by Abi Ferrin
“With my base of support and an amazing team, we are going to continue to change lives with style.” -Abi
As we head toward fall, my team and I are almost ready to present the collection for Spring 2010, which will be unveiled on the runway in New York City at the Style 360 showcase during fashion week, along with new lines from Avril Lavigne, Kristin Davis, and designers such as Malan Breton, Walter Baker and more. It all starts with inspiration. And this year has been no exception.
My friends, Greg Johnson and Jani Schulz, have been trying to get me to visit the Osa Peninsula in Costa Rica for years and this July, I was finally able to make the trip. Jani called to let me know that she had identified a group of women in the Osa Peninsula who were unemployed but had sewing skills. The Freedom Project needed to expand! For those of you who don’t know, the Freedom Project is the heart of my brand and focuses on employing and empowering women rescued out of human trafficking and other oppressive environments.
Greg and Jani have joined forces with Jorge Campos, the former minister of the fisheries for Costa Rica, on a program called the Rainforest Recovery Initiative (RARE). The whole premise of this project is to create programs and initiatives that encourage humans to live in harmony with the rainforest, instead of destroying it. This expansion of the Freedom Project to the local women of the Osa is just one aspect of the Rainforest Recovery Initiative program. It has been underway for 15 years and has focused on everything from encouraging responsible private land ownership, to reforestation, to ecological building practices, to even creating new environmentally sustainable crop options to increase the local ability to export in the Osa, the most bio-diverse area per square mile in the world.
During my trip to Costa Rica, I was able to meet with several of the women who were identified as those with skills. I was welcomed into their homes and able to recognize their needs in terms of equipment and training. I was also toured through the rainforest on over a 20-mile trek, where we experienced the rainforest fully from waterfalls to the multitude of plant life and species. There we had daily visits from the monkeys, dolphin sightings from the porch and toucans, parrots and scarlet macaws flying overhead constantly. I came back to Dallas more inspired then I have ever been and began to meet with the many artists I enjoy collaborating with to make sure the vision was cohesive. Brad Oldham created hand-crafted artisan cuffs from his new collection, Stack N Wear, with our messaging: Freedom & Purpose, Rainforest Recovery and !Pura Vida!. We spent days with Julie Cox-Hamm painstakingly developing the prints for her hand-painted silks, which had to be perfect! Over the Internet, I was able to design with the Cambodian women; the new bag collection and button details they sent me are better than I could have imagined. Every detail has been labored over, from colors to prints, to jeweled details and accents by Rachelle Dauphinee. Rose’s Mojito Cocktail Mix has asked me to create a specialty drink to be served during all events they sponsor for fashion week, paying homage to this great cause. We came up with the “Rainforest Recovery Mojito” which will be served while guests wait to be seated in New York. And dynamic D.J. duo Jen Miller and Paul Paredes are even coming to New York to spin live collection-inspired music during the show and after-party!
Most importantly, there is a beautiful purpose to this. It is critical to understand the global importance of supporting people who are working in harmony with nature. While the Spring 2010 Collection will reflect the aesthetic beauty of the Rainforest in Costa Rica, it is meant to encourage change for social and environmental improvements. That’s why I am titling this collection “Genesis”. It is only the beginning. With my base of support and an amazing team, we are going to continue to change lives with style.
Abi Ferrin is a Dallas-based fashion designer and philanthropist. For more information, please visit www.abiferrin.com.
