October 2016 - Optix Eye Care

With our passion for independent eyewear, we are inspired and encouraged by Local Cloth’s Project Handmade fashion show and all the artists who participated. When it comes to fashion and sustainability, Local Cloth continues to build a community around learning and sharing what they do. They offer regular workshops year round and also put on one impressively responsible fashion show every other year.

Fashion Show, Veronika Wildgruber, Mary Ray, Local Cloth

Jeans-Deconstructed & Reconstructed by Mary Ray from Banner Elk, NC. Featuring Veronika Wildgruber “Strange Love” sunglasses.

This year we were fortunate to be a part of the biannual Project Handmade fashion show styling eyewear to compliment truly creative wearable art. As described on their website, the event “featured 42 garments made with locally sourced materials fashioned by local fiber artists. Techniques included spinning, knitting, weaving, felting, and of course design and sewing. The purpose of this event is to promote innovative use of materials and resources available in our region and to spotlight the economic potential of supply chain collaboration.”

This show sets itself apart from other fashion shows by holding a much higher standard for the quality it presents on the runway. Not just beauty but skill… That skill is executed with a responsible process that pays attention to detail not only in aesthetics and technique but how they source and even harvest their materials.

This Fair Isle North Carolina Cardigan by Martha Owen from Murphy, NC was made from wool from her sheep and dyed with indigo, cochineal, marigolds, lichen & mushrooms.

Fashion Show, Local Cloth, Project Handmade, Martha Owen, Woow Eyewear

Featuring Woow Eyewear “Keep Cool 2”

This was a personal favorite on the runway titled “Local Color” from artists Barbara Zaretsky from Asheville, NC. The shawl is hand-dyed with local walnuts. The shift is also hand-dyed using locally grown weld. It was a stunningly sophisticated set.