As a long-time champion of environmental causes and eco-friendly clothing brands, Tonne Goodman–legendary stylist, former Vogue fashion director, current Vogue Sustainability editor–has always been my north star on what to buy, where to buy it, when to buy it, and how to wear it. It doesn’t hurt that she is one of the chicest women I’ve ever met and I idolize her personal style as much as I do her work for both Vogue and our planet. With Tonne’s book, Point of View, coming out last year, we thought a joyful way to talk about the future of fashion would be to look back to some of Tonne’s greatest shoots for Vogue and breathe new life into the looks by shopping them out from sustainable brands. This is a celebration of timelessness–good style is forever as are great wardrobe basics–and we already know Tonne’s edit will stand the test of time.
THEN:
The snow is falling on the East Coast and the holiday music is on every radio station–it’s full-on festive season and Tonne and I have decided to focus on an epic image of Raquel Zimmermann wearing a red Donna Karan gown from Vogue’s May 2010 issue as we chat over holiday Zoom cocktails. This shoot in particular feels very apropos for this December, as the original spread was titled “The American Experience.” Indeed, we are finally finished with a monumental election and, come January 20, we’ll usher in a new president. “This [picture of Raquel Zimmermann] is from a story called ‘The American Experience,’ which represented historic archetypes of our national style. Among the quintessential American figures is the screen siren, thanks to the power of Hollywood and film, both on screen and what would have been on the red carpet,” Tonne says as she flipped through the issue. “This is really one of the most fun shoots that I have ever done because of the variety of characters and because of the fabulous team we had, which included David Sims and some of my favorite models.” Tonne smiled as she spoke, “I love the freedom of expression when you go back through history, American history in this case, and relish in the possibilities. The scope of American style is so huge and this is an example of that. It goes from fanciful to political and everything in between.”
NOW:
As we recreate this iconic lady-in-red moment in time for a holiday spent like no other in the United States, it feels right to talk about sustainable American fashion. Holiday dressing itself is often quite wasteful, so it feels important to riff on the original look with sustainable pieces as well as items that will integrate seamlessly into any wardrobe, festive season and beyond.
What also takes a red carpet-worthy dress to the next level? As any stylist or starlet–or, to borrow text from our original Vogue story, “screen siren”–will tell you, it’s all about the undergarments. These GOTS-certified, organic cotton bralette and briefs from Botanica Workshop are soft and comfortable without skimping on style. Designed and made in Los Angeles, they feature the perfect little vintage shell button as a finishing detail on very classic shapes.
Holiday parties—not exactly what we expected this year, right? But, what better reason to dress up a little when you are celebrating with your stay-at-home crew that’s gotten a little too used to your sweatpants. Dress, check; jewelry, check; the perfect underpinnings, check. Now, on to a signature scarlet lip to match. Remember make-up? From RMS, this Lip2Cheek formula in Beloved is the ultimate in easy makeup and made from certified organic ingredients. RMS also prides itself on its recyclable and reusable minimal packaging. Speaking of minimal, nothing is doing more with less than the revolutionary Air Vodka–the finishing touch for this sustainable holiday party set up we have in the works. Air Vodka uses air, water, and sunlight as its three main ingredients. That’s it. On top of the natural ingredients, Air is actually able to minimize photosynthesis and transform carbon dioxide (captured from the air) into impurity-free alcohols. We will certainly cheers to that.
