Hasta La Ideas

Melissa Baswell is the designer behind Chicago-based eco-fashion company Mountains of the Moon. All of the company’s clothing is made locally from organic cotton or hemp fabric produced in the U.S. and features clean lines with a retro flair. This spring, Melissa is launching her Eco-Luxury line, a line produced on a smaller scale than Mountains of the Moon. Melissa says, “I wanted to create something that broke the eco-clothing stereotype. It’s really difficult to find high end designer clothing that is made in a conscious way from sustainable fabrics, and is also still wearable.” Despite the economy and the recent boom of green designers, Melissa thinks these challenges allow her to be creative in trying new ways to incorporate sustainability into her designs. “The most important thing is to stay fresh and do something unique,” she says. When she is not busy designing, she also does freelance styling and eco-friendly merchandise design for bands and music industry events. Click the slideshow to see her work!