NYLON - January 2009 - (Page 76) hang ten EAIRTH DESIGNER MELISSA DIZON TRAVELED TO HER NATIVE PHILIPPINES TO CATCH SOME WAVES, BUT ENDED UP STARTING AN ELEGANT ECOCLOTHING LINE AND STAYING FOR GOOD. BY STEPHANIE TRONG. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ROBIN JONSSON The elevator doors open onto a posh, airy Manhattan loft space and out steps Melissa Dizon, the designer behind environmentally friendly line Eairth. She rode her bike over to the loft space, and in a rush to be on time, took a spill on the street. Undaunted, she shrugs off the cuts on her legs as no big deal, her warm and infectious energy is contagious. A dedicated surfer, Dizon is petite and tan with her long black hair pulled into a low side ponytail. She’s dressed in one of her own creations: a comfy-looking cargo green utilitarian romper. One look and you’re coveting the piece not only for its throw-it-on wearability, but also for the design details, like the bubble hem on the shorts. “It’s really effortless clothing. You put the clothes on and they kind of become a part of you,” Dizon says of Eairth’s vibe. “It’s incredibly futuristic and organic.” Born in the Philippines, Dizon moved to New York City with her parents when she was nine years old. Even then, she had fashion on the brain, deconstructing the ensembles her mother sewed for her and restyling them. Her artistic path continued with a stint at Otis College of Arts and Design, in California. With ambitions to be a painter or sculptor, she first majored in the fine arts, before switching to fashion after getting married (and pregnant) at 19. “I remember thinking, ‘Oh wow, I better do something that is commercially valuable so I can support my family,” Dizon says. After two years, she dropped out, saying that she disagreed with the syllabus and critiquing process. “I really didn’t belong at school, so I was just going to have to figure it out,” she says. Dizon did make her way, landing top design jobs over the years at Todd Oldham, Theory, and Levi’s. But two years ago she decided it was time to make a change. “I was really unhappy,” she says. “I said, ‘How can I be making so much money and still not feel good?’” That’s when she packed a bag, grabbed two surfboards, and headed back to the Philippines for the first time since she had arrived in the States. Once there, she took a road trip with her aunt and soon-to-be business partner. Along the way she met various indigenous tribes, paying particular interest to their clothes. “One girl had an old AC/DC T-shirt on that was overdyed in blue,” Dizon says. “I was like, ‘How did you get that color?’ And she goes, ‘Oh, we grow Indigo flowers and boil them and stick the fabric in there.’” The seed for Eairth was planted. Finally feeling like she found her true home, Dizon moved back to the Philippines, and hired women from the tribes and small villages to work on the label. Now in its fourth season, the line is full of slouchy basics with avant-garde details: militaryinspired leggings with hand-printed tribal patterns, paint-splattered voluminous dresses, and tanks with twisted fabric cascading from the shoulders. All of the natural-fiber garments are dyed with pigments culled from flowers, leaves, bark, and spices. It may sound hippie-dippy, but tell that to shoppers at NYC stores like Oak and Kaight, who are buying the stuff like mad. “The pieces have a beautiful tag that reads HANDMADE IN THE PHILIPPINES. So few people think that something like this could come out of a country like that, you know?” 76 profile stylist: robyn victoria fernandes. hair: luis guillermo at artistsbytimothypriano.com. makeup: mary douglas at the wall group. model: hristina at muse. top and pants by eairth by melissa dizon, hat by h&m, ring by noir. http://www.artistsbytimothypriano.com
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