l.a. fashion week begins with genart fresh faces

last friday night i enjoyed a seat at the much anticipated 11th annual genart fresh faces fashion show hosted by mandy moore at the petersen automotive museum. even the italian reporter seated next to me mentioend that she expected the evening's show to be the best part of l.a. fashion week. part of the high expectations are due to the fact that this event launched the career of zac posen! the show was impressive and my favorites included the romantic fluid garments from wayf (above but more images are on genart's site).

the prior night at petersen was "fashionably natural", also presented by genart and hosted by maggie gylenhaal. it featured stunning designs from designers using natural and environmentally responsible textiles. kudos for genart for helping to put eco-fashion in the spotlight!

eco-luxury l.a. high-rise

the other night dwell magazine teamed up with EVO to host a panel discussion led by frances anderton. the discussion was held at the outdoor pool deck of the newly constructed building in downtown l.a. it's billed as l.a.'s first truly eco-friendly luxury high-rise seeking LEED silver certification. as i toured the 3 furnished units that night, luxury was so much the focus that it wasn't clear what the green building and design elements were. however, the development's website reveals many impressive green accomplishments. they included energy efficiency elements like energy star appliances and high performance glazing, recycling 75% of construction waste, water efficiency like low flow plumbing and dual flush toilets, and improved indoor air quality like operable windows for natural ventilation and low-toxic building materials. they even went beyond the building itself and dealt with transportation options like the flexcar outlet located just a block away. my favorite place of the 23 stories, is the roofdeck lounge shown in the image above. the l.a. skyline at sunset was stunning!

stunning green bistro

the interior of the new restaurant gjelina on abbot kinney in venice is a stunning example of warm AND cool green design. reclaimed wood and recycled light fixtures add a rustic and warm touch while the design is simple creating a modern feel. designed by peel inc and modern architecture, the restaurant's sustainable philosophy extends to communal tables which hold delicious plates made from local ingredients. check it out for yourself at 1429 abbot kinney at milwood in venice.

Eco Block Party

on sunday, sep 28, was the much anticipated return of the abbot kinney festival. just across the street at one end of the festival, epoxygreen hosted an eco-block party with green building and design vendors sharing their eco-wares. epoxygreen is a wonderful resource of green building & design products, and i think it's the largest in southern california! they are extremely helpful and on the cutting edge of the latest sustainable products. hey, if they're good enough for fred segal (who's on the cutting edge of fashion) and designed their green store in santa monica, then they should be great for designers and homeowners.

i also got to set up a little spot and share a little bit about my design talents. my "booth" was made up of lovely rattan chairs, an inlay table and lanterns from berbere imports. while it's helpful for a green design project to incorporate recycled materials, it's also smart to use antiques and handmade items when available. berbere offers beautiful artisan items, antiques and products made with natural sustainable materials which enhance our surroundings. it was a beautiful day and the abbot kinney festival is always fun.

Malibu Wallflowers

on saturday, oct 4th, was the wallflower organic & eco festival sponsored by the city of malibu, malibu chamber of commerce and the green living expo. there were many eco-friendly vendors from food to gifts to building products. i was fortunate enough to participate as a panelist in the speaker tent sponsored by malibu living, livity international, epoxygreen and studio rma. it was an impressive lineup of eco-experts who offered all sorts of great advice. one wonderful resource in particular is green life coatings who clean, restore, treat and protect any type of surface from fabric to tile. it's all eco-friendly and enhances the wear and durability of a finish. in fact, it's great for commercial use too like the hotel spa i'm currently designing. thanks to everyone who helped make it possible and turned out on such a cool day to enjoy the festival.