Some people throw out their trash. Some people throw on their trash.
The Two Rivers Gallery will parade a junket of junk out on their catwalk this Saturday, showing off how the arts community is wearing their environmental concerns on their sleeve.
"It's basically a fashion show, but all the clothes are made from recycled materials," said Briana Sadler, the gallery's MakerLab coordinator and lead fashionista for the city's first Trashion Show on Saturday night.
The idea was a combination of an event in Grande Prairie where wearable art was in the spotlight, and an annual event in Revelstoke where recycled and rescued materials were used to manufacture unique clothing items. Both those communities provided advice and resources for the creation of this Prince George hybrid.
"We had quite an overwhelming response," when the call for submissions was made, said Sadler. "We ended up with 20 people who wanted to take part in this, and for a first time event, that is remarkable."
Each creator will have a model walk their trashion apparel out onto the runway while a narrator describes the details of the clothing to the audience.
Some of the contributing artists will do the catwalk themselves.
A panel of judges will observe and assess the creations, and there will be a chance for each artist to be questioned by the judges for more clarity and information.
A set of prizes is up for grabs for the participating artists.
The trashion designers are a varied and diverse group, said Sadler. Some are established artists, some are teenagers. Many are local, some are coming from other communities. A duo specializing in making shoes from recycled materials, John Bondoc & Derek Ellis, are coming from Vancouver.
"The amazing response shows us there is a want for this, that people want to get their hands into creative projects, that there is a big appetite for this discussion that we get to have through this form of making and entertaining," Sadler said.
"Combining technology with art is one of the main mandates for MakerLab, so this event is a really strong fit. We know it will show another level of what art really is, and it will bring some people into the Two Rivers Gallery that have never been through our doors before, so that is also exciting for us."
The live demonstration of ecologically haute couture happens Saturday at 7:30 p.m., but the pieces will be salvaged after the Trashion Show for more public viewing. The Two Rivers Gallery was joined in this effort by the Omineca Arts Centre where a static display of these outfits will be exhibited from June 2-14 at their storefront gallery at Third Avenue and Victoria Street.
"The fact we have such a throwaway mentality in our culture, and disregard for plastics and junk, is the point of the event," said Sadler.
"We wanted to address that by showing sustainability and longevity and giving things an extra use even within the context of the Trashion Show itself, so there is this followup event, really talking about the legitimacy of this as art and the voice art speaks with about the functional issues of our society."
Tickets to see the live Trashion Show runway event, and all the extra auctions and displays that go with it, are $25 available at the Two Rivers Gallery website.
Find the purchase button by going to the Events tab, then clicking on the Trashion Show tab.
