FRANK Gallery will host trash-inspired fashion show

A new kind of fashion has made its way to Chapel Hill — and it involves skirts made of plastic construction netting and belts made of rolled up recycled newspaper.

For the second time this year, Rubbish 2 Runway is making an appearance at FRANK Gallery to host a community fashion show Friday, allowing local artists to exhibit designs made from recycled materials.

In a competitive selection process, 17 student and professional designers were chosen to debut their works, with the only limitation being that everything in each outfit must be created from recycled or repurposed materials.

“It’s a way to emphasize green thinking and the ethos of recycling, as well as encouraging design when you have certain limitations put on you,” said show creator Mark Elliott.

Not only are participants displaying their work to the public, they are also competing against each other.

A panel of three guest artists and designers will judge the garments, awarding both cash prizes and trophies made of recycled materials to the top three artists.

FRANK gallery manager Torey Mishoe said Rubbish 2 Runway II is a unique experience because it allows community members to exhibit their work.

Today marks the opening of the exhibit in FRANK Gallery, where the designs will be displayed prior to the fashion show. The 17 pieces will wait on mannequins until the contest at the end of the week.

On Friday, community members who have already purchased VIP tickets to the fashion show will benefit from reserved seating and a pre-party that includes food and drinks — a new addition to this year’s show.

Following the pre-party, doors will open to the general public, and the 17 artists will send their designs down the runway for the highly anticipated “trashion” show.

The designs will be modeled by designers’ friends or even the artists themselves. Models will strut their stuff to the sounds of DJ Fifi Hi-Fi, a local Carrboro artist known for dance jams. From 4-year-old models to college students, a wide range of community members will take part in this event.

This year’s fashion show will feature hair and makeup designs from Carrboro’s Ceremony Salon. With five stylists and one assistant working as a team, Ceremony Salon has achieved a cohesive look to show off the contrast between rubbish and runway.

“Everyone uses hair as an expression of themselves. For us, this is an art form. Hair is our medium,” owner Rachel Radford said.

Since her salon is brand new in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area, Radford said she sees the show as both an opportunity to promote Ceremony Salon and a chance for her stylists to grow as hairdressers.

While the models will maintain a clean and simple look, the stylists at Ceremony have been formally trained in runway hair and makeup. In the past four years alone, Radford said she has gained much of her experience working in more than 20 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Weeks.

Following the fashion show, the eco-friendly garments will return to the FRANK Gallery display until Oct. 5.

“It’s always important for us to remind people that there are so many young and emerging artists in the community that are doing really good things,” Mishoe said.

arts@dailytarheel.com