Looking Good and Going 'Green'... Livia Firth shows us how

Livia Firth’s dress for the 2011 Golden Globe Awards is a major step forward in promoting worldwide eco-friendly fashion

by Guy Little

 Going green has cultivated industrial and architectural design industries, adding further dimensions to their features and lessening their carbon footprint.  When it comes to fashion industries however, going green has always been somewhat of a grey and nebulous area.  Fabric sourcing and usage, as well as the effects of clothing production, need to be strictly monitored for a garment to be considered ‘green’. 

Livia Firth, wife of Colin Firth, is a passionate key-holder in this movement – supporting eco-conscious Jeff Garner of fashion label, Prophetik

Prophetik’s design principles and philosophies are simple and grounded.  They revolve around a more naturalistic state of being, much like the ideas of the medieval scholastic thinkers during the Renaissance of the 12th century.  Today’s fashion industries largely acknowledgethe aesthetic and design appeal of their products before considering any kind of impact on the environment.  With the exception of design houses like Prophetik  - going green makes for a very different design philosophy.  From the tiny silkworm that is used to spin the silk, to growing free-range bearing fruits to produce dyes, Jeff Garner seems to have nailed eco-chic on the head.

Dyeing fabric takes place on the work premises using natural dyeing techniques

Prophetic’s Green Habits

As in Livia Firth’s dress, Tussah silk was used - a plain weave silk fabric made from wild silkworms.  It has irregular thick and thin yarns creating an uneven fabric pile and unusual lustrous colour.  The fabric may also be referred to as raw silk. Wild silkworms feed on numerous leaf-types other than just the mulberry leaf.  Tussah silk-making avoids killing the silkworm and possesses no harmful chemicals apparent in other silk productions.

Garner has revived natural indigo dyeing.   Using a ‘home-grown’ Indigo plant, no synthetic substitutes are used and the process is completely sustainable.  Dyeing is also done on his business premises.

Livia Firth states, “The thing I really appreciate about Jeff is that he thinks very deeply about problems in the fashion chain such as the heavy chemical pollution associated with dyeing.  He then comes up with a considered response. His understanding of ecologically intelligent fabrics and processes is as extraordinary as his respect for the natural world.”

Follow Livia Firth’s Blog at www.prophetik.com/livia-firths-blog-the-green-carpet-challenge or visit www.prophetik.com for more information