I’ve tested the pair of tights for expecting mothers over the last week. They’re made of 93% cotton and are very, very comfy on the skin. The tights are simply great! The tummy has enough space, they don’t slip, and they kept me cozy warm.

I haven’t tested them below freezing yet, though (except as a second layer under trousers), as I’m fighting off premature labor and I don’t want to worsen my aches with too much chill. I’ve learned from my midwife that quite a few women experience premature labor, and I heartily recommend visiting a homeopath and/or craniosacral therapist for some treatment.

Years ago I bought a pair of expensive tights in a specialty store, and the saleswoman advised me to buy them a size larger. She wasn’t exactly elegant in expressing herself, and at first I thought she wanted to insult me. But then she explained to me that a pair of tights is more comfortable and looks better if you buy a size larger than you would otherwise. I’ve done exactly that ever since and have been quite satisfied. No more slipping, and no more perpetual tugging and pulling.

I ordered the tights from hessnatur a size larger as well. It’s nice, in that it gives me a properly opaque and also warmer pair of tights. Admittedly, though, I can’t make a proper comparison between the normal size and the larger, as I only ordered the larger. Whoever claims never to be able to find a good fit in tights might want to try out a size larger.

The only suggestion for improvement that I would have for the tights I tested is the seam at the toes. Instead of closing at the front, I would introduce a toe insert and thus shift the seam. I find that much more comfortable to wear, in contrast to the seam pressing against the tip of your toes or feeling that the seam is simply askew.

Coming soon: the organic cotton tee, both long sleeve and short sleeve, maternity briefs, the cotton cami, and the comfy looking and aptly named lounge pants. The maternity bra is also still waiting its turn. Stay tuned …

In winning the Humanity in Fashion Award, what began as a project for her fashion design studies in Bielefeld ended as a graduation in its own right. “I still can’t really grasp it,” rejoiced Sandra Goldmann, 2012 winner, after the award ceremony at the Berlin Bauakademie.

Her concept, that which won over the jury, is named “Hinschauen” (Behold). The name may be taken quite literally – spellbound, I gazed at the exhibition behind glass, in which Sandra created a vision from textile dyeing techniques. She placed the focus of her concept squarely upon that vision, which she had already researched deeply during her studies, pouring over literature, experimenting with fabrics and colors.

The exhibition gives the relationships between cloth, color and the clothed human being a fascinating clarity. A secondhand dress is sewn to a canvas and sprayed with deep blue dye. The dye drips downward to collect in a vat, where it is pumped back up and sprayed upon the dress once again. The uncolored dress becomes steadily deeper and darker blue – a process which takes time, gradually giving the surface of the textile its character. “It’ll be interesting to see what it looks like by Friday evening,” mused the 2012 HIFA winner. Clothing was brought to life in video clips projected upon wooden screens, using color and a model suddenly adorned in trousers, sweaters and dresses. Healthy, modern clothing for human skin, for human bodies – that is an essential function of clothing, and of fashion.

Sandra had finished half of her sample collection when she saw the Humanity in Fashion Award advertised at her college in Bielefeld. The decision to apply for HIFA came quickly: “My studies and research project simply fit the topic,” remembers Sandra. The exciting task ahead is to interpret her creative concept into a Capsule Collection together with hessnatur. “What’s important to me is that the essential idea behind my work, namely ecological dyeing and transparent, sustainable production is not lost,” emphasized the HIFA laureate. “But then again, I really don’t have to worry about that at hessnatur.”

Photos: Marcus Schneider, Silke Weinsheimer

I’m back at my desk again in Butzbach. But after an eventful day in Berlin at the presentation of the Humanity in Fashion Award (HIFA) to Sandra Goldmann, I still find myself reeling with inspiration at all the great impressions. From the setting of the Berlin Bauakademie, with its interior dressed out for the presentation with a play of lights and colors, greenery and warm wood furniture for a cozy, homey feel, to the compositions of the three finalists Agne Biskyte, Willem Gremliza and winner Sandra Goldmann, which could not have been more diverse.

It was consequently no easy matter for the jury – comprised of Susanne Gundlach (Fashion Director of Germany’s largest women’s magazine Brigitte), Prof. Stephan Schneider (Berlin University of the Arts), Dr. Alfons Kaiser (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Dr. Stefanie Schütte (German Press Agency) and Designer Miguel Adrover – choosing a winner amongst the three finalists, jury member Kaiser stressed. It was an equally difficult task last year, narrowing the myriad of excellent submissions down to just a handful of HIFA finalists. Unique concepts were expected to be demonstrated by the three finalists – real “fashion treats”.

The knitted dress created by knitwear designer Agne Biskyte, with its capacity to be worn in several different ways for a multitude of varying occasions, emphasized an important aspect of sustainability according to the jury’s appraisal. A historic reference into the 1920s was well recieved.

Willem Gremliza sees fashion as an interface between nature and the human body. He captivates through “glamorous drafts”. He doesn’t want to create beautiful clothing just for 30 year olds, but also for 60 year olds – to give voice to his conviction “…that you can be sexy when you’re older, too.” The jury’s verdict: “Regal and authentic,” with an eye on Gremliza’s handling of fashion and physique.

Sandra Goldmann enchants clothing with ecological dyeing techniques into “…the most beautiful and wildest of patterns”. The jury recognized references to designer Alexander McQueen in the “very experimental exhibition,” which was even described by jury member Dr. Stefanie Schneider-Schütte as “substantialist”.
The jury was particularly drawn to the fact that Goldmann pursued the question of how fashions are created in general, thereby casting a critical eye on the production processes of the textile industry. At just 25 years old, the young student played “…masterfully with references, without depending upon them.” With her concept “Behold”, she succeeded in creating the “decisive twist” which won her the 2012 HIFA baton. Her extensive and diverse collection was seen by the jury as a foundation for many successful opportunities in a market for sustainable fashion. Her prize: funding to the tune of 25,000 Euro and a Women’s Capsule Collection for hessnatur which will appear in 2013.

Humanity in Fashion Award’s symbolic baton was passed on to Sandra Goldmann by hessnatur CEO Wolf Lüdge. He encouraged the three finalists, all of them holding compelling ideas for the world of fashion, to “…blaze new trails – and blaze them where the way is not necessarily easy. My advice to you: Do that which is not expected of you.” Because fashion needs genuine role models again, “…who are credible, who engage.” True beauty lies in the balance between trend driven fashion and sustainability – which is not only a matter of toxic free clothing, harmless to humans, but also a matter of aesthetics, design, and utility. Wolf Lüdge: “Fashion is there to serve people, to follow its nature – not the other way around.”

Images: Marcus Schneider, Silke Weinsheimer, Michael Krause

A great success for the Plant for the Planet student initiative: in the course of the Climate Change Conference in Durban, responsibility for the United Nations Environmental Programme‘s (UNEP) Billion Tree Campaign has been placed into the hands of the children of Plant-for-the-Planet. The Billion Tree Campaign was brought into being five years ago by prince Albert of Monaco and the recently deceased Wangari Maathai. To date, 12.5 billion trees have been planted within the scope of the project. That equates to two trees per world citizen.

Handing over the reigns was symbolic of the trust “grown ups” place in the activities of children: the succeeding generation will carry the initiative forward and unite young people worldwide by taking on the responsibility for the Earth. Felix Finkbeiner declared in Durban, “We children are taking up an official tree count register, and together with governments, private enterprise, and fellow citizens, we’ll watch that count rapidly grow.” This places an obligation upon the “grown ups”, as they must now report the number of trees planted annually for Plant for the Planet’s registration.

In taking on the Billion Tree Campaign, a new goal has come about for the children and youth, namely that of planting a quadrillion trees by 2020. Such a massive carbon sink would bind 10 billion tons of CO2 yearly, winning us valuable time to permanently and sustainably sink CO2 emissions. If every world citizen would plant just 150 trees, this goal would be reached. The current tree count can be monitored here on the campaign’s website.

Plant for the Planet, a student initiative, had its origins in January of 2007 in the presentation of then 9-year-old Felix Finkbeiner on the climate crisis. At the end of the presentation, Felix conceived the vision of children in every country of the world planting a billion trees for each one of those countries, thus contributing to a CO2 equilibrium. In the years that followed, Plant for the Planet has become a worldwide movement.

A great big round of applause for Sandra Goldmann: The 25 year old fashion student from Bielefeld won the Humanity in Fashion Award jury over with her collection and presentation “Hinschauen” (Behold), which centered around ecological dying processes.

The decision was anything but easy for the jury according to Dr. Alfons Kaiser from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Ultimately, the “comprehensive and very diverse collection” of Sandra Goldmann tipped the scales with its critical reflection upon the production processes of clothing.

As an inspiration to further ideas in sustainable design, hessnatur CEO Wolf Lüdge passed on the Humanity in Fashion Award’s symbolic baton to the joyfully radiant and somewhat stunned winner. Sandra Goldmann will develop a Women’s Capsule Collection for hessnatur, which will appear next year.