Tra ... trash ... trashion

Donning a ruffled skirt made out of newspaper with plastic bottle cap buttons and a cardboard and newspaper hat, 11-year-old American national Stephanie Sherman looked every inch a glamorous prima donna. As part of an environment initiative, students of the Gems Royal School, Dubai, exhibited designer wear made out of trash and called the line ‘Trashion’. The students from the primary and senior schools created innovative designs and took part in the show held at Mirdiff City Centre on Thursday.Though 800 students participated from the school, only 25 finally walked the ramp. Tanya Walsh, head of the art department said: “The students were encouraged to create garments using recycled material. They used plastic bags, cardboard boxes, paper plates, tin foils and old toys for the garments. The point of the show was to raise awareness and educate children on the importance of conservation.” Stephanie’s dress was a 1920s-inspired ruffled dress made out of newspaper and plastic bags along with a headgear made from newspaper, as well. “It took me two weeks to put the dress together. I got the biggest plastic bag I could find and I stapled lines of newspaper on to it cutting it to make ruffles as well. I don’t want to be a designer when I grow up, but I love dabbling with art,” said Stephanie. “It was great to see the kids on the catwalk,” said Walsh. They were spewing confidence and I was most impressed with the themed consumes. Like one student wore a bumblebee costume made from yellow and black plastic. There were  dresses made from crushed plastic bottles, Ikea bags, tin foil, old bags, old fabrics, and crepe paper.” Meanwhile, Hussain Moosa, associate director for Mirdif City Centre said: “With ‘trashion’ – or recycled fashion, becoming an industry trend, Mirdif Fashion Weekend is an ideal platform to showcase environmentalism and innovation in a fun and engaging way for the local community.” Year three student, Armenian national Antonio Malkasinian looked debonair in a suit jacket made from plastic with a blue bottle cap button. The eight-year-old said his grandmother designed and stitched the suit for him. “He had very little idea about what he wanted to wear, but knew that he wanted to look like a gentleman, something that is not very unusual,” said Nora Turbendian, Antonio’s grandmother.