Eight designers worked the runway at the Mount Airy Public Library on Saturday, making a statement with clothing handcrafted using found and recycled materials.
Angela Llewellyn, programming director, caught wind of the idea for a Trashion Show from a friend on Facebook and she pounced on it.
“I thought how cool,” she said. “I’m always looking for new ideas to try.”
The response Saturday was good. ‘This was a success,” she said.
Victoria Sales, 21, was resplendent in a flowing knee length gown made from black garbage bags and old newspapers.
Already keen with the sewing machine, the UNC Greensboro sophomore is majoring in apparel design and was excited about the show.
“This is a great opportunity to use materials I’ve never worked with before,” she said. “It’s awesome for my portfolio.”
She said it took a bit to get used to. The trash bags kept gumming up her machine and the newpaper kept falling apart. But she got the hang of it.
“The rest is pretty much crumpling and gluing,” she said.
Her mother, Vanessa Sales, was impressed at what her daughter could do with those materials.
“I was quite shocked,” she said. “The finished product was amazing.”
Master of ceremonies Brock Llewellyn interviewed each model/designer about their project, asking each why they decided to use the materials they had chosen.
He said he was impressed with the answers, which were all some variation of “It’s what we had,” Llewellyn said.
“Which was the whole idea, to use available objects most people think of as castaways.”
Tiffany Hahr “trashioned” a kimono out of trashbags and duct tape.
“I’m an Asian fanatic,” she said, pointing out the finer details of her design: hand painted leaves and origami flowers made from tea bag wrappers.
Hahr, 25, enjoys all kinds of crafting and has parcipated in local fashion shows before, but the Trashion Show was a first.
“I hope they do it again,” she said.
Angela Llewellyn said another Trashion Show was definitely in the works and said, “I’m excited to do another.”
