Museum of Art’s exhibit goes green, crafty with creative fashion
Imagine a dress fashioned from the worn-down parts of an old bicycle or a wedding gown made completely of shredded grocery bags.
No, it’s not another episode of “Project Runway;” it’s actually all a part of the “Runaway Runway” exhibit on display in the Columbia Museum of Art’s David Wallace Robinson Jr. community gallery.
The exhibit, which started last week and runs until Feb. 20, features 10 designs that were featured in the 2009 and 2010 Runaway Runway fashion shows. All of the pieces were constructed with used or post-consumer goods and come in a variety of textures and mediums. Every outfit is unique in shape, but what is most striking is each individual designer’s creativity in selecting materials that make their designs really pop. They range from a skirt formed out of empty Monster energy drink cans to a dress made completely from old Thomas Cooper Library catalog cards, with items like old placemats and zip ties tossed in between.
Another interesting element is the inspiration behind many of these recycled wearables. Designer Janice Machos, for example, found her vision in a place many would never expect; she designed her floor-length dress completely from sacks used to hold potatoes at her local Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
“I just went into Five Guys and asked them to start saving the sacks for me,“ Machos said. “It’s neat because it’s something that is in plain view, but no one would ever think of it as a material. This competition really gives you a chance to open up your mind to new ideas about fashion.”
Machos’ daughter Kaitlyn, currently a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design, also designed a piece for the show, using newspaper and pink cupcake liners to fashion a dress as a senior project when she graduated from high school. Made from materials that were most abundant in her house at the time, Kaitlyn sewed, tacked and pleated her way to a fun and flirty frock with little sewing experience.
“It took me about six days to finish the dress,” Kaitlyn said. “I didn’t have a lot of experience at the time, but this event showed me that you don’t need to have a design degree to be a great designer.”
Madison Cotterill, the youngest designer in the competition at age 14, said it was her passion for fashion and a desire to try something new that pushed her to create an adorable baby doll dress made simply from corrugated cardboard and red produce sacks. It took the Hand Middle School student about three weeks to complete the dress after she scrapped her original idea for the origami-inspired design she sent down the runway.
“I chose two materials that I thought had not only contrasting colors but also completely different textures,” says Cotterill. “The materials were difficult to work with, and it was a tedious process, but I felt like I could really put my emotions into a physical form.”
The Runaway Runway event was originally developed by the Columbia Design League as a fundraising effort to raise awareness about sustainability in fashion. Now in its fourth year, the show has garnered such a following that it has been forced to change venues to house a larger audience. This year’s Runaway Runway fashion show will be held at the Township Auditorium on April 29. For more information, visit www.runawayrunway.net.
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