzoli New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After a summer of\u00a0catastrophic global\u00a0weather events and with\u00a0a massive hurricane\u00a0churning through the Atlantic\u00a0during New York Fashion Week in\u00a0September, the city felt like it had been\u00a0transformed into a subtropical climate\u00a0zone. No one seemed to know how\u00a0to dress for the Spring\/Summer 2024\u00a0shows when it was alternately 90-plus\u00a0degrees and muggy or torrentially\u00a0raining \u2014 or even what the ethics\u00a0are of participating in one of fashion\u2019s\u00a0biggest marketing moments when the\u00a0planet is so clearly hurting.<\/p>\n

\"Collina\u00a0Strada\"
Photo by Charlie Engman\/Courtesy Rizzoli New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Just before sunset at a rooftop farm\u00a0in the Brooklyn Navy Yard, Collina\u00a0Strada founder Hillary Taymour\u00a0addressed the issue head on, sending\u00a0models out in colorful slip dresses,\u00a0cargo pants, and one-shoulder tops\u00a0bricolaged together from bits of\u00a0upcycled and regenerated fabrics. To\u00a0the accompaniment of a rather-on-the-\u00a0nose Oyinda song featuring the\u00a0lyrics \u201cWhy are we here? \/ The earth\u00a0is on fire,\u201d they strode purposely\u00a0forward, smiles plastered on their\u00a0faces, carrying copies of Taymour\u2019s new\u00a0visual manifesto, I Care a Lotta, I Wear\u00a0Collina Strada<\/em>. Taymour also waved\u00a0a copy aloft as she took her bow. The\u00a0sky turned cotton candy pink, King\u00a0Princess appeared to play a surprise set,\u00a0and soon everyone was vibing. Many\u00a0people stopped by the intern-staffed\u00a0merch kiosk to grab a copy of the book\u00a0after the show. Welcome to Collina\u00a0Strada world, where climate awareness,\u00a0pretty dresses, and hope can coexist.<\/p>\n

\"Collina\u00a0Strada\"
Collina Strada Fall\/Winter 2023.\u00a0Photo by Charlie Engman\/Courtesy Rizzoli New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taymour\u2019s book, published this fall by\u00a0Rizzoli, is a 232-page compendium\u00a0of trippy imagery from her first 20\u00a0NYFW collections. (She originally\u00a0launched Collina Strada in 2008 as\u00a0an accessories label while studying\u00a0fashion design at the Fashion Institute\u00a0of Design and Merchandising in\u00a0LA, and debuted her first ready-to-wear collection for Spring\/Summer\u00a02014.) Highlights include models\u00a0transforming into kangaroos, tigers,\u00a0and dolphins (Fall\/Winter 2021) and\u00a0sporting Isamaya Ffrench-designed\u00a0animal prosthetics (Fall\/Winter 2023).\u00a0The title comes from another Oyinda\u00a0song Taymour regularly plays during\u00a0her fashion shows.<\/p>\n

\"Collina\u00a0Strada\"
Hillary Taymour.\u00a0Photo by Charlie Engman\/Courtesy Rizzoli New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Co-created with Collina Strada\u2019s art\u00a0director, Charlie Engman \u2014 who\u00a0Taymour met via a Craigslist ad\u00a0when she first moved to the city in\u00a02010 \u2014\u00a0I Care a Lotta, I Wear Collina\u00a0Strada<\/em> explores how she made her\u00a0now-signature cosmically dyed dresses\u00a0and rhinestone-studded reusable\u00a0water bottles a platform for social and\u00a0environmental change. \u201cI stay hopeful\u00a0by making cute clothes that a woman\u00a0can rule the world in,\u201d says Taymour,\u00a0only half-jokingly. \u201cI want to cry all\u00a0the time, but I just try to know within\u00a0myself that with what I\u2019m doing, I\u2019m\u00a0hopefully inspiring someone else and\u00a0helping in the way that I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

“I stay hopeful by making cute clothes that a woman can rule the world in.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"Collina\u00a0Strada\"
Collina Strada Pre-Fall 2023.\u00a0Photo by Charlie Engman\/Courtesy Rizzoli New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Taymour\u2019s particular brand of\u00a0environmentalism is welcoming and\u00a0non-judgmental. For the uninitiated,\u00a0her book includes a sustainability\u00a0cheat sheet with helpful tips like \u201cuse\u00a0deadstock,\u201d \u201cbe slow,\u201d and \u201cperfect is\u00a0the frenemy of good.\u201d Taymour would\u00a0rather give you a vegan cookie covered\u00a0in rainbow sprinkles than make you feel\u00a0bad about having some pieces in your\u00a0closet that aren\u2019t made from organic or\u00a0recycled fibers. She prioritizes common\u00a0sense and wants to encourage you to\u00a0buy less, and more thoughtfully. \u201cIf\u00a0there are two dresses on a rack and one\u00a0is sustainable and one isn\u2019t, but the girl\u00a0likes the other one, then that\u2019s the one\u00a0she should buy,\u201d says Taymour. \u201cShe\u2019s\u00a0going to wear it more and it\u2019s not going\u00a0to go in the landfill.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Collina\u00a0Strada\"
Collina Strada\/Stefan Stoica on Behalf of Gorunway.\u00a0Photo by Charlie Engman\/Courtesy Rizzoli New York.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Of course, Taymour thinks it\u2019s great if\u00a0you want to wear her clothes. They\u2019re\u00a0primarily made from upcycled materials\u00a0including second hand T-shirts from\u00a0Ghana and organic, biodegradable rose\u00a0sylk derived from rose bushes. But at\u00a0the end of the day, it\u2019s your decision.\u00a0\u201cYou have to have an emotional\u00a0connection to the garment itself, not\u00a0because I\u2019m slapping labels and green\u00a0recycle signs all over it,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Read GRAZIA USA<\/em>\u2019s Fall Issue<\/a> featuring cover star Ziwe\u00a0Fumudoh<\/a>:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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