Fashion for a cause is great and we’re always behind it. This time the cause is the St. Vincent de Paul Society of San Francisco and the event is Discarded To Divine, a Recycled Couture Fashion Show + Auction. The event involves donated clothes being transformed into one-of-a-kind couture creations to be auctioned to benefit the poor and homeless.
Discarded To Divine promotes sustainable design while touting the four R’s of life: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Respect.
The discarded items used include high-quality materials that have no use in the day-to-day survival of a homeless person, such as upholstery textiles, curtains, formal and bridesmaid dresses, and vintage fabrics. Highlights of fashions created for auction include a man’s tuxedo redesigned using elements of women’s clothing and inspired by Louise Nevelson’s monochromatic sculpture; an evening jacket of matte and textured fabrics inspired by the Dale Chihuly glass art exhibit; a bustier and dress made from a different garments dyed the same color to create a contrast of textures and inspired by the photographic work of David Seymour; and a gown and man’s suit inspired by Fragonard’s “Woman with a Parrot” made from 20 pairs of jeans.
Bay Area fashion designers such as Jessica McClintock, Colleen Quen, Nice Collective, Cari Borja, Verrieres & Sako, Michael Boris and Sara Shepherd join students from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), City College of San Francisco and Academy of Art University in designing one-of-a-kind fashions in ‘real’ sizes made from recycled materials and inspired by the de Young Museum’s permanent collection.
Here’s the details:
Event Details
Discarded to Divine Preview
Friday, April 4, 2008 – 5:00 PM to 8:45 PM
de Young Museum, 50 Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco
Discarded to Divine
Recycled Couture Fashion Show, Auction and Cocktail Party
Saturday, April 26, 2008 – 7:00 PM to 9:30 PM
Hosted by Academy of Art University, 601 Brannan Street, San Francisco
General Tickets: $45 advance/$55 door; VIP Tickets (limited): $75 advance/$90 door
Space is limited. RSVP to (415) 977-1270 or online at www.discardedtodivine.org
Find more info at discardedtodivine.org and discardedtodivine.blogspot.com.
- Men’s denim suit by Milen Krastev, Menswear Coordinator, School of Fashion, Academy of Art University, created from jeans.
- “Tuxedo Redressed” is the transformation of a discarded tuxedo using elements of women’s clothing. Inspired by Louise Nevelson’s monochromatic sculpture at the de Young Museum, it emphasizes elegance in line and balance in form without mirrored symmetry. “Redressed” brings to men’s contemporary formal wear dynamism that is all too frequently absent,” said by Bay Area designer Aimee Baldwin of her design.
- Academy of Art University textile design student Young Jun Ryu printed over used ties using the Exterior design of the newly renovated de Young Museum, with its perforated walls and geometric shapes alongside the natural scenery of Golden Gate park as inspiration for his textile prints. “I combined natural imagery from floral shapes with geometric lines to create graphic patterns,” said Jun. “I used both pigment and the discharge techniques on the ties in order to express the feeling of my inspiration.”Each of Jun’s pics show the tie before and after his printing.
- Academy of Art University textile design student Sarah Rose printed on a jacket, tee shirt and jeans. “Being a textiles major, when I look for inspiration, I tend to try to not look at things as a whole, but break them down and look at small details and actual textures to work off of. In the de Young Museum, there was a painting of a peacock man playing the piano and between the colors and the stylization, I could not help but be drawn to it and inspired for my textile designs.”
- Academy of Art University textile design student Veronica Martinez printed on a shirt. “My inspiration came from Wayne Thiebaud and his piece ‘Girl with Ice Cream Cone’ in the de Young Museum.”
- Bay Area designer Gwendolyn Davis used a traditional men’s wool suit jacket and embellished it with glowing male silhouettes connected by embroidered thread tracings. “My imagery for this garment is inspired by a large paper and gold leaf wall piece by American artist Kiki Smith in the de Young Museum. Fragile schematic lines connect haunting, anonymous figure silhouettes like a mysterious family tree, reminding us of the few degrees of separation that connect us.”
- Bay Area designer Alexandra B. Szerlip men’s winter coat with Western motif applique, embroidered “kimono” lining, and matching neck scarf and lettering around the hem.
