BHS — ECO RUNWAY

By Jennifer Burland Adams

At the recent Fall Fashion Week in New York City, designers from Marc Jacobs to Lanvin seemed to be channelling trash as fashion. A Lanvin handbag appeared to be made of black garbage bag material and a dress from Giambattista Valli appeared to be made of cardboard and rope (it was actually made of printed silk with a bronze belt).

Trash as fashion is the theme at The Bermuda High School’s third annual eco RUNWAY show on Saturday, November 23rd, starting at 6pm in the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Ten teams will each send two looks down the runway; one avant garde and one ready-to-wear. The catch? Each design must be made of at least 50 percent recycled or found materials, with extra points being awarded for those designs which make the most use of non-traditional materials.

Host of the runway show, Jennifer Burland Adams, explains, “This event allows students the creativity to not just think outside the box, but take the box apart, paint and embellish it, and turn it into a modern garment.”

Past eco RUNWAY shows have seen a skirt made from an umbrella, plastic bags layered, ironed together and patterned for a geometric dress and bicycle inner tubes pleated and stitched together. Last year’s winning design featured computer parts in an Elizabethan-inspired dress and duct tape shorts.

Mrs Burland Adams adds, “We, at BHS, believe that we must encourage our students to think about how to create a sustainable environment for ourselves and future generations by making responsible decisions. eco RUNWAY is a way to think differently about our environmental impact along with creative and constructive ways of recycling.”

Tickets for eco RUNWAY are available http://www.bhs.bm/index.php/news-events/register or by calling 278.3040 or at advancement@bhs.bm. Tickets are $10 for general admission for student and $25 for adults. Limited VIP seating is available in the front row for $40.