Trash to Treasure: Upcycyled Fashion Show Set for Aug. 6
She may be an artist seeking a creative outlet. He could be searching ways to help save the environment. They simply may be bored this summer and looking for something to do.
Regardless of their motivation, youth ages 10 to 18 in the Ohio Valley are encouraged to try their hands at making clothing from discarded items for the first Ohio Valley Upcycled Fashion Show to be held Aug. 6 at the Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville.
Olivia Best of the Children’s Museum of the Ohio Valley in Wheeling is bringing the competition to the area after competing for several years in an annual show held in November in Charleston. The Follansbee native first entered as an art student of Sara Roark at Brooke High School. She won third place in 2013 with a wedding dress she fashioned from old greeting cards, avocado netting, egg cartons and buttons.
Roark has been involved in the all-ages Charleston show for 10 years, and every year at least one of her students has placed in the top three. In 2014, student Dante Rosso of Wellsburg won first prize with his dress made of yellow caution tape. Rosso now attends the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City.
Merriam-Webster defines the verb upcycle as “to recycle (something) in such a way that the resulting product is of a higher value than the original item.” The purpose of the upcycyled fashion show is multi-faceted.
“We are just such a throw-away society,” Roark said. “The older generations had a really good grasp, probably mainly because they had to, of how you could reuse things and not just pitch it away.” She said teaching kids to reuse disposable items is one benefit of doing the fashion show.
Best added that children today are not learning useful skills such as sewing, and they also are not creating with their hands as much. The fashion show stretches their imaginations and gives them the opportunity to make something.
“I really think it promotes critical thinking skills,” Roark said.
Best led a workshop at the Children’s Museum on Thursday afternoon, with input from Roark and former Brooke classmate and museum co-worker Angie Counselman. They helped several local 10-year-old girls brainstorm ideas for show entries. One girl decided she wants to make a dress made of pop can tabs and bubble wrap.
Two more open workshops are scheduled prior to the show, and kids also can make appointments to receive help from Best.
Best entered the fashion show concept in the Reinvent Wheeling Show of Hands contest in February but did not win. Several people said after the Show of Hands they would support her idea, however. Scrappy Pappy’s recycling, a previous Show of Hands winner, pledged raw materials if needed, for instance.
Triadelphia resident Jean Kalb, 10, worked with Best to create a dress for Show of Hands made from shredded silver computer packaging and cut-up CDs. Jean modeled the dress and plans to enter the fashion show. She and several of her friends attended the workshop on Thursday.
The designers will be scored on use of materials, creativity, design and structure. Cash prizes of $150, $50 and $25 will be awarded to first, second and third place winners, respectively, in two age groups: 10-14 and 15-18.
For information, how to register and a gallery of photos of upcycled fashions, go to www.cmovkids.org/the-ov-upcycled-fashion-show.html.
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