Students compete for top recycled fashion design spot
USC’s Fashion Board and Sustainable Carolina kicked off sustainability week with “Reclaimed Runway,” a presentation of 11 different designs by students and organizations using sustainable materials.
The show was meant to inspire students to think about the effect they have on the environment and showcase the creativity that can come from sustainable materials.
Emceed by Courtland Thomas, the show started off a bit late, as fashion shows are notorious for doing.
Thomas introduced the show and the judges for the evening: Heather Bauer, director of operations at the Nickelodeon Theatre on Main Street; Emily Garnet Sapier, a third-year tourism management student and model; and McKenzie Baker, graduate student and graduate assistant for Fraternity and Sorority Life.
The winner of the show would receive a spot in USC’s Fashion Week when the spring runway showcase is featured.
After the introductions, the designs began to float down the runway.
The designs were all innovative and creative, and it was clear that the designers had fun with the task at hand.
After an intermission, the models came out for a finale walk, and it was time for the winners to be announced.
The second runner-up was designed by Jasmin Moses, who created a captivating skirt made out of what looked to be magazines, and a tube top with an Asian-inspired fan.
First runner-up was Chih Hsuan “Angel” Fang, whose design was an unbelievably chic ensemble of a black short sleeve shirt with mesh in the middle and a pleated skirt made entirely out of copies of The Daily Gamecock. She calls Yves Saint Laurent as one of her inspirations, and it was apparent in the way that the outfit was styled, especially with a black floppy hat as an accessory.
And finally, the winner was announced, after much anticipation.
Anne Coleman, a first-year marketing student, designed a gown out of plastic bottles that had a wonderful train and was worn by Sarah Grier Thompson, a fourth-year student at Richard Winn Academy with previous modeling experience and aspirations of modeling after high school.
Coleman said she heard about the event through Fashion Board, of which she is a member. She said she has always been passionate about designing and started thinking of what she could use sustainable to create a dress.
She settled on water bottles, drew a design on paper and started hunting for supplies. She first wanted to use only blue water bottles, but at Wal-Mart hunting for plastic bottles, she decided she would incorporate green as well.
The result was a beautiful color scheme and great structure.
This is not the first year Sustainable Carolina has held the event. They did it on a much smaller scale last year and asked Fashion Board to help out this year.
The result was such a hit that there were no available seats for the show; students ended up sitting on the floor.
Brittany Terry, a third-year fashion merchandising student who is president of Fashion Board, said that they tried to get the word out as much as they could via social media and both organizations’ contacts.
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