May 25, 2012

SF’s First Lady Dons Local Independent Designers

BARENewsomCover

BARENewsomCollins

We were pleased as punch to get a sneak peek at the Bare Magazine December photo shoot with San Francisco First Lady Jennifer Siebel Newsom and even more so when we glimpsed the work of local designers featured prominently not only within the shoot, but on the magazine’s cover. That delicious poppy-hued dress Siebel’s wearing on the cover comes from the Christopher Collins spring 2010 collection.

“Our idea for this season was to put it on and walk out the door,” Collins told us when we asked him about the line during a recent phone chat.

Also featured in the shoot were pieces from Colleen Quen and footwear from Pacific Heights’ HeidiSays Shoes.

Along with a photo shoot in the Fairmont Heritage Place at Ghirardelli Square, the UC Berkeley publication dishes on Newsom’s relationship with the Gav and her everyday fashion choices.

See it for yourself when the issue drops next week.

[Photography: Erika Veliz]

Green Gala Garden Party: Sustainable Fashion on the Runway

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Some of the most exciting names in Bay Area sustainable fashion will show pieces from current collections during this weekend’s Green Gala Garden Party in the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley.

That new-on-the-scene and utterly intriguing Mr. Larkin, Permacouture founder and fiber artist Sasha Duerr, J.T. Leroy real-life alter ego Savannah Knoop of Tinc and eco-friendly denim pioneer Tierra Del Forte of Del Forte Denim are among the participating designers was enough to get our carbon offset, biofuel-powered engines running.

But add a redwood grove setting that’s positively gorge, organic eats, biodynamic wine and – oh yeah – a really great cause and we’re hooked like a teen on Twilight. The event is a benefit to raise funds for the care and maintenance of the garden’s 34 acres and 12,000 plant species.

When we spoke to Gala Program Coordinator Deepa Natarajan earlier this week, she told us that 70 percent of the garden’s funding comes from plant sales and fundraising efforts like this one. Along with its extensive collection of plants from around the world, the garden offers public programs that may appeal to fashion fans, including quarterly fiber dye workshops.

For more details, check out Lorraine’s post on the event on 7×7‘s Glamwatch blog, check out the official web site or call 510-643-7265 to purchase tickets ($95 in advance, $115 at the door).