Awards inspire students to turn trash into fashion

Awards inspire students to turn trash into fashion

Bush Babies and Deva Believers are among the categories in this year’s Schools’ Trash to Fashion® Awards – Waitakere’s iconic rubbish to couture design contest for young people.

Run by Waitakere City Council in conjunction with the Keep Waitakere Beautiful Trust, this year’s show is themed ‘Journeys’ and invites contestants to design original and inspiring costumes out of recycled, inorganic and organic materials.

The awards have become increasingly popular with organisers this year deciding to split them into two semi-final events, one each for the primary and senior sections.

The semi-finals mean judges can view the garments on the models rather than on a coat hanger.

“Trash to Fashion® provides a platform for students to learn to recycle and reduce waste while giving them the experience required to showcase their creative skills in a professional environment,” says chair of the council’s Culture and Community Committee, Judy Lawley.

“We all need to take sustainability and waste disposal messages more seriously and think about how we can reuse items instead of sending them to the landfill.”

There is a broad range of categories for students to choose from.

The seniors’ section includes a raft of genres from Tane Toa and male urban chic to Deva Believer, an organic category based on myth and legend. Primaries can choose between the colourful pageantry of Camelot or naturist options such as Octopus’s Garden and Bush Babies.

Playcentre hosts a category for pre-schoolers drawn from the primary section. The Wild Out West section is created for and by entrants with intellectual challenges and the judges say some of the most ingenious creations come from this section.

Over 10 years the event has grown from a small community-based celebration fusing entertainment with the recycle concept to a major national arts/fashion event. Re-launched in 2007 as an event for students, the professionally produced stage show incorporates art, dance and music and has flourished beyond expectations.

“In our first year we had 70 entrants and last year we had more than 700 students involved in making the garments and learning about fabric technology and ecology,” says Waitakere City Council arts manager Naomi McCleary.

“This year we have had enquiries from 25 schools that have never participated before so we are expecting another deluge of entries which is just fantastic.”

The creative directors for the 2010 final award show are the acclaimed Red Leap Theatre Company recently returned from a successful international tour of its production The Arrival.

The programme’s organisers say the success of this iconic programme is greatly assisted by the support received from The Trusts Charitable Foundation, Westpac, the hair design team at Cut Above and Unitec’s Bachelor of Communication students.

Programme Dates:
Registrations – Primary Section: Close 11 June
Registrations – Senior Section: Close 1 July
Semi-finals – Primary: 2pm, 26 & 27 June, Peninsula Primary School
Semi-finals – Senior: 8:30am, 24 July, Henderson High School
Award Show: 4 & 5 September, Corban Estate Art Centre

For more information and entry and registration forms go to www.trashtofashion.co.nz.

ENDS

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