Rogan Gregory, the designer behind Rogan, as well as Loomstate and Edun, defines his new collection as “soulful minimalism.”
“It’s minimalism in the true sense of the word – stark and super simple,” he said in his New York showroom on Wednesday, Nov. 5, during a presentation of his Spring 2009 collection.
“Letting the shape speak for itself, letting the fabric speak for itself,” he said, as he defined his theory of “reductive design.” He’s also experimenting with the combination of two contradictory fabrics, figuring out how to make them work together in a minimal way, such as a heavier peacoat wool combined with a ribbed knit. “If you can pull it off, then its something that people really haven’t seen before,” he said.
“We don’t have the luxury from an economic or ecological standpoint to design whatever we feel like designing,” said Gregory. “We can’t just go out and get something exotic, what’s the point? We have to do something new.”
With the growing trend in eco-fashion comes much misleading marketing. The truth is there are a great many brands with true ecologicial credentials like NOHARM, Sugar Cane, Loomstate, Kohzo to name a few but there are also a great many other brands who are simply looking to make a buck off the latest trend. Venessa Lau shares some insightful thoughts:
There’s Green and there’s GREEN denim. Most of us think of Sugar Cane, Loomstate, Edun or a list of other Eco-friendly denim offerings when we think of GREEN jeans. Evisu, however, have opted to take it literally and offer a pair of green-hued jeans. To quote the guys: “In addition to ring spun denim with which Evisu has built a solid foundation to their denim assortment in Spring/Summers past, Evisu are now adding an exciting new colour to their offering. For this Spring/Summer, they launch a green shade that will literally make all your friends green with envy. The Evisu designers found the inspiration for this hue when looking through piles of vintage Japanese indigo, as well as kimonos and workwear, all fell in love with it.”
Barney’s, the famous American fashion retailer, chooses a green course for the coming season. Barneys are reputedly starting with Loomstate and Stella McCartney with a view to expanding their eco-friendly product base. Despite their shift Barneys are at pains to mention they will in no way be compromising their high-fashion credentials as they move to the greener grass. “Customers have to have great fashion and great style,” said Gilhart, who has been beating the green drum at Barneys. “They’re not going to give that up. No way.” Looks like Barneys are set to lead the way – hats off to Barneys!
AÂ growing number of top brands have added eco-subdivisions to their corporate structure. Leading brands like Edun – Mavi – Serfontaine – Loomstate – Levis – Armani – American Apparel – Nike – Camper and, of course, the pioneering Katherine Hamnett, have all taken the laudable step of introducing an element of compassion into their fashion.
The Rogan volcano is starting to rumble. People are talking about the low-profile brand and an air of excitement and expectation is starting to build. Many top fashionistas will tell us that Rogan Jeans are currently some of the best available in the world and the whole Rogan Clothing line is “poetry in cut and cloth”!
Another Lenten season is almost upon us and Christians around the world, mainly from the Orthodox denomination/s, are packing their coffee, mars bars and other minor indulgences away for another 40 plus days. The sacrifice, if you can call it a sacrifice, does rather pale into insignificance compared with Christ’s 40 days in the desert — that’s desert and not dessert.
U2 frontman Bono (Bonio), wife Ali Hewson and designer Rogan launch a new ethical clothing line Edun. Edun apparent stands for Nude backwards? Their mission is to build a brand that produces desirable and wearable clothing and provides employment in the developing world.