Fashion design students at Colgan High School in Northern Virginia were excited to compete in the Off the Wall Art Competition presented by The Center for the Arts of Greater Manassas and Prince William County in January. They were set to present in the Wearable Art category and spent weeks creating detailed pieces using recycled paper, textiles, cardboard, and other recyclables.
The day before the competition, however, disaster stuck. A snowstorm caused their school to close. With a locked school and no way to gather their artwork, the students were unable to attend the competition they had worked so hard for.
American Disposal Services stepped in to help. Following our slogan “In Your Community – For Our Environment“ closely, we worked with school officials to facilitate a make-up competition at our Recycling Center. Gathering four judges with various backgrounds to pick the winner, we prepped the facilities to give the students the full experience they had missed.
With a professional photoshoot with TriVision Studios in Chantilly, VA up for grabs, the students threw their all into the competition. The pieces were a sight that no one in attendance will soon forget.
Yulissa Silva-Avila, first prize winner of a 1-Hour Professional Photo Shoot sponsored by TriVision Studios and American’s Next Top Recycle Designer, created a dress using an old bed sheet for inner layering and a sheer curtain for the exterior. She added dimension to the design by creating a corset back coupled with a beige ribbon. The design included toilet paper flowers as accents and was finished using hand-stitching techniques.
Abbi-Gayle Griffiths, second prize winner of a $100 Visa Gift Card sponsored by American Disposal Services, designed a dress made of recycled paper grocery bags and fastened together using staples and tape. It was painted with gold spray paint and finished off with gold accents.
Jayln Davidson, third prize winner of a $50 Visa Gift Card sponsored by American Disposal Services, created a two-piece dress with a sweetheart neckline and full skirt. The bell-shaped skirt accentuated the waistline and flared at the bottom. It was fabricated using newspaper and tape with an elastic waistband. The top was also made from newspaper and was coupled with a corset back fastened with Velcro. To finish the look, the dress was spray painted gold.
The students went home happy to have had the opportunity to showcase their stunning pieces to their local community.
Written by Hillary Campbell
@nohillaryjokes
