Spring fashion blooms ethically with Maison-De-Mode
Sustainable style debuts at new pop-up shop
At last, we’ve turned the corner from the dreary, winter blacks and blues to the bold, sunny colors of spring.
Stores are popping with candy-colored hues, puff sleeves, 1980s retro looks, feathers, suit shorts, floral dresses and many other spring trends.
Amanda Hearst brings an ethical spin on spring with her brand, Maison-De-Mode, an online retailer of high-end ethical fashion, jewelry and home accessories with a popup at the Galleria through May 15. Hearst is the great-granddaughter of late media mogul William Randolph Hearst; the Hearst Corp. is the parent company of the Houston Chronicle.
Hearst founded Maison-De-Mode in 2012 with Hassan Pierre, who studied fashion at Parsons New School of Design in New York before creating his own sustainable collection. At the time, Hearst was an associate fashion editor with Marie Claire and wrote regularly about ethical fashion. She also worked at Town & Country magazine.
“We started doing these one-off, concept shops focused on ethical fashion because we wanted to show people that this type of apparel can actually be sexy and chic,” Hearst said. “We kept doing the shops because we saw that there was a demand, and after two years of doing the pop-ups, we decided to launch the e-commerce platform and really make this ‘project’ a company.”
“Ethical” or “sustainable” fashion is an umbrella term to include fair trade (fair prices/wages for products made in developing countries), recycled or vegan materials (not made of animal skins, hair, feather, etc.), cruelty-free manufacturing (not tested on animals) and organic textiles (made with no chemicals or pesticides). The goal is to minimize the negative impact on the environment.
Eco-fashion has evolved through years from earthy, shapeless silhouettes to chic, on-trend offerings, such as Maison-De-Mode.
“If something isn’t beautiful, people are not going to buy it,” Hearst said. “I think it’s important to educate yourself and then make decisions that are right for you.”
Maison-De-Mode’s Fanm Mon dress in yellow is one of Hearst’s favorite looks. She wore it for a trunk show in Palm Beach, Fla., earlier this year. Other favorites are Sarah’s Bag, a line of playful accessories made by women in Lebanon, AMUR evening dresses made with sustainable or recycled textiles and Rafa vegan shoe line with classic shapes.
For spring, she’s sporting the TOME baby-blue button-down dress from the Galleria pop-up store, which opened in time for Earth Day on April 22.
“This is really a time for me to remind myself of my day-to-day actions and how they affect the planet,” Hearst said.