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Recyclemania to bring ‘Trashion Fashion’ to Quick Center

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 By Emma Zaremba

Features Editor

   Don’t throw away your beloved mac and cheese box when it can be made into a runway-worthy dress.

    With just a few weeks left in the semester, Bonaventure students are finding use for all those old papers and paper clips that would otherwise be left lying around.

   The second “Trashion Show” will be held in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on Thursday, April 3 at 7 p.m. The event is run by the sustainability committee, Tread Lightly, and began as part of Recyclemania last year.

   As a new event last year, the show took place in the Quick Center loft, but due to the surprising turnout at last year’s show and the increased involvement this year, the show will take the stage in the Quick Center’s Rigas Family Theater.

   Sean Conklin, assistant curator at the Quick Center and co-organizer of the show, jumped at this opportunity because of his history in sustainability.

   “I went to R.I.T. where we have one of the only sustainable institutes, and it was a big thing,” Conklin said. “Right when I started (at Bonaventure), sustainability just kind of hit and everyone was talking about it.”

   Sister Suzanne Kush, C.S.S.F, director of the Franciscan Center for Social Concern (FCSC) and co-organizer of the show, came into this position because of her passion for recycling and sustainability.

   “I’m the chairperson of sustainability on campus, and it’s through my office and Tread Lightly that we’re running Recyclemania,” Kush said. “I had done some research last year, before Recyclemania, and saw what a big thing this (trashion show) was and thought, ‘wouldn’t it be great if we could have that here?'”

    After sharing her idea with Conklin and Becca Wager, residence director, member of the sustainability committee and co-organizer of the show, Kush explained that everything came together easily.
    “I talked with Becca Wager, and she had done it (trashion shows) when she was an undergrad at Sienna,” Kush said. “She got enthusiastic, and I had support from both Sean and Becca. By working with people who had experience (in the area) it was a perfect match.”
     Both Conklin and Wager are available for all who are interested and involved in the event. There have been workshops for multiple Wednesdays in which participants can meet to go over their designs with the organizers.
     “Becca is great at adding some flare and pizzazz,” Conklin said. “I have more of the construction base and patterns.”
     While they often aim attention toward the creative types of people, this is an opportunity for anyone to come try something different, according to Conklin.
     “It (the show) really brings together this idea of fashion and recycling,” he said. “We always call it eco-couture because you can apply a lot of the same techniques that you would in fashion design, graphic design and industrial design.”
      All of the fashions must be 90 percent post-consumer material. While that’s not a simple task, several students, faculty and staff are excited to showcase their hard work. One group is creating a Marie Antoinette wig out of curled newspaper, according to Conklin.
     “I’ve only seen sketches and ideas,” he said. “My last count as of yesterday is 19 total looks. That’s not including some people that have just heard about it and are still deciding whether they have time to make something.”
     According to Kush, participation in the show is expanding outside of the Bonaventure community.
     “We’ll have several students from junior high at Allegany Limestone that took a design course last semester and still have their designs,” Kush said. “So they’re also going to participate, which will take us to 21 (fashions).”
     The “Trashion Show” is supposed to imitate “Project Runway” as much as possible, according to Kush.
     “We have three judges who are going to sit on stage, the models will have an opportunity to interact with them, we’re having money prizes and there will be some entertainment between the acts,” she said.
      Conklin expanded on Kush’s breakdown of the show.
     “It really is a typical runway show,” Conklin said. “ We line up all the models in order by outfits, music types and themes in the back hallway of the theater. Then they will walk through and hit their three poses. While that’s going on, we will tell (the models) to give (their design) a name and describe what materials they used.”
     The judges will have scorecards and will crown “Top Trashionista” at the end of the event, according to Conklin. The organizers have worked to make this year’s show interesting to more than just the fashionistas on campus.
     “It’s an all-inclusive event,” Conklin said. “They can watch, be entertained and we’ll have some filler acts. Some people from Slam Poetry will read between looks and some singers (will perform). We’re looking for a couple more things to make it a collaborative event.”
     The event is free for all guests. Kush expressed they want to hold this event for the Bonaventure community and raise awareness about the importance of recycling.
     “I’m going to look forward to the reaction of the audience, and I hope that people take away the importance of recycling,” Kush said. “Hopefully by having this event it’s just another way of emphasizing how we can save the environment.”
      The show is about more than fashion, according to Kush. It answers the question of, “what happens when I put something in a recycling bin?”
      “The fashion, in a way, is carrying the message that from the recycling bin, those items are being made into something else and not being put in a landfill that’s going to take several hundred years to disintegrate,” Kush said.
Conklin hopes to keep up the attendance at this year’s runway show.
       “I always tell people that it’s something you can’t pass up because each year is so different, and it’s one of those things that I know a majority of people don’t (normally) see,” Conklin said.
       For those who can’t make the show, the costumes will be displayed in the galleries of The Quick Center for two weeks with full descriptions.

 zarembek11@bonaventure.edu

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