On the evening of the 5th of February, I had the pleasure of attending OSU's annual Recycled Fashion Show. There is quite a plethora of fashion shows at Oregon State; the Red Dress Show, the Recycled Fashion Show, Mom's Weekend Fashion Show, the Spring Fashion Show, and usually a few more non-annual events. My two favorite shows to attend are the Recycled Fashion Show and the Spring Fashion Show!
Because this year marks the 27th or 28th annual Recycled Show, I was very surprised when I saw that this year's event was free (The last two years have been $5 admission, and still managed a jammed-pack audience). I made sure that my sister and I made it to the MU Ballroom no later than when the doors opened at 6pm, and I was again surprised by the lack of a long line, or people rushing ahead to go reserve good seats. My sister and I sat about the third row from the runway and probably could have reserved a couple rows for ourselves if we wanted.
Still confused, I opened the program and the confusion was immediately cleared up. Only 30 designers in the show. 30 might seem like a large number, but with each designer typically creating one look each it doesn't equate to a very long show. Not to mention that past years have been double that number of designers.
Despite the few designers in the show, OSU's Fashion Organization still put on a great event. The audience still filled the ballroom, just no one had to stand to watch the whole show this year. Before runway part of the show began, I got to learn some new facts about what can and cannot be recycled. Like coffee cups, who knew that they belong in the trash? Apparently cardboard coated with plastic cannot be recycled in any way.
The thirty designers put on a great show! I only knew a few of the designers in the show and they proved to be as awesome as I already knew they were! Plus, there were some great new designers that demanded my attention. And not to be cynical, but there were also plenty of plain, non-creative looks make out of newspaper or bubble wrap. I don't think it would be the Recycled Fashion Show without those looks though, because this is one of the shows that student designers do not need to be an apparel design major to participate.
Now onto the designs! To start out the show was Brigitte Cluver's design (the professor who taught me all about testing textiles!) on her lovely little diva of a daughter, Mackenzie Cluver! She rocked her walk down the runway in an outfit made of old, out-grown clothes and had some fancy poses at the end of the walk!
**Note: It was sometimes difficult to hear what the MC's were saying about what the garment was made of, because of the influx of the music. I was glad to have MC's back though, it makes it much easier to spend all of my time looking at the designs rather than split my time between trying to read on the screen what the design was made of and analyzing the design.
Some other notable designs were Tayler Worrell's design, in her very classic style in this strapless dress made of receipts. Modeled by the lovely Jessica Neffendorf.
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| Photo by Tayler Worrell |
Lauren Graebner grabbed everyone's attention with her adorable children's looks! First a cute little girl in a design made from an old pinata, high school graduation gown, and race numbers. She had a second look, equally adorable, for a little boy who even showed us his muscles at the end of the runway! Lauren's designs won the "Chair's Choice Award," the new Associate Dean loved these looks!
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| Photo by Genna Reeves-DeArmond |
Next came the beautiful Christina Ngo, modeling her own edgy/elegant look (and fantastic pink hair!). She used caution tape, an old choir dress, and leftover ribbons and chain. I really enjoyed this look because it was one of the first women's looks in the show that had a different silhouette and wasn't made of paper.
Dina Pham and Jennifer Troung probably had my favorite "paper" dresses. They were both cute and classy, but still had some pizazz to make the look not like everyone else's. Jennifer Troung's look won the award for "Best in Show."
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| Jennifer Troung's design/ Photo by Genna Reeves-DeArmond |
Ish Guevara is a new designer (to me anyway) who definitely got my attention. I really loved the fact that he had three looks that went together and didn't resemble the rubbish they were made of (so much so that I can't remember what they were made of!). I especially liked the "armor" dress, and loooved the cape made of straws. The theatrics that went with the looks on the runway were fun, but not necessary in my opinion. This collection said enough for itself, especially with the eccentric styling. I'll be excited to see how this designer develops as he goes through the program.
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| Photo by Ish Guevara (I think) |
One dazzaling design that earned itself an award, was Elisse Hansen's dress made of a mattress cover (or maybe an old air mattress) and pieces of mirror. It was a very neat affect as it went down the runway and the dress reflected little lights on the ceiling. She won the "Most Creative Use of Materials."
The last look of the show was graduate student Keith Nishida's design, modeled by the fabulous Jamie Cheung. The dress has an interesting shape, and is made of pop can tabs! I really like how the "fabric" looks like chain mail! (And I love the tiara!) Keith's look won "Most Innovative Design." I really enjoyed this design and was excited to see the difference in Keith's designs from last year's to this year's (both years were great by the way). It was an excellent look to end the show on!
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| Photo by Genna Reeves-DeArmond |
Overall, it was a great show and I was happy that I could attend! I got in some reading while I waited for the show to start (I was so thankful I brought a book!) and was happy to catch up with some people I hadn't seen for a while. Great work designers! Good luck on your next show!! (I will have to post more photos when they become available! Enjoy these few that I stole!)
