The Fashion Business Association will be hosting the Recycle Restyle Revamp Fashion Show in association with Earth Week events on Tuesday, April 23, in the Lower Courts of the Student Recreation Center.
The event is open to the public to come and watch as models show off their different styles and ways they create wearable art.
Melissa Abner, program coordinator for the Fashion Merchandising Program, said the theme originated from an event started 10 years ago called Haute Trash.
The event was rebranded last year into the Recycling Fashion Show to make all local designs instead of paying an outside organization for the fashions.
“When funding started getting weird a couple years ago, we wanted to carry it on,” Abner said. “Students from the fashion promotions class took it on to where they produce the fashion show and do everything for it.”
The show is similar to Haute Trash, but Abner said she wanted to get more people involved because not everyone could make fashion out of trash. So, different categories for the show were created for the Recycle Restyle Revamp Fashion Show.
The recycle section involves taking something that normally would be thrown away and made into wearable art.
“There’s always something made out of Walmart trash bags,” Abner said. “We have shoes made out of plastic bags and even a dress made out of old records.”
The restyle section was created for people who are not familiar with designing. People take used clothing and change it into a trendy look.
Finally, the revamp section involves taking an old clothing item and turning it into a clothing item that’s newer.
“All of these categories were open to anyone willing to participate,” Abner said. “We’re even trying to get some preschools to make artwork for the table decorations.”
The Fashion Business Association is also be partnering with the Salvation Army to help promote their business while also giving the club members the opportunity to style four different outfits for the restyle portion of the show. Mabrey Wathen, president FBA, is in charge of getting garments from the Salvation Army to use in the show.
“This year, FBA will be entering a few looks in the show, and some of our members will be modeling looks as well,” said Wathen, a junior fashion merchandising major. “I will also be submitting my own garment for judging during the recycle portion of the show.”
Quinn Ahrens, a senior fashion merchandising major and FBA member, will be modeling his own recycled creation and has been involved with the production of the show in prior years.
“The purpose of this fashion show is to bring creative and stylish people together from around the community and to show that old discarded things can still be used to make some incredible garments,” Ahrens said.
Abner said the recycle portion of the fashion show is about bringing awareness to the everyday things people throw away and being mindful of the trash a person’s lifestyle creates.
