PORTLAND, Ore.--()--Seth Aaron Henderson, the latest winning designer in hit reality TV fashion show “Project Runway,” has agreed to develop the “Seth Aaron SolarWorld Collection Presented by Portland Fashion Week” to be unveiled Oct. 9 in the sustainable fashion showcase in Portland.
“It’s a powerful and enticing way to call attention to green fashion and renewable energy, all within a showcase of what will be the world’s first carbon-neutral fashion week production.”
In designing the collection, Mr. Henderson will draw on his passion for a domestically manufactured solar solution to pressing energy, environmental and economic challenges facing the country and his interest in exploring the technology’s aesthetic possibilities.
The theme of the three-way partnership is “Solar Is the New Black.” Portland Fashion Week (PFW) and SolarWorld, the show’s renewable-energy sponsor, previously announced they would assemble the show’s fashion runway from the company’s new, black solar panels. For inspiration, Mr. Henderson has extensively toured SolarWorld’s manufacturing plant in nearby Hillsboro, Ore., the largest in the Americas, where about 1,000 people will work by Sept. 30.
“It's SolarWorld's commitment to being a leader in its industry by keeping innovation always in mind that interests me,” says Mr. Henderson, who lives in the Portland area. “There was inspiration from the second I stepped foot in the SolarWorld factory. Innovation and sustainability were overwhelming impressions, and they give me limitless possibilities for a high-concept collection. They're doing a lot of good things in the world, and together with PFW, I love the statement we're making from right here in my back yard.”
Organizers of PFW, the nation’s leading independent forum spotlighting sustainable fashion-industry designs, practices and concepts, said the collaboration highlights a natural fit between two of the world’s largest industries: energy and fashion.
“SolarWorld’s partnership sparked an idea for a high-fashion, conceptual collection based upon the technology, materials and ethos of solar power, inspired by SolarWorld’s new black monocrystalline solar panels,” PFW Co-executive Producer Chris Cone said. Fellow Executive Producer Prasenjit Tito Chowdhury said, “It’s a powerful and enticing way to call attention to green fashion and renewable energy, all within a showcase of what will be the world’s first carbon-neutral fashion week production.”
Leaders of SolarWorld are equally enthusiastic.
“As a company that is exclusively focused on all phases of manufacturing high-performance solar power technology, we are fascinated to watch a talent of Seth Aaron’s magnitude interpret the design elements of our technology in a fashion context,” said Kevin Kilkelly, SolarWorld’s president of U.S. sales. “It’s a clear sign that interest in our technology, which we have been producing for 35 years, is reaching beyond its energy performance alone.”
Photos are available in the media materials area at www.SolarWorld-USA.com.
About SolarWorld (www.SolarWorld-USA.com): The SolarWorld group (ISIN: DE0005108401) is a worldwide leader in offering brand-name, high-quality, crystalline solar-power technology. Its strength is its fully integrated solar production. From silicon as the raw material through wafers, cells and modules all the way to turn-key solar systems, including recycling, the group combines all stages of the solar value chain. The central business activity is selling quality modules into the installation and distribution trades and crystalline wafers to the international solar cell industry. Group headquarters are located in Bonn, Germany. Production sites are to be found in Germany, the United States and South Korea. The group’s largest production facilities operate in Freiberg, Germany and Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Sustainability is the basis of the group strategy. Under the name Solar2World, the group supports care projects using off-grid solar-power solutions in emerging economies and developing countries, exemplifying sustainable economic development. Worldwide, SolarWorld employs more than 2,700 people. SolarWorld AG has been quoted on the stock exchange since 1999 and today is listed on, among others, the TecDAX, ÖkoDAX, Dow Jones STOXX 600 as well as in the sustainability indices DAXglobal Alternative Energy and NAI.
About Portland Fashion Week (www.portlandfashionweek.net): On the runway since 2003, Portland Fashion Week is the second-longest running fashion week on the West Coast. In 2007, Portland Fashion Week became the first sustainable production of a fashion week in the world. It has been showcasing the collections of the upcoming season by the highest number of sustainable labels of any fashion week in the country, along with several independent and fair-trade high-fashion designers. Nationally and internationally known designers from North America, Europe and beyond present their exquisite collections in Portland Fashion Week. Portland Fashion Week is produced by PFW Productions LLC, a full-service events production and promotions company specializing in fashion. The Bonneville Environmental Foundation has provided BEF Water Restoration Certificates (TM) and Green-e Energy-certified BEF Renewable Energy Certificates generated from 100 percent clean, renewable energy for the energy and water used to produce Portland Fashion Week.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6371927&lang=en
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