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Environmental fashion show has underlying message - plastic bags are “out of style”

Posted on Apr 27, 2009

Thirty-five students and teachers showed that they just don’t “talk the talk” about their environmental concerns, but they also “walk the walk” - the cat walk, that is. In the Fourth Annual Environmental Fashion Show on April 23, students modeled ensembles that ranged from the practical to the whimsical. However, showing off exotic outfits was not the only thing these young women had in mind. Along with the description of their apparel and a list of their hobbies, the students added one environmental fact or one personal environmental goal to help raise awareness among their fellow classmates. “It is the most fun and most creative way possible to get our environmental message out there to others,” said Donna DiMassa, Environmental Club moderator. “The girls are laughing and having a good time, but they don’t lose sight of the fact that all of us need to change the way we think and behave.” Every grade level was represented in the fashion show. 

Seniors Madeline Blair, Maureen Cashman, Stephanie Garcia, Casey Harrington, Meagan Kelly, Caroline O’Connor and Sam Roberge showed everyone that they have what it takes to get out on the runway. Maureen Cashman, ’09, treasurer of the Environmental Club, and Sam Roberge, ’09 have modeled in the fashion show all four years that it has been in existence. Sam wore earrings she had made out of an old iTunes gift cards and a necklace and bracelets made from old magazines. Casey Harrington, ’09 modeled one of her very own creations, a “bracelet cuff” made from old jeans and an old blouse. Casey has started an online business, and she encouraged everyone to look at what else she has designed. “Check out my bracelets at charrington.etsy.com.” Caroline O’Connor, ’09 wore a very chic dress made from a Lauralton Hall uniform. Sisters Elizabeth Lynch,’09 and Caroline Lynch, ’12 designed it for Caroline to model.

The juniors perhaps donned the wildest outfits. Elise Kapitancek, ’10 is, according to her biography, a “wanna-be hippie and lover of sunflowers.” She wore a plastic bag vest and skirt along with a black shirt and leggings. Her biography described the ensemble as “Safe for evenings in the dewy grass and tender walks in the rain.” Emily Nichols, ’10 wore a one-of-a-kind “Birthday Suit.” Emily's shirt was made from a non-biodegradable balloon she had received for her sweet seventeen. The skirt was “actually a bunch of old shopping bags in disguise.” Her accessories included a bowtie and bracelet made from stationery.

The president of the Environmental Club, Olivia D’Atri, ’10 and vice president Bri Perez, ’10 wore very original designs that had a musical theme: Olivia wore a skirt made of album covers, and Bri’s outfit shimmered as she walked because it was covered with shiny compact discs. Bri’s headband was made up or old guitar picks.

Sophomores weren’t afraid to step up to the fashion plate either. Michele Dalena, ’11 flaunted her own original design made from colored duct tape and spray-painted newspaper. Her very high heels were also decorated with colored newspaper flowers. Julia Hannigan, ’11 sported an organic cotton tank top and a skirt handmade with plastic bags, duct tape, ribbon and rubber bands. Her bracelets were made of buttons and newspaper, as well as her Invisible Children "give peace a tri" bracelet. Madeleine LeRose, ’11 created a belt out of train tickets held together with twisty ties. She wore a shirt designed by Chloe Walker, ’11. Stephanie Simko, ’11 modeled a tee shirt with the message “Our Earth Rocks” and a skirt made from a garbage bag accentuated with duct tape leggings underneath. Grace Wilson, ’11, an animal rights advocate, modeled a dress made by Nicole Lang, ’12. The dress was made of two recycled shirts sewn together; the skirt was part of an old gym uniform. Many leftover buttons, some recycled rope and one soda can pop top accessorized the outfit. In her biography, Lindsay Warren, ’11 wrote that she was “very happy to have joined Environmental Club this year, because what other club lets you save penguins, make a bracelet out of newspaper and walk in a fashion show?” For her dress, Lindsay redesigned her Concert Choir dress, much to the delight of the students in the audience. Chloe Walker, ’11 made her own skirt from a cotton sheet. She also created a necklace from magazines, and two bracelets: one that she made from ribbons and the other from old thread spools decorated with glitter and soda can tabs. Chloe’s environmental fact was probably the most thought-provoking: More than 20,000,000 Hershey's Kisses are wrapped each day, using 133 square miles of tinfoil. All that foil is recyclable, but not many people realize it. Chloe believes, “Recycling things as little as this foil wrap can have a huge impact.”

Freshmen weren’t afraid to show their style in this year’s fashion show. Danielle Alavian, ’12 and Joanna Smykowski ,’12 walked together. Joanna and Danielle modeled old tee shirts decorated with recycled playing cards, glitter, sequins, and splattered with hot pink paint. Both girls wore “capes” - eco-friendly, biodegradable garbage bags which were pink with large white polka dots. Tori Conaway, ’12 wore a lawn-and-leaf paper bag dress decorated with magazine clippings that overlapped each other. Her subtle message is “Do we really need these bags any way? Why not compost leaves and lawn clippings?” Taylor Criscuolo, ’12 made her dress from Stop-and-Shop plastic bags. Taylor’s dress was an environmental statement: “As a nation, we are overrun with plastic bags: when you go to the store, take a permanent bag!” Erin Montanez, ’12 created a sleek dress that would look great on any runway - it was made entirely of advertisements from slick magazines.

Even though some of the girls used plastic bags that their parents had brought home from grocery stores, they are all in the process of convincing their parents, other relatives and friends to purchase and use reusable bags. Madeleine LeRose, ’11 had this startling fact in her biography: “Each year, an estimated 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags are consumed worldwide. That comes out to over one million per minute. Billions end up as litter each year.” Olivia D’Atri,’10, president of the Environmental Club, said it best: “Plastic bags may look good on the runway - but they don’t look good in waterways, where sea life and sea birds often get entangled in them, mistake them for food, and die as a result of this man-made convenience.”



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