Clothes with a Conscience

In the grand hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, a runway is the center of attention. Neon lights, fog effects and loud house music set the scene. It's business as usual at MAGIC (Men's Apparel Guild in California), the fashion trade show that visits Las Vegas twice a year.

Down the hall, however -- in a space occupied by just over 100 vendors -- is a much different set up. The runway here is made of artificial grass. Models emerge from backstage braless and barefoot, sporting accessories like yoga bags and bamboo jewelry. A man playing a drum with his hands sets the beat to which they bounce down the runway.

Several feet above the action hangs an orange banner that reads "The Ecollection." This new space is dedicated solely to vendors showing eco-conscious apparel.

"This is the first show focusing on green as its own section," says Sandy Skinner, CEO of Ecoskin, a women's line that uses environmentally sustainable luxury fabrics. "I wouldn't have done (MAGIC) any other way. ... It's validating."

Ecoskin was one of 22 designers featured in the first Ecollection fashion show. It began with loungewear that consisted mostly of tanks, drawstring linen pants and organic cotton T-shirt dresses. The next set raised the bar.

Sweet cocktail dresses from Pelli Cha and garments with a tendency toward the dramatic (oversized bell sleeves, high cut slits) from Protect the Element drew loud applause. Fashion forward looks like these provide physical rebuttals to the stereotype that eco-conscious clothing is void of imagination.

"Just like food doesn't have to lack taste to be organic, clothes don't have to lack style to be organic," says Marci Zaroff, founder and president of Under the Canopy, a sustainable lifestyle brand.

Zaroff coined the term eco-fashion in 1996, when mentioning the words "organic" and "fashion" in one sentence made people wince. Today, it's finally better understood.

"It's not about being involved in green because you want to be ahead," Zaroff says. "It's about not being left behind."