On Saturday, July 24, 2010, The Uptown Group hosted an eco friendly fashion show titled, “The Green Breeze Fashion Show for Land Conservation” at the Royal Oak Music Theater. The show featured award winning eco designer, Jeff Garner of Prophetik, and his autumn/winter 2010 all sustainable collection inspired by the American Civil War.
Garner’s brand hails from Franklin, Tennessee where the production process of his designs is low impact using minimal water and all natural dyes. Designing and creating the collection also have a low impact on plant and animal life with a concentration on keeping waste to a bare minimum.
The show was romantic yet moving while the fashion was quite exquisite. Garner’s designs consisted of long layered dresses and a unisex line of military jackets with recycled bottles turned into buttons, both with a Civil War costume like feel. Herringbone hemp, elephant painted hemp jersey, peace silk and green-spun 
fleece were the quaint materials used to create the collection. With the band, Catfish Mafia, playing their instruments and the models walking on green sod down the runway, the setting set the mood that resembled the uncertainties of war. The clothes were colors of dark blues and greys, just as a Civil War soldier’s uniform and the splashes of red (within the collection) were set purposely to remind the crowd of the blood that was shed during the fight. But the mood wasn’t negative. Love was displayed with capes and flowing dresses that captivated the audience with a lovely Renaissance flare. Figo Salon and their eight stylists did the hair for the show and Mijo-a’ Beauty Studio was responsible for the make up. The looks created by the selected beauty team were right on point. Figo was able to capture the mood perfectly by creating soft and flowing manes.
The show was entertaining, the collection was moving and all in all the message was heard loud and clear. Fashion doesn’t have to be about status and social rank. We should respect and follow Garner’s vision to conserve the earth and it’s materials while enjoying and utilizing natural beauty with natural fabrics, dyes 
and most importantly an eco friendly sense of fashion at the same time. Although it may be a challenge to make this change 100% of the time, we have to start somewhere.
To learn more about Jeff Garner and his all sustainable brand, Prophetik, visit www.prophetik.com
