By Sharon Feiereisen

Delivering a modern take on classic silhouettes, John Patrick exemplifies how a designer can be eco-conscious without sacrificing style or comfort.

 

Patrick, who started-off as a hat designer, branched out into womenswear in 2002 after 20 years of designing hats sold at the likes of Barneys New York. He then moved from Fashion Avenue to an abandoned warehouse in Upstate New York where he started researching organic materials.

The designer frequently traveled to Peru to learn about organic farming and soon produced his first organic item -- an apron he designed for a friend that was subsequently featured in Organic Style magazine.

 

The designer continued to dabble with organic fabrics creating travel blankets out of Alpaca wool and hand-tooled bags out of saddle leather, before developing, in 2006, his line of women’s and menswear -- Organic.

 

With the launch of Organic, John Patrick says the he set out to “create a brand that would speak to the coming generation of conscious consumers, women and men whose relationship to luxury encompasses not only the timeless attributes of forward thinking style, detail-driven quality and first-rate fit, but also a new and demanding curiosity about the ethics of their clothes.”