New York, London, Paris, Milan - when most people think of high fashion and runway shows, these are the cities that come to mind. For the average person, couture fashion doesn’t mean much, except possibly fodder for a one-night fantasy. Destinations like Chicago, Toronto, Seattle, and Los Angeles are emerging with their own take on “fashion week,” often featuring independent, local, and more wearable designers.

Often referred to as the City of Roses (and the less appealing title of “Stumptown”), Portland, Oregon is developing into an incomparable outlet for cutting-edge fashion, especially brands based around sustainability. This year, Portland Fashion Week is being billed as the greenest fashion week ever - quite a title to apply to a 6-day series of events, especially with so many other cities vying for that title.

What did celebrities at New York Fashion Week have to say about Portland? Allison Janney from “West Wing”said, “Raincoats and a good pair of walking shoes; bluejeans and rain boots. Portland is having a fashion week? I love it!” Singer Maya made a great point that I can relate to: “Portland is so far removed from the entertainment world I would think the designers there would relate well to everyday people. Sometimes when I buy clothes in L.A. or New York, I can only wear them in L.A. or New York.”

What makes an event green? How is Portland stepping up its efforts to hold on to the title of Greenest City in the United States (according to SustainLane.com)? My curiosity was piqued, so what a joy it was to chat recently with Tito Chowdhry, Executive Producer of Portland Fashion Week. He was very excited to tell me all about what PFW Productions was doing to create the greenest fashion week they could, including the largest collection of sustainable designers on any runway.

Read on to find out more about the importance of green fashion, support from local businesses and media, the cost of dressing sustainable, and more.

STAY TUNED for a special PFW announcement from myself and Greenloop later this week!

What do you hope to accomplish by producing the world’s most sustainable fashion week?

Tito Chowdhry: Two things: 1) taking lead in creating awareness towards eco-responsible fashion and lifestyle as a whole, through the captivating medium of fashion and 2) taking lead in establishing that green-fashion is as much of a high-fashion as it’s non-green counterpart.

You might like to know why the international media, like the fashion bible BOOK MODA calls PFW the most sustainable fashion week. Along with showcasing the largest collection (15 eco designers) of fashion shows of any Fashion Week, the production of the fashion-week itself is sustainable. Everything you associate a fashion week with, we attempted to do it through sustainable means:
- Runway itself
- Hair/makeup products
- Swag bag
- Energy efficient LED lighting for the venue
- Organic food/wine
- Recycled fabric for the decor of the venue
- Benefiting a eco-restoration organization (Willamette Riverkeeper)
- Even our hotel and airline partners (Hotel Monaco and Lufthansa) are green
- And a lot more for you, just so you come and see

Why do you believe eco-fashion is important to the overall green movement?

Tito: Fashion is not only a big part of people’s lifestyle but also the most captivating one. So, if we can make eco-fashion more acceptable, like high fashion, you not only save the earth from fashion-related pollution but also create awareness in eco-responsibility very effectively in other areas.

[From PFW designer Emily Katz]

According to the Portland Fashion Week (PFW) press kit, people from a wide range of financial backgrounds attend the week’s events. Most fashion weeks feature lines that are far out of the average person’s price range - will PFW be different?

Tito: Yes; a wide variety of designers are launching their Spring/Summer 2008 collection at PFW 2007. In general, for various reasons, green fashion is more expensive to make. Through working towards the important goal of increasing the market share for green designers, PFW contributes to drive down the price too.

Have you come into contact with any particularly difficult roadblocks while planning a green fashion week?

Tito: [We found] four roadblocks:
- The stereotype that green fashion isn’t high fashion
- Portland is not synonymous with high fashion
- Portland isn’t a commercial hub, so it’s harder to get businesses to sponsor PFW (since, unlike other fashion weeks, PFW offers nominal fee for designers to be in PFW, sponsorship is the main source of covering expenses)
- Portland isn’t a press hub with established fashion press; it’s hard to get our word out

[From PFW designer Leanimal]

How many designers do you plan in showcasing in total this year?

Tito: Currently, there are more than 35 nationally and internationally-known designers showing their next season’s collections. Out of them, more than 15 are eco designers - that’s the largest collection of runway shows of eco-designers anywhere in the world! (I believe Esthetica at London Fashion Week only had trunk shows.)

Do you have any other exciting events (other than the array of runways shows) planned for PFW 2007?

Tito: Every day, there will be exciting entertainment, pre-cocktail hour, post-parties … and surprises. Also, in The Plaza, we will have boutique showcases.

[From PFW designer and advisory board member Anna Cohen]

Will PFW only be showcasing sustainable designers or are all welcome? What are your criteria for approving designers for the event?

Tito: Portland Fashion Week is the “Sundance Film Festival of Fashion Weeks” where creativity in design and technique rules over bank-rolling. All our designers are sustainable and/or independent. Independent designers, despite not using eco-fabrics, employ several sustainable means - they produce locally, reducing transportation-related pollution and using fair trade [practices].

How supportive have you found the creative and commercial communities of Portland to be while transitioning to such a green focus?

Tito: We got enormous amount of in-kind support from numerous organizations who want to see this burgeoning fashion week grow and be a part of it. As a whole, the support from the commercial community, with some exceptions, is yet to understand the importance of a fashion week as a marketing vehicle.

STAY TUNED for a special PFW announcement from myself and Greenloop later this week!