The Swedish designer Maja Svensson, founder of Elsa and Me, launched her new timeless dress for female environmentalists who don’t have time to follow trends.
“I created an eco-friendly dress for business women. The Elsa-dress, with its superior quality, will last up to 10 years,” said Maja Svensson when she recently held an event in Manhattan with fashion journalist Sofia Hedström and photographer Anna Schori—authors of the Swedish book, "The New Fashion Manifesto." The book illustrates how you can be an ecological shopper and give your clothes a second chance.

Did you know we buy an average of 50 to 60 clothing items each year? Today, fashion is more like fast-food with new trends every week, causing overweight wardrobes and effects on the environment. These facts are part of Hedström and Schori's book. As research for the book, Hedström did what she calls a shopping-detox. She spent a whole year without any shopping and discovered a lot of new ways to use the clothes she already had.
“The first two months were tough, and I found out that shopping is a big part of my social life. During that year I covered all the fashion weeks in New York, Paris and London, yet I realized no one ever noticed that I wore old clothes.”

"The New Fashion Manifesto" is described as a cookbook with recipes on how to re-design your own clothes, and how you—without professional skills—can create your own style with tools as simple as a scissor, needle and thread. The book shows that style has nothing to do with following fashion trends or over-consuming garments, and it gives you practical tips on how to renew your wardrobe without spending a lot.
The book has been a huge success in Sweden and Norway, and is soon expected to be published in the U.S.

Hanna Aqvilin
Find out more about the book (Swedish title: Modemanifestet—Den stilsmartes handbok) or how you can do your own shopping-detox: Modemanifestets Shoppingdetox på Facebook

Find out more about Elsa and Me, and purchase an Elsa dress at: Elsa and Me