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HEMP IS BECOMING CHIC

It's not just for the stoner set.  The sturdy, versatile textile has been embraced by major designers.  Plus, it's easy on the environment.

It's durable.  It's versatile.  And when it's used in textiles, it's easier on the environment than, say, cotton.  Yet its cannabis connection has slowed its widespread use.  We're talking about hemp, and, by extension, hemp fashion - a concept that seems like an oxymoron but is quietly being embraced by the mainstream as major designers and clothing retailers take on the material that has long been equated with burlap and granola-munching hippies.

Stella McCartney, Giorgio Armani and Calvin Klein are among the designers who've seen through the smoke and incorporated hemp textiles into their lines.  And Whole Foods, Urban Outfitters, American Rag and Fred Segal are some of the better-known stores selling fashion-forward hemp brands, such as Livity Outernational, Jung Maven, Satori and Hemp Hoodlamb, all of which exploit hemp's various attributes in chic items that run the gamut from technical outerwear to dresses that would hardly be the first choice of the dreadlocks-and-doobie crowd.

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