After the first few outfits went down the runway, we mentally christened Lawrence Pizzi the King of Eco Fabrics.
The fabrics he co-creates with his eco mills are at once miraculous and futuristic. He showed beautiful duster coats in White, Camel, and Cerulean Blue. While they looked like organza they were in fact made from glass bottles. There was a White dress with flutter sleeves that was artfully draped across the body, made of crushed eggshell, combined with 7-8% polyester to help bind it together. If we hadn’t read the show notes earlier on, we would have sworn that these pieces were made from high quality satin crepe. Recycled plastic bottles were converted into cozy chenille tops and a beautiful unisex Seafoam Green cardigan, that looked like fine knitwear. The biggest surprise was the Marigold Yellow sweater that felt every bit like luxe double-ply cashmere. The crowd’s jaw collectively dropped when Lawrence revealed that the sweater was made from cement. In a post-interview, he explained, “What you saw today is the result of a lot of trial and error. We’re calling this version, ‘cement 2.0’.” The process originated in Japan, and he improved on it after taking what he had learned and collaborating with his mills in Shri-Lanka to create an even better “cashmere”. The old saying, “One man’s garbage is another man’s treasure” certainly applies to Lawrence Pizzi’s work.
The irony remains that being good to the planet is not an inexpensive proposition. But in time, hopefully, like organic food, prices for doing the right thing will come down to make them more accessible to a larger population.
To shop: www.lawrencepizzi.com
