Natalie Chanin, Georgia Sewn Expo

Continuing this weekend, Athens Fashion Collective and the Willson Center's Global Georgia Initiative present sustainable fashion events featuring Natalie Chanin, founder and designer of Alabama Chanin, and Georgia Sewn, a one-day expo of the regional fashion design industry:

Chanin is an internationally recognized leader in the sustainable fashion movement. Based in Florence, Alabama, her company, Alabama Chanin, produces garments and other goods with organic cotton along with repurposed and reclaimed materials. Its entire manufacturing process is designed to achieve maximum sustainability at every stage, including cultural sustainability through the preservation of hand-sewing skills among local workers.

...

The Georgia Sewn expo will take place Saturday, Jan. 30, at 3 p.m. in the News Building at One Press Place in downtown Athens. Its goal is to connect designers to important sources and services within Georgia and to aid in cultivating new markets and products for Georgia businesses in all areas of the fashion industry. It will feature pop-up shops, educational installations about sustainable fashion and regional sourcing and a fashion show of Georgia designers, which will begin at 8 p.m.

This great weekend actually began yesterday, with a sewing workshop led by Chanin in the Lamar Dodd School of Art. It was a packed house and for good reason, we're excited about her lecture at the Chapel this afternoon at 5 p.m. The collaboration, integrating creativity with economic development, represents so much of what our community is about that it feels like a glimpse into the near future. In the moment with sustainable solutions - great job Athens Fashion Collective and the Willson Center. People in your town hard at work on issues AND style. That's what that's like.