Whole Life Times: Dazzling in Bamboo

March 2005

Dazzling in Bamboo

Designer Linda Loudermilk Nurtures the First Conscientious Catwalk

by Leslie Billera

Two years ago in Paris, clothing designer Linda Loudermilk had just finished showing her “Corazon” series featuring a montage of images of bodies, branches and human hearts. At that moment she realized that her “transformation of the heart” design had in turn transformed its designer. “I realized I didn’t want to be just a fashion designer; I wanted to boost people’s spirits, not just their egos.” It was then, she explains, that she committed to earth-friendly couture.

As we talk, Loudermilk is sensually stroking the rich, airy fabric of a blouse she designed from bamboo fibre fabric as if observing it for the first time. We are in her studio on the second floor of an average strip mall on Santa Monica Boulevard, where sheer, sexy, fabulously feminine haute couture, alight in brilliant colors, has hopped in bed with the style-challenged sustainable movement. Ever an artist, Loudermilk traces the blouses’ pattern of delicate Audubon birds and swoopy, circular lines modeled after natural forming lava tracks. Suddenly, her discerning brown eyes switch from serious to smiley. “That duck is just for fun,” she laughs, pointing to a baby blue ducky squatting in the midst of the silken elegance. “After all,” she says, “You’ve got to add some humor to it.”

In biker black, Loudermilk stands in sharp contrast to her spring 2005 collection, a line inspired by what she calls “the oddities of nature.” The collection’s fabrics sound like Alice in Wonderland by way of F.I.T., (or, in Loudermilk’s case, the Colorado Institute of Art): wood pulp, bamboo jersey and sasawashi, made from a Japanese leaf rich with anti-allergen and anti-bacterial properties. The linen-like sasawashi was used initially for rolling sushi and later in shoji screens, where it was found to regulate the temperature in a home. These environmentally-friendly textiles have been dubbed “herbal woven,” a fabric category coined by Loudermilk and developed via partnerships with artisan textile manufacturers from around the world.

In keeping with her commitment to the health of the planet, Loudermilk uses only eco-conscious materials and strives to maintain the utmost in responsible business practices. In return, nature—which she describes as “clean truth”—rewards her as an eternal source of creative inspiration. Each season, Loudermilk creates a theme that she features on T-shirts. “Who will nurture the Earth?” is her theme for spring ’05.

Where Money Meets Conscience

Loudermilk’s fashion love nest is mission control for her newfound “Luxury Eco” movement (luxuryeco.com). According to its mission statement, Luxury Eco is committed to “organic, recycled and ecologically friendly materials, elevating sustainability to the highest levels.” Mariana Danilovic, Linda’s partner and the “techie” of the two, explains, “Luxury Eco is a network of like-minded people who believe we can live a sustainable lifestyle, but still live well.” Own a Lexus, but make it a hybrid. Buy a multi-million dollar home, but consider solar energy. These are the simple theories behind the team’s larger philosophy.

But Loudermilk’s core focus is still fashion. Helen Yuan, a Loudermilk designer, eagerly shares Luxury Eco lore even though, on this day, the spring collection needs to get out the door and phones are ringing off the hook. “Sustainable fabrics are not always easy to work with,” she explains. It’s up to the Loudermilk design team to report problems to the textile manufacturers, whether a needle can’t quite get through a newly wrought fabric or a fabric’s durability is in question. This is how Loudermilk’s “herbal wovens” are birthed—by trial, error and attention to detail.

Even when the textile mix of an item isn’t 100 percent organic, Loudermilk’s team insists on partnering only with wholly sustainable companies. They consult with European textile watchdog groups like Öko-Tex, organic cotton trade organizations and a host of nonprofits that are regularly defining and redefining the meaning of sustainability in the fashion business and beyond. “Our biggest challenge is not choosing the right options, but finding them,” says Danilovic.

Not surprisingly, Loudermilk and Danilovic insist on high labor standards, and all the clothes are sewn locally in Los Angeles. As her work moves towards greater recognition, Loudermilk acknowledges that some manufacturing will likely go overseas to meet increased demand. She assures that all the necessary homework on fair trade decisions will be checked and rechecked. In the meantime, her production staff of 25 continues to reap the rewards of working for the quintessential anti-sweatshop with perks like massages and free yoga classes at the studio across the street. “When sewers first start with me, they are head down, they don’t look around,” she says, imitating a fearful new staffer hunched at a sewing station. “Slowly,” she says, “They realize it’s different here.”

Next up? The Luxury Eco store is slated to open in April on Melrose. “I want visitors to the store to feel the physical connection between earth and sky,” says Loudermilk. A floor made to look like dirt, complete with a ground level water pool and an open-sky ceiling accomplish that vision. Visitors will be able to read environmental literature in the “eco lounge,” make tea in the communal kitchen and chill out in the enviro-inspired interior.

The Touch, the Feel, the Pollution

Why should fashion care so much about the environment? Because the manufacturing of even seemingly non-toxic fabrics, like the cotton we all love, generates massive environmental hazards. Conventionally grown cotton consumes approximately 25 percent of the insecticides and more than 10 percent of the pesticides used in the world, according to a 1995 study by Allen Woodburn Associates, LTD., “Cotton: The Crop and Its Agrochemicals Market.”

Not surprisingly, synthetic fabrics are similarly environmentally atrocious. Polyester, nylon, acrylic and polypropylene are all manufactured from oil. According to UK textile expert Abigail Petit, these man-made fibers are made like spaghetti. Melted oil is forced through holes, drawn out into a long, fine thread, cooled and wound onto bobbins. Along with these man-made fabrics come the pollution-belching factories necessary for their creation. To meet demand, at least 10 new polyester plants have opened in China over the last couple of years.

Strutting the Stuff

After hearing about the intense breathability of bamboo jersey and the artistic possibilities inherent in reclaimed lace, it seemed fitting to find out what savvy actresses had gotten hip to Loudermilk’s pricey collection. Jennifer Beals, Jane Fonda and Roseanna Arquette are among the Hollywood fashion divas stepping out in Loudermilk. And Debra Messing, who wears Loudermilk regularly on Will and Grace, flaunted a Loudermilk design on the cover of a recent TV Guide honoring her as the “Best Dressed Woman on TV.”

But while LOHAS (Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability) is a 226.8 billion dollar market the New York Times has called “the biggest market you’ve never heard of,” eco-conscious lifestyle fashion is still a relatively small part of that movement, available and affordable to only a select few. And that reality is unlikely to change until bigger companies get involved. Hoping to hasten this shift, Loudermilk is slated to host a fashion show at April’s LOHAS 9 conference in Marina Del Rey (www.lohas.com ).

The more the market demands greener high fashion choices, the more the houses that Ralph, Calvin and Donna built will comply.

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