Students stage Earth Day Fashion Show

On April 22, the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, forty very excited students staged Lauralton’s fifth Earth Day Fashion Show. “The girls really outdid themselves this year,” said Donna DiMassa, the environmental club moderator. “This show has been the most innovative so far. I think we’re ready to model in New York City!” Each model wrote a description of her outfit and then included something interesting about her own life. But in order to give the fashion show a more potent message, each student also included an environmental fact to help raise awareness of ecological problems that are easy to overlook in our hectic lives. “Although the outfits are fantastic, the true beauty of the fashion show is the girls’ passionate desire to get their concerns heard by their fellow classmates,” DiMassa added. The show was organized by grade, beginning with first-year students and culminating with seniors and the club officers. 

Even though it is their first year at Lauralton, five freshmen braved the catwalk. Dolly Canevari wore an ensemble created by Emila Tanu. The outfit consisted of a high-waist newspaper pencil skirt decorated with articles and ads from The New Haven Register, The Connecticut Post, and The Stamford Advocate. Dolly’s hand-me-down-paint-stained cotton shirt was embellished with a seven-year-old tutu, reconfigured for the show. Her shoes were made from recycled tires, and her bracelets from Starburst wrappers. Emilia’s fact was startling: the average American consumes more than 700 pounds of paper a year which is the world’s highest per capita.
     
Next, Isabella Dalena wore a dress made from every conceivable type of candy wrapper; her friends gladly helped her eat the candy to get the wrappers. She also carried a purse created from a variety of additional candy wrappers, and a hairclip of ribbon and zippers. Bella shared a little-known fact:  most waste management companies and recycling facilities tend to turn their backs on candy wrappers. So instead of tossing wrappers in the garbage, Bella urged everyone to create something new, like a wallet or bracelet. Cameron Gerrity modeled a dress and shawl made of a contractor trash bag and bubble wrap. Cameron reminded everyone that out of one trillion plastic bags manufactured, used, and thrown away each year, only 1% are recycled. Caroline McCauley modeled a top made from a Trader Joe's bag and a skirt made from tie-dyed recycled printer paper. Her bracelets were painted bottle caps, and her clutch was made from candy wrappers. Lastly, Katie Wilcoxson’s outfit consisted of rejected clothing from her family's closets. Her suspenders were unused dog leashes. Katie wore a Navaho ring made of melted scrap metal. She had an upbeat message: for every ton of paper recycled, 380 gallons of oil are also saved. 

Sophomores next took command of the runway. Nicole Lang wore a dress made from 150 sheets of used printer paper destined for the trash heap. Nicole shared that paper accounts for 25% of landfill waste, and if the U.S. cut office paper use by just 10% it would prevent the emission of 1.6 million tons of greenhouse gasses "the equivalent of taking two hundred eighty thousand cars off the road. Erin Montanez, who enjoys shopping in vintage stores in her spare time, modeled a dress made entirely of shopping bags from the mall paired with a headband crafted out of the handles from the bags. She reminded us that every two weeks, Americans wear nearly 50 million pounds of rubber off their tires. This rubber is enough to manufacture three-and-a-quarter million new tires from scratch. She urged everyone to inflate car tires properly.  

Next, Rachel Roberts modeled an organic cotton tee-shirt and skirt. Rachel said that every day more than 40,000 children die from preventable diseases that are caused by air pollution. She urged everyone to cut down bad air quality since one ton of carbon dioxide that is released in the air can be prevented by replacing 75 watt light bulbs with energy efficient bulbs. Madeline Rudden wore a dress made out of weed barrier, with recycled pink ribbon as bows. Madeline informed us that each year, humankind adds six to eight billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere; consequently humans pump up the concentration of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming, an effect that could raise temperatures by three to ten degrees.

Joanna Smykowski modeled a dress made from reclaimed Tyvek and a recycled skirt. From cutting plastic soda holders to recycling old magazines, Joanna is an avid environmentalist who plans to save the planet one step at a time. The conservation of endangered species is very important to Joanna. In many countries it is now illegal to hunt certain endangered animals or sell products made from their body parts. Approximately thirty species can disappear with the loss of just one plant species. Finally, Mary Siroky and Noelle Starr created and then modeled shirts made of Snapple and soda cans. The girls shared the following fact: by turning down a central heating thermostat one degree, fuel consumption is cut by as much as 10%.

Not to be outdone by their younger counterparts, the juniors came out on the runway and amazed the student body with their creativity. Ashley Bresnahan modeled an old Concert Choir gown cut into a shirt and skirt - worn backward. Ashley let everyone know that she “stares people down” if they use more than one paper towel to dry their hands! Dina Cashman transformed an old Lauralton uniform and a disused scarf into a beautiful skirt. Her shirt was made from an old pillowcase, and her purse from an old pair of rain boots - it’s a purse that never gets wet in the rain, how convenient! Dina reminded the student body to use reusable bags when shopping, use permanent water bottles, car pool with friends, and always recycle. If just 25% of U.S. families use ten fewer plastic bags a month, they could save over 2.5 billion bags per year. Aida Cristina Cruz, while listening to the Latin rhythms, created a dress from a black plastic bag, magazines, newspapers, and milk caps. She accessorized with a paper clip necklace, bottle cap glasses, and a recycled bracelet. Aida wanted everyone to know that Americans consume 50 million tons of paper annually which equals about 850 million trees; on the other hand, every ton of recycled office paper saves 380 gallons of oil.
Michele Dalena wore a fabulous outfit made from soda cans and zippers. Her skirt was comprised of Teen and Vogue magazine covers. She fashioned her hair accessory and her necklace from soda cans, and her purse was made from recycled Capri Sun pouches. Hannah Feldman wore her sister's old prom dress that fit her perfectly. Her ensemble was a reminder that wearing a recycled prom dress not only saves the environment but also saves money. Julia Hannigan wore a dress with a garbage bag top and a duct tape-and-loofah skirt. She also wore her famous bottle-cap necklace, button bracelet, and soda-cap earrings, which she has used as accessories since her freshman-year fashion show. Marisa Lucchesi modeled a skirt made from pages of magazines. To complement her outfit, Marisa wore a duct tape corset designed by sophomore Lauren Bowlby. She wore hand-me-down, outgrown tights, fashionably ripped. Marisa urged everyone to use public transportation and carpool.

The most ambitious creation on the runway this year was modeled by Davian Manlapit and designed by Theresa Keating. The outfit was created from old clothing, a deck of cards and scantron papers. A discarded black strapless neckline shirt was flared with playing cards. Concocted from pieces of old uniforms and Halloween costumes, the skirt was given its “poof” by a massive amount of newspaper. Davi’s earrings were made from folded monthly train passes. The bows, both in her hair and on the back of her skirt, were made from old scantron test papers. Her fan was made from playing cards and a lace strap. Finally, on the top of her head, Davi wore a pair of steam punk goggles made from Monster cans, a red bottle and duct tape. Vegan Theresa shared that eating meat is bad for the environment because feed for farm animals requires land, water, fertilizer, and other resources that could otherwise be used directly for producing food for humans. Animal agriculture's dependence on higher yields accelerates topsoil erosion and animal waste from massive feedlots and factory farms, which is a leading cause of pollution in groundwater and rivers.
     
Maggie Mellot worked the runway in her “reworked” cast-off white tank top decorated with various items from her mom’s sewing room - items that had been a part of her outfits when she was about five. Then she used ribbon and tissue paper to make a pleated skirt - bow and all! Maggie vowed to take quicker showers and use less water and electricity in general. Taylor Nora wore an outfit made by simply cutting up a tee shirt and sewing it to an elastic belt. Taylor has been a vegetarian for over three years and loves it. Chloe Walker wore a dress and headband made out of old tee shirts and pillowcases, and her bracelets were from magazines and ribbons she found around her house. Chloe shared an amazing fact: an estimated 80,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day in enough aluminum foil to cover over 50 acres of space - that's almost 40 football fields. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it. April 22, Earth Day, is also Chloe’s birthday.

Lindsay Warren was proud that instead of “shrugging off” a hand-me-down skirt she made it into a dress and completed her look with hand-knit bamboo silk accents and a beaded bracelet from Ten Thousand Villages. Lindsay carried her trusty permanent water bottle "it’s important to stay properly hydrated as summer approaches, and it’s even more important to help cut down the waste from plastic water bottles.”

She estimated that “if the entire Lauralton student body used a permanent water bottle instead of buying water every day, it would eliminate over 60,000 disposable water bottles in one school year.” Mary Watson modeled a 100% organic cotton ruffled dress with pin-tuck detailing designed by sophomore Gwen Hawkes. The belt and bracelet were made from a reused purse along with other recycled materials. The bag was made from Target bags melted together and embellished with a flower of the same material. Gwen shared the following fact: Five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton in the U.S. are known cancer-causing chemicals. The average acre of California cotton grown in 1995 received some 300 pounds of synthetic fertilizers.

The seniors came out on the runway and mastered it with their indomitable spirit. Emma Molloy modeled a skirt made from old tissue paper scavenged from a Lauralton classroom, and her hat was formerly a beaded lamp shade. Emma reminded everyone that idling a car puts out twice as much emission and pollution as driving it; Emma heard on Car Talk that “idling your car is like sleeping with your clothes on.” Mere Laperch’s entire outfit came from items thrown away at Lauralton. She modeled a skirt made from a discarded lampshade from the mansion and her cape was a table cloth from the National Honor Society induction banquet. Her hat was made out of a clear plastic dry cleaner bag and decorated with feathers. Although slightly embarrassed by the recycled McDonald’s bags her mom uses to pack her lunch in, Mere continues to keep her head high and reduce, reuse, recycle. Mere pointed out that drinking bottled water is like pouring money down the drain.

For the grand finale, Environmental Club officers displayed their creativity on the runway. President Olivia D’Atri modeled a dress made from a pair of old jeans, a tank top, and an array of Capri Suns, her favorite processed juice drink. Olivia found it interesting that recycling creates six times as many jobs as “land-filling.” Secretary Jackie Fickes modeled a top made from a garbage bag and a skirt made from mesh bath sponges. Her bottle cap earrings and candy wrapper clutch completed her ensemble. Jackie enjoys “nagging all of her friends to recycle.” She wanted everyone to know that 2000 trees per minute are cut down in the Amazon alone - "that is the same area as seven football fields per minute. Treasurer Stephanie Simko modeled a top created from an old satin pillowcase along with a tiered tea-bag skirt. Steph shared that recycling one aluminum can save enough energy to run a TV for three hours. Finally, Grace Wilson, historian of the club, modeled a skirt made of plastic bags. Grace wanted everyone to be aware that by the year 2050, rising temperatures could make more than 1,000, 000 of Earth's land-dwelling plants and animals extinct.

For the fifth year in a row, the fashion show was enthusiastically received by Lauralton students and faculty alike.