Susan Woo Wows the Fash Crowd

Final part in a special NYC Fashion Report by Emma Tynan

New Yorker Susan Woo is one of the most established eco-fashion brands in the Big Apple. She founded her namesake label in 2009, and since then, she’s cultivated a devoted celebrity following, including fashion plate Olivia Palermo, and the face of ethical jewellery brand Gemfields, Mila Kunis. This year she took home the much-coveted Ecco Domani prize for sustainability as well the prize money of $25,000 to help fund a collection and show at the next New York Fashion week.

Before setting up her own label, Woo studied fashion design and business at Cornell University, and after graduating, she honed her skills at luxury brands Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Derek Lam. With a keen eye for luxury detailing coupled with her environmental beliefs, Woo wanted to create a brand that reflected a modern woman’s version of environmental fashion. “The future of fashion relies on both the ingenuity of design and the sustainability of the environment,” says Woo.

Made in the US and in the heart of the New York garment district, Woo’s collection ranges from casual to eveningwear. It also only incorporates materials that are eco-friendly and sustainable including vegetable tanned leather, cellulose-derived Tencel and Enka viscose, silk crepe de chine, and organic wools, cottons and cashmeres. Woo goes one step further by ensuring that her materials are also sourced from companies that are committed to sustainable production practices, but perhaps the best thing about her label is that there is absolutely nothing ‘wooly’ about it: “The greatest aspect of all these fabrics is that you would never guess they were eco-friendly,” says Woo in a recent interview. Indeed, the range’s soft, draped shapes and bold colours provide a fine example of design-led luxury eco-fashion.

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