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Joya Dass and Aiden Murtagh of Eyes Wide Open Productions, will host their first green fashion show, Sense and Sustainability, on Friday, April 9th from 6-9 pm at the Aicon Gallery. The fashion show will raise funds for the post-production of First Sight, a documentary about the 45 million people living with some form of visual impairment in India. The release of the documentary will raise awareness for the Sankara Eye Foundation in its efforts to eradicate curable blindness throughout India.
Joya Dass and Aiden Murtagh teamed up to produce “First Sight” which was shot in Tamil Nadu, India in December of 2009. Joya is a well-known television news reporter in New York City, and Aiden Murtagh is a New York- based businessman. “First Sight” follows the plight of three sight-challenged children and two doctors through the Sankara Eye Care Institute in Coimbatore.
“While shooting ‘First Sight,’” says documentarian and director Joya Dass, “we traveled to remote and poverty-stricken villages of Tamil Nadu. We saw children ranging from the ages of 3 months to 13 years, sitting in the middle of the road…with heaps of non-biodegradable garbage all around them. We realized that the waste would not magically disappear. This inspired us to combine our cause of raising awareness for curing eye disease in India and hosting a green fashion show promoting ways of saving the environment.”
The Sense and Sustainability fashion show will feature Swati Argade and Helen Asir, designers committed to using Indian and fair-trade resources to further the green and sustainable fashion movement. It will also showcase the work of sustainable menswear designers Marcus Hicks, owner and founder of SarahDixonsNova or SDN, and Rachel Lyra Hospodar of Medium Reality, both of whom fashion clothes from recycled, organic and reclaimed materials.
Event Details
When: 6 PM-9 PM
Where: Aicon Gallery
35 Great Jones Street
New York, NY
Ticket Information: General Admission $50, VIP Admission $75
Buy tickets online here.
The Designers
Swati Argade chooses fabrics and embroideries whose production helps sustain the maintenance and development of local economies and ancient traditions. For her “Made in India” line, she has traveled all over the country developing materials in partnerships with artisan cooperatives based in Indian villages. Their sustenance relies on these age-old art forms. Her latest endeavor “Bhoomi” is a 100% Made in the USA, eco-friendly raincoat line made of recycled plastic bottles and organic Texas-grown cotton.
Helen Asir’s journey into fashion began when she became frustrated trying to buy sustainable formal wear for her children, and could only find a small selection of very high-priced items often containing traces of polyester. So Helen journeyed to the only place she knew she could find luxurious organic silk, pure silk, and natural stones for ornaments: India. All fabrics in her collections can be sourced from materials native to our natural environment.
Marcus Hicks will be one of the featured menswear designers of the event. His funky line of suits, Sarah Dixons Nova, are made from recycled vintage cloth and organic cotton.
Rachel Lyra Hospodar is the only non-New Yorker featured in Sense and Sustainability. Based in the SoMa district of San Francisco, her design studio is called “Medium Reality.” She gives vintage shirts, vests, and blazers a second lease on life using laser etched applique, salvaged trim and patches, and reclaimed fabric.
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