img: Peter Jensen
Rising to the 81 lb. Challenge
Eighty-one pounds doesn鈥檛 sound like much 鈥� the weight of a seventh-grader, maybe 鈥� but 81 pounds is the average weight of clothing a single North American discards in a year.
When you see just how much clothing that is, it鈥檚 rather alarming. Especially if you鈥檙e one of the fashion students at VCAD who took part in Eco Fashion Week鈥檚 81 lb. Challenge, creating an entire collection out of pieces thrifted from Value Village.
鈥淎 few weeks back we were at 15 looks and we weighed them and they were only around 20 pounds,鈥� says Alanis Anne Alindogan, a VCAD student. 鈥淲e were like 鈥�61 more to go? How are we supposed to do that?鈥� Eighty-one pounds is a lot of clothes.鈥�
img: Peter Jensen
A weighty issue
In previous iterations of Eco Fashion Week -- it鈥檚 now in its 10th season --individual designers like Carlie Wong, Tammy Joe and Kim Cathers took on what used to be the 68 lb. Challenge. But studies indicate North Americans are discarding more clothing than ever, adding to the fashion industry鈥檚 already forceful environmental impact, something Eco Fashion Week founder and president Myriam Laroche hopes to change.
鈥淥ne way for the industry to be eco 鈥� because there鈥檚 not just one way, there are hundreds of ways 鈥� could be reusing zippers or reusing sleeves,鈥� says Laroche. 鈥淭he 81 lb. Challenge makes me see the reality of what it would take to integrate secondhand clothing into new clothing.鈥�
img: Kelsey Dundon
Design direction
The 81 lb. Challenge was overseen by industry leaders Glencora Twigg, Wen-chee Liu and Jason Matlo, whose own 10th anniversary collection was created from fabric remnants leftover from previous seasons, a challenge in its own right.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a perception around sustainable clothing that it鈥檚 really hippy so I wanted to elevate it to something ultraglamourous,鈥� says Matlo. 鈥淚t can be sustainable and high fashion.鈥�
img: Kelsey Dundon
Source material
In a way, sourcing pieces for the 81 lb. Challenge isn鈥檛 all that different from thrift shopping for fun.
鈥淵ou cannot have too specific of an idea of what you鈥檙e looking for because it鈥檚 about letting the clothes find you,鈥� says Laroche, who accompanied the designers on several pulls at Value Village. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e looking for a pair of jeans? There are so many you鈥檙e probably going to find one. But if you go looking for a pair of cropped yellow jeans, well鈥ou need to go often.鈥�
During their first excursion to Value Village, the design team surveyed the sartorial landscape, searching for visual themes in order to create a cohesive collection that would like it was designed by a single designer with a clear creative vision, rather than a team of eight up-and-comers with their own distinct viewpoints.
鈥淲e were looking for something with a good structure, a nice silhouette. Something that didn鈥檛 have to be broken down and reworked into a new product. Maybe we鈥檇 find a nice dress shirt but the sleeves needed to be chopped, the neckline needed to be dropped,鈥� says Hayes. 鈥淲e鈥檇 upcycle it.鈥�
img: Peter Jensen
Twenties vision
After surveying their picks back at the studio, that theme began to crystalize.
鈥淲e came up with the idea to do a 鈥�20s collection: we had all these colours and prints, we had a lot of silhouettes that fell from the shoulder,鈥� says Dillon Hayes, who graduated from VCAD just days before the 81 lb. Challenge show. 鈥淲e pulled four more times, knowing what we were looking for.鈥�
The designers expanded their search beyond Value Village鈥檚 clothing racks too; sourcing jewelry to use as shoulder straps, bedspreads to use as material, even a set of curtains, which in true Scarlett O鈥橦ara fashion, Hayes reworked into a dress.
Value Village鈥檚 81-lb Challenge at Eco Fashion Week.
A cohesive collection
With a 鈥�20s-inspired collection comes drop-waist dresses, flapper silhouettes, and ornate embellishments: gold piping, floral appliques, crystal trimmings.
鈥淪ometimes when we鈥檇 make things we鈥檇 go, 鈥楬mmm this is too plain, what can we add?鈥欌�� says Alindogan. In one case, she sewed a leather fringe crafted from the sleeves of a sweater, edged with a row of beads she took off a Christmas sweater.
The showstopper was a silver gown with a high-low hem and jeweled halter neckline, a piece Hayes created out of a lightweight satin duvet cover.
鈥淭he way it walked on the runway was surreal,鈥� Hayes says. 鈥淚t fluttered like a butterfly.鈥�
img: Peter Jensen
鈥淲hen it was said and done, looking at the models in full hair and makeup, seeing the transformation we pulled off in such a short period of time,鈥� says Hayes. 鈥淚 have no words.鈥�
Kelsey Dundon is a lifestyle editor who blogs about fashion, design and the occasional upcycled piece at .
