Rush hour traffic in New York City. The taxi snakes through the congestion at a snail’s pace. Flickering on a built-in TV screen in the car, one report follows another about the Fashion Week – an event which is more felt than seen in a city of millions.

Today will be different, though, at least for myself. I’m on my way to Miguel Adrover’s Fall/Winter show, where the designer wants to celebrate his return to the city where his career began in the 1990s. The taxi driver stops in front of a rundown building in Soho, the Teatro Lateo, which holds much more on the inside than its bedraggled exterior lets on: a place of atmosphere and character. There is a hectic bustle backstage. Miguel darts past me, in good spirits but at least one size thinner than the last time we met.

Just five minutes to show time. But then another hour goes by until all the important editors have found their seats – from The New York Times and The Herald Tribune to Elle and Vogue. The lights dim, American Indian singing fills the space, and then something unexpected happens: designs from the past, from Miguel’s collection before and during his time at hessnatur. He had combined them anew, wrapped, gathered and draped, so that something completely fresh had come into being – a fashion metamorphosis of sorts. Recycling, newly defined. But see for yourself – you can find more photos on Flickr and a video on Youtube!

A stranger was sighted a few weeks ago in the pastel corridors of hessnatur’s headquarters in Butzbach. “He must be new,” many must have mused. And they were right! It was my first day on the job. And thus, I greeted everyone I possibly could with a hearty handshake.

I mostly said stuff like, “Hi. David Michele. I’ll be here twenty hours a week as Social Media Coordinator, starting today. Nice to meet you.” Symbolically speaking, that’s exactly what I’d like to do with each and every one of you. Meet you, that is. In a sort of digital way.

Born of parents with organic groceries, sent to school in Birkenstocks. Yes dear readers, I used to be called “the Granola Kid” – in a kind and affectionate way, of course. If you consumed sustainably, you never really had the hippest clothes, the newest shoes, or the prettiest bag lunch (you still got Granola for breakfast most of the time, though).

But times change, and being a “Granola Kid” is a lifestyle now, that’s moved past sandals and multi-grain mush, proliferating under the capacious headline of “Sustainability”. And yes, it can definitely have style, too. Those who want to “go Granola” today don’t have to wear potato sacks. And they can hang up their own garden hoe, if they want to, and get good, healthy food quite conveniently at the local grocery store, thank you very much. It’s a great trend.

Now I’ve landed at hessnatur, a company with a tradition and a consciousness for quality that’s part of that trend. I’m delighted to join in as Social Media Coordinator. My task in the future will be to keep hessnatur technically up to date at the likes of Facebook & Co., and to keep in touch with you – above all about things on your mind.

So let’s post, tag, and comment, and speak out for a better world.

Until then, all the best.

Yours, David.

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.