Describing how she became interested in sustainable fabrics, Jessalyn Brinkmeyer, the owner of the new Fulton Market boutique Pivot, mentions her first piece of “eco-smart” clothing: a bamboo shirt. “It was my favorite thing to wear. It was so comfortable and it washed well. I mean, I have had this shirt for a year now and it’s as black as it was the day I got it.”
These green days, everyone from Wal-Mart to Barneys stocks a selection of eco-conscious clothing. But as Brinkmeyer discovered, finding environmentally friendly clothing that you’d actually wear outside the gym can still be an exercise in futility. After extensive research into sustainable fabrics and the designers working with them, Brinkmeyer collected labels that were as dedicated to design as they were to ethical production. Instead of “just boring, basic t-shirts,” Pivot showcases pieces like Nature vs. Future’s asymmetrical shirt-dress, and the increasingly popular Ashley Watson bags made from vintage leather. “I pick everything because it has a great design,” Brinkmeyer says. “I pick for the fashion of everything.”
Brinkmeyer was inspired to open the store after researching eco-conscious designers as a fashion journalist. “I just started reading more and more about the fabrics and about the designers who were choosing to use the fabrics. Seeing what they were creating…it was fashion.”
Brinkmeyer’s extensive knowledge of materials shows as she describes her favorite piece in the store, a floral mini by New York designer Bahar Shahpar. “It’s all printed with low-impact, fabric-reactive dying,” she explains. “The lining is organic, unbleached cotton, and the trim is vintage.” She also thinks it’s really pretty. But at Pivot, the prettiness of a thing and its eco-friendliness are intimately linked. Because, as Brinkmeyer concludes, “Keeping your clothes, wearing them for more than one season, wearing them in different ways, and in different combinations, is really the most eco-smart thing you can do.” (Elizabeth Seeskin)
