The Trashion show – A Review
The Trashion show – A Review
Journalist: Danique Wijnia
Phootographer: Håvard Røgeberg Magelssen
Translator: Mathilde Buttedahl
Fashion from trash. It can be a comment on the current global issue of waste, or a call for people to be more creative and think outside of the box. Trash does not have to be trash. It is just a label that we decide to put on things, even if the items are not deserving of it. Repurposing materials and making them into something fashionable was the goal of this Trashion show. Some of the materials that were repurposed in the outfits would not be most fashion designers’ first choice, but they can inspire and create new ideas. Bottles, cans, cardboard, trash bags, binders, paper, and old Tuntreet editions were used for these outfits and made in only a single afternoon. If I do say so myself, they turned out pretty well.
The Pant Dress
The bottle and can dress calls attention to the importance of recycling. Not only for oneself in terms of saving money, but also for the planet. During the shoot, bottles would often fall from the dress which reminds us of the problem of littering. Pant on the bottles is an incentive to recycle but this is sometimes not enough motivation to actually recycle. The dress also reminds us to hold onto our trash until we know that it will be processed in a way that is, hopefully, not as polluting as plain littering. The way that the bottles were placed all over the model’s body and even in her hair also reminds us of the fact that we are constantly surrounded by plastic, so much so that microplastics can be found in our food and are, thus, literally entering our bodies as well. Recycling and waste processing are things that we should be mindful of and try our best to be motivated to make the world a better place.
Paper + Plastic = Global Warming
The outfit made of trash bags and paper creates a nice silhouette through the angularity of the skirt, which is then softened by the flexibility of the trash bags in the top and hand warmers. The hand warmers made from plastic bags can be a comment on global warming and how waste processing is contributing to this. Hand warmers in most places will not be necessary due to the rising heat. Even though these issues have been broadcast in the news, symbolized by the skirt of Tuntreet newspapers, the issue is still getting out of hand. Our hands are getting too hot in a lot of places. Many people are blinded by all the different narratives and do not know what to think any more. Frustration and confusion are often emotions associated with powerlessness and that is what a lot of people feel when discussing these global issues of waste and pollution. The outfit demonstrates these different processes at work and how these can be experienced as frustrating by the wearer.
The God of Paper
The paper towel and trash bag appliques outfit is simple yet elegant. The draping of the paper towels can be connected to the Ancient Greek style of dressing, which is still popular today. Similarly, the big questions that the Ancient Greek philosophers dealt with are still discussed today. What does it mean to be a good person? And how can we be good for the planet? The lightness of the material is in stark contrast to the heaviness of the global waste issue and big questions that are still asked. The color blue can indicate wisdom or inspiration, which are necessary attributes to deal with this issue. The outfit is hopeful but not too so.
The Newspaper Dress
The Tuntreet newspaper dress might look like it is just thrown together, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Ideas are not immediately fully fleshed out; it takes time to develop ideas. It is all part of the process. The dress reminds us to take our time and fully develop our ideas. Even if there is no time to flesh out ideas, it is still better to showcase the process than to not showcase anything. Learning from the process of development is essential. There is no right or easy answer for any of the big issues in the world but trying to develop ideas and the process of this development are valuable. Writing about these things on a large or small scale can inspire someone else. Nurturing ideas and creativity are important. The dress implies this by utilizing the color pink, which can mean to nurture or to love. This outfit reminds us to take our time, to absorb all the knowledge we can from any source, and to trust in the process of developing ideas.
The Little Black Trash Bag Dress
The most classic image of waste is the black trash bag. A must have when cleaning or getting rid of stuff. Similar arguments are made that every woman should have a little black dress in their closet. Why not combine these two essentials into one? Quite some work went into the design of this classic and elegant trash bag dress, it was not easy to create or wear, but the ends result is definitely worth all that time and effort. Shaping the trash bags to appear as though they are hugging the wearer and not restricting is quite difficult. The restrictiveness of this dress comments on the restrictiveness of plastic for wildlife. Luckily, the dress was not as restrictive literally as plastic is for wildlife, seeing as many animals die by getting tangled up in trash.
The Cardboard Gown and Tuntreet Headpiece
This purple dress made from cardboard calls back to the corsets of the 18th century. The style of the lacing, however, ties the corset back to our modern times, where outfits with open backs and lacing are quite popular. Similarly, the yellow headpiece can remind us of the Roman helmets with plume worn in Ancient Rome or of the outrageously big hairdos worn by women in the 18th century. This outfit is a mixture of different periods in time. The main connecting factor is surprisingly alcohol, and particularly cider, which has been around since Roman times and maybe even before that. Both alcohol and fashion continue to connect people in modern times. This outfit clearly showcases the interconnectivity of our world, and that creativity can make the world a more interesting place.
