!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

Aspen Daily News 03/16/2012

Copyright © 2012 Aspen Daily News. All Rights Reserved. 03/16/2012 March 21, 2012 10:02 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Copy Reduced to %d%% from original to fit letter page

WINE COLUMN

Drew’s ode to Kerouac and wine13

EDITOR’S PICK

12th annual SkiCoSpring Jam

3MUSIC BEAT4

Pat Green captures honky-tonk spirit at Belly Up

BIG SCREEN6

‘Friends with Kids’ aims for candor

MARCH 16 - MARCH 22, 2012

SpringSpringIntoInto

FashionFashion

Fashion Week Highlights,

Spring Trends, Charitable

Designs and More

!""""!!""""!!!""""!!!!

MARCH 16, 2012 — MARCH 22, 2012 !"""TIME OUT !"""ELEVEN

Two charitable labels are giving new mean-ing to the phrase

“fashion meets function.” Among the Aspen Fash-ion Week stand-outs, it wasn’t the bold and the beautiful that drew attention (though the namesake soap opera was in town fi lming a handful of episodes), but the FEED Project and Krochet Kids that took the spotlight. Both organizations have slightly different methods of philanthropy, as the com-pany founders explained during a special event on Monday night at the St. Regis. Lauren Bush started the FEED Project after traveling and discovering an inner drive to “make a difference,” she said. As a spokesperson for the United World Food Program, she conceptualized the FEED bag. Each bag has a number printed on it, which represents the number of chil-dren that its purchase will feed with meals at school for one year. To date, the FEED Project has served more than 60 million meals and raised $6 million. “Often this could be the only meal that kids are getting a day,” she says. The products range from the FEED 1

bag to the Judith Leiber-designed FEED 1000 clutch, which provides school meals for 1,000 children over a year. The FEED lines have also incorporated relief efforts, with focus in Japan, Haiti, and Africa after recent crises in these areas. And, there are the custom totes, like those given as gift bags to guests at Aspen Fashion Week. Because of her campaign, Bush was named one of Fortune’s Most Powerful Female Entrepreneurs in 2010. She is the granddaughter of former President George H. W. Bush, and recently married David Lauren, son of Ralph Lauren. “It’s about making giving super tan-gible, and what we share with Krochet

Kids is conscious consumerism,” she told the crowd. Staged below her while Bush talked were a dozen models, dressed in FEED apparel and Krochet Kids goods, sitting around fake campfi res roasting marsh-mallows. Both organizations were also featured in a variety of events over fash-ion week, including in-store hosted par-ties and a public panel discussion. Krochet Kids is a grassroots organiza-tion that started with three friends from college. They combined their passion for crocheting with a drive to make a differ-ence for those suffering in the world. “We felt we had to do something, and asked, ‘What are we good at?

What can we do?’” saidStewart Ramsey, co-founderof Krochet Kids. “We cancrochet.” The nonprofi t was formed in 2008. Today, the organiza-tion employs more than 150women in Uganda and Peru. In these countries, they’ve not only given women jobs, but offered them education and responsibility. “We’re about empower-ment, not just selling a prod-uct,” says Kohl Crecelius, co-founder of Krochet Kids.

The money goes back to the womenwho knit the hats, and each product has a tag sewn in, signed by the lady who made it. Krochet Kids only employswomen because they are the mothers and often heads of households. Both Krochet Kids and FEED are runby visionaries under the age of 30. This young, entrepreneurial spirit merges busi-ness with social engineering, proving thatit’s possible to draw awareness to global issues while still operating with a success-ful business model. For more information, visit www.feed-projects.com and www.krochetkids.org.

Fashion That Gives BackFashion That Gives BackTwo Companies with a Charitable Cause

By Christine Benedetti, Time Out WriterBy Christine Benedetti, Time Out Writer

with sleek lines and a fi t that doesn’t quit. David Lever from the company told me KJUS is producing a limited edition of 500 pieces that are num-bered and sized, which will come out next season. Consistent with the phi-losophy that employs using your own body heat to regulate your tempera-ture, their fabric includes a membrane that opens and closes to achieve that equilibrium. Lines will include the Lava, Imex, and LK jackets and pants. “We are using wool to make some of our men’s pants too, which will create a very breathable, comfortable garment,” Lever explained. I like the idea that we are returning to natural

fabrics that retain their shape and quality. I asked him about a jacket that walked the runway that had an iridescent quality to it. David told me that it consists of a translucent cover-ing over the down which is dyed the color of choice, which then shines through the shimmery façade. The surprise is that the down is water re-sistant; no more drowning in a snow-storm. See it all at www.kjus.com. The fi nale of the week was a show-stopping presentation by Finnish de-signer Wille Ravala. The DUOHTA-VUOHTA collection is an ecological luxury brand that refl ects the design-er’s Scandinavian roots, utilizing Finn-

ish raccoon fur, reindeer leather, and pure wool. Knee-high leather boots with a little turn-up at the toe along with leather straps encircling foot-wear remind one of the Lapps tra-versing the tundra in their reindeer-driven sleds during endless winters. Full length ball gowns made entirely of butterscotch chamois-like soft leather and even one in white acces-sorized with big fur hats, muffs and scarves create a fantasy in the snow. You could almost hear us ladies in the audience sigh as we envisioned an As-pen wedding as we emerge from the gondola in one of these Nordic prin-cess creations. See them for yourself

at www.duohtavuohta.com. Other highlights: I enjoyed the mariachi music and fi sh tacos at Mar-mot, the chic and sleek styles fromthe Gray collections on the models atThe Gallerie, and trying on the gor-geous, extravagant diamonds at theStyle 2020 show at the Sky Hotel.It was four days of non-stop energy,lifestyle and luxury — Aspen perfect!I can only imagine what they have instore for next year.

Read more about the event and see photos from the designers on Giovan-na’s blog at www.fashionistainaspen.wordpress.com.

DOUCHTAVUOHTADOUCHTAVUOHTASnow CollectSnow Collect KJUSKJUSHelly HansenHelly Hansen KJUSKJUS

Models wearing Krochet Kids and FEED apparelModels wearing Krochet Kids and FEED apparel The FEED 1 bagThe FEED 1 bag

!""""!!""""!!!""""!!!!

TEN !"""TIME OUT !"MARCH 16, 2012 — MARCH 22, 2012

Aspen Fashion Week has always been fun, but the event might have fi nally found its footing in the valley this year.

Running Sunday, March 11 through Wednes-day, March 14, the four-day fest featured great ski clothes on the runway, off-the-hill surprise de-signers in shops around Aspen, tons of energy, and lots of socializing, Aspen-style, which translated to delicious cocktails enjoyed in the March sunshine to tunes from DJ Pesce from L.A., and swanky af-ter-hours events. When I asked Aspen Fashion Week (AFW) Found-er Lisa Johnson how she was able to garner such high profi le sponsors such as Bentley, the luxury car com-pany, and the Wall Street Journal, Lisa responded, “They fi nd us!” She added, “We are so fortunate to have all these amazing partners and brands to help us celebrate fashion and lifestyle, and what better place to do it than in Aspen.” The new addition this year, besides their Snow-stage at the ice rink downtown, was the St. Regis, which served as the host hotel as well as another venue for late-night shows, a pop-up store with fash-ions from the runway, and The Bentley Lounge. I liked the combination of day and evening events, besides the usual in-store events. Events held in the après-ski oriented Chateau St. Regis gave the fest an extra shot of glamour, presenting fashions that can we worn day or night. I particularly liked the CrOp fashion show on Sun-day evening. I spoke with designer David Peck at his

pop-up display at the hotel earlier in the afternoon where he told me his clothes are inspired by people in need of help. This particular collection refl ected the crisis in the Gulf Coast of the United States. One of my favorite long dresses had the famous Spanish moss pattern from the wallpaper from the famous Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, while another fea-tured the birds of the bayou, colorfully and whimsi-cally interpreted. “I give 10 percent of all my proceeds back to the community that motivated the design,” Peck says. “In this case the Gulf Restoration Project.” CrOp produces all of its garments in America, us-ing sustainable fabrics and practices. It is a socially conscious clothing line with a conscience. Well done, David. May you set an example to be followed by others. Check out his designs at www.davidpeckcol-lection.com. The shows on the Snowstage during the three days of runway shows, which was excellently situ-ated and outfi tted to mask the fact that it was di-rectly across the street from the Ruby Park bus ter-minal, included returning designers Authier, KJUS, Marmot, and Sport Obermeyer. Newcomers Neve, Dale of Norway, Fera, Helly Hansen, Killy, Krim-son Klover as well as two fashion houses north of our border, Roots Canada and Pajar Canada, also joined the line-up. Pajar has really come on the scene, especially in Aspen, where snow boots are a necessity and a way of life. They are giving established companies like

Sorel some real competition. I spoke with Pajar de-signer Paul Golbert after his show on Sunday, where he informed me that the company has added outer apparel to the already well-established shoe line. They distribute in 41 countries and can be found in Bloom-ingdales and Neiman Marcus across the U.S., and at Bloomingbirds in Aspen. Golbert showed some edgy leather jackets that go on the hill or off, as they are waterproof and in-sulated. “We like to make ski clothes that are more feminine, mixing performance with fashion.” Check out the footwear and jackets at www.pajar.com. As expected, color predominated throughout the collections. I loved the mixing of colors together in one outfi t — aqua with purple, orange with lime, hot pink with turquoise. In the golden sunshine of our snow-covered mountain area, this splash of brights seems just right. I was even inspired to go out and buy a new spring ski outfi t — a light-weight, rose-colored quilted ski jacket by Patagonia from Aspen Sports and some great turquoise high-waisted ski pants from Jet Set. They do know how to make a great ski pant that fl atters a woman! And they were on sale. So go shopping while these great buys still exist. Back to the shows. For me, KJUS is always a fa-vorite. In keeping with the philosophy of form and function, KJUS is always on the cutting edge of technology, infusing their products with the latest components to keep us warm and dry as we enjoy our sport. Their clothes feel good and look good,

By Giovanna DiRusso, By Giovanna DiRusso, Time Out Fashion ColumnistTime Out Fashion Columnist

Mountain Style: Mountain Style: Four Days of Fashion Four Days of Fashion

MarmotMarmot

MarmotMarmot

Girls hand out free drinks at SnowstageGirls hand out free drinks at Snowstage DOUCHTAVUOHTADOUCHTAVUOHTAAuthierAuthier

AuthierAuthier

cover story