It’s not only what you’re wearing—it’s what you’re wearing it on. Harvested decades ago from the South American jungles, and hauled by elephant and ox cart before being milled into New York areas storied beachfront walkways, the salvaged tropical hardwoods now turn up at the forefront of American fashion—an unlikely but appropriate transformation for the times.

Sawkill will reclaim all woods from J.Crew’s Fashion Week installation, per the apparel firm’s request.

A new UN climate report reveals that human activity is a main cause of global warming – the odds look higher and more certain than ever, as reported in the New York Times . Despite a front page story, it doesn’t sound like breaking news – five degrees higher and we’re looking at “…melting land ice, extreme heat waves, difficulty growing food, massive changes in plant and animal life, and probably a wave of extinctions.”

There are doubters, but every major scientific association now warns that it’s a big threat, and may endanger some great cities — including New York, London, Shanghai, Venice, Sydney, Australia and New Orleans. The prospects sound potentially dire, but the real consequences from most windows can still feel removed – otherwise, why hasn’t there been dramatic change? 

Saw-kill, a Dutch term for Sawmill Creek (a 1620’s sawmill on Manhattan island) also expresses an environmental and social reality, and is a response to wishful thinking that we’re putting the warming trend on ice, or to greenwashing, which misleads consumers by playing fast and loose with terms like ‘eco-friendly, sustainable and green’. Photo: NY Times.

“What is laid upon us is to accomplish the negative; the positive is already given.” – Franz Kafka