While I was at Washburn’s prom on Saturday night, guest blogger, high school student Allison Malecha (you’ve seen her photography before) was a volunteer and model in the Goodwill’s Second Runway. Ironic, no? Here’s her report from the show:

“High Fashion” isn’t exactly the term that comes to mind when someone brings up Goodwill, but the Goodwill/Easter Seal Second Runway Fashion Show last Saturday definitely approached just that. The off-the-rack outfits featured well-known brands such as Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, J. Crew, and Elie Tahari (hello, a pristine Tahari skirt for $8.99 — does it get any better?) taken straight from Goodwill stores.

But the real showstoppers appeared in the second half of the show. Local designers took regular old Goodwill items, chopped them up, and pieced them back together into stunning new garments. Karen Moberg transformed some flowery bedsheets into a crisp little summer dress (above photo) while Christina Schuster, who is graduating this year from the U of M, disassembled a prom dress, some jeans, and curtains to create a sassy new dress. Styles ranged from everyday chic to naughty secretary to futuristic superhero, and Thom Navarro’s sexy line compiled of far from everyday t-shirts finished he night off
with a bang.

Mixed in with all of this fun and frill hovered a sense of do-gooding as co-hosts Alexis Walsko and Katherine Gerdes reminded everyone of the Goodwill mission: “to assist people with barriers to education, employment, and independence in achieving their goals.” And the proceeds from the event itself as well as from the auctioning off of the garments after will all go to help that mission stay strong. All in all the event was a success, and I will definitely never look at Goodwill the same way again!

ABOVE: Karen Moberg, a Goodwill Employment Support Consultant, mixes crisp pleats with girly ruffles. Hmm, I wonder what could be made out of my bedsheets….

BELOW: Secondhand t-shirts get kicked up a notch or ten with Thom Navarro’s line of edgy frills and vibrant hues. Who says cotton can’t be sexy.

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 8th, 2008 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Local fashion shows, Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.