NY’s green fashion week

Bartlett:gay meets preppy

Eco-consciousness has returned to New York Fashion Week and its not all greenwash. Gone are tired 80s slogan t-shirts from the likes of Katharine Hamnett. John Bartlett really got to the heart of the issue, with a menswear line created entirely off-grid, using tools of days gone by like foot-pedal sewing machines. The collection, produced entirely in the United States, features hand-woven Italian fabrics, hand knitted, crocheted, stitched or machined garments, boxed in recycled packaging, and transported in vehicles running on biofuel.

With his thick brush of hair, round glasses, and toothy grin, Cincinnati-born Bartlett looks like he could be his own model. A Harvard sociology major who studied at the London School of Economics, Bartlett came out before he went to college, and his clothes often tease the uptight norms of menswear.

His slyly erotic vibe (tailored trousers that lace up the front like a football player’s pants, judicious use of leather) uses

great tailoring technique, very luxurious Italian fabrics, and a distinct awareness of other American designers like Bill Blass in the use of jersey for crisply cut jackets—but always with an overt sexiness by way of leather trim and low-slung waistbands. In recent years he’s loosened the silhouette to accommodate the times.

Bartlett does preppy (sweaters tucked into flat-front pants, loafers with no socks) with a twist (pink-and-green ties, lime-colored pinstripes).

Although the early part of his career was hectic and his press mostly positive, he hit a troubled patch around 2000, when his backers dropped out and his collections were not as well received. He closed his business in 2002 and spent a year traveling in Asia and studying Buddhism. After returning to New York, he began working his way back into the fashion business, starting with a small menswear line (shown at the Harvard Club).

Liz Claiborne gave an eco-nod with textiles like a woven hopsack jacket. Behnaz Sarafpour green theme (which began with paperless e-mail invites) shifted into high gear with organic fabrics – a tan waffle jungle print dress and coat, wood-grain prints and wood-bead embroidery. Other eye-catchers: a leaf print matelasse skirt and an ombre tank dress that were, uh, actually green.

Max Azria’s wood-grained catwalk was best of the rest.

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