If you don't know what to do with that old lime green shower curtain, you could turn it into a dress or a pair of pants.
Shower curtains and other junkyard trash, fashionably worn as clothing, will be stepping out in style on a runway in Ashland as part of the Rogue Valley's Earth Day celebration on April 21.
By creating one-of-a-kind fashions from reused materials, local artists and recyclers will compete for "fabulous handmade trophies." It will be the area's first ever Trashion Show.
The Ashland program is being presented by ArtNow, a nonprofit probably best known for its wildly painted ArtCars that appear each year in Ashland's Fourth of July parade.
"It's an artful and humorous way to bring awareness to recycling and the environment," said Konnie May, a board member of ArtNow.
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"I saw the episode where these designers went into a grocery store and bought these weird items and made clothing out of them," she said.
Inspired by the idea, May and other members of the group thought a fashion show featuring clothing made from trash would be perfect for Earth Day. Their motto: "Trash + Fashion = Trashion."
May can't say when trashion shows began, but she knows their popularity has been increasing over the past few years. Portland held its first show in December and Yale University started an annual show last year.
One of the local contestants, Jane Hickinbotham, designated by May as the "Mistress of Mirth," has a food-oriented costume almost ready for the contest. It consists of bottle cap boots and a skirt and a blouse made of product labels, and it is crowned by pieces of cereal-box cardboard shaped into a beanie cap and supporting a rotating hoop.
"I'm hoping it will pick up some wind and spin around during the show," said Hickinbotham.
"All entries will be judged on three points," said May. "First is artistic merit, regardless of how it's worn or what it's made of. Next is the best use of recycled and nonrecycled material, and last, but very important, wearability. Is it an actual garment and can you wear it?"
The group plans a genuine stage show, "a spectacle ala Project Runway," said May. There will even be a host who takes on the Heidi Klum character.
"Not all the contestants will be adults," she said. "We have some elementary school kids, some middle-schoolers and at least a couple of high school entries."
High school senior Roxanne Miftahittin is representing Ashland High. She plans to attend Southern Oregon University in the fall, majoring in art. When she heard about the Trashion Show, she took it on as an artistic challenge.
"I had blue hair at the time," she said with a chuckle, "and I was feeling like I wanted to be a mermaid."
She began her costume by cutting out pieces of aluminum cans in the shape of tiny scales and, one-by-one, gluing them on cloth cut in the pattern of a dress.
"It's not very heavy," she said, "but it sure is hard to walk in."
May said that there is no deadline to enter the Trashion Show.
"I would rather see little kids get up there in cardboard boxes at the last minute," she said, "rather than have them feel like they can't be included.
"Anyone who wants to participate can. This is a fun, family, community get-together."
Bill Miller is a freelance writer living in Shady Cove. Reach him at newsmiller@yahoo.com.
