Student designers and their models are ready for the show. (Sacramento State/Jessica Vernone)Seven Sacramento State fashion merchandising and design students will show their original sports-inspired creations, made with sustainable fabric and reimagined thrift shop finds, on Wednesday, June 28, on the biggest stage of their young careers: the Green Sports Alliance (GSA) Summit.
The Summit, making its Sacramento debut June 27-29 at Golden 1 Center, will bring to town hundreds of GSA members representing 300 sports teams and venues from 14 countries. Their goal is to share innovative ideas about “greening” the sports industry and engaging fans.
Sacramento State’s Fashion Merchandising and Design program, part of the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, and the Student Fashion Association (SFA) were selected to present “ECOLUTION: The Sustainable Fashion Show” during the Summit. The half-hour “runway show” at 7:30 p.m. June 28 will kick off GSA’s Green Sports Celebration.
“This is an excellent opportunity for our students, whose dream is to become professional designers,” says Professor Dong Shen, the fashion program coordinator and SFA faculty advisor. “It is a national platform, a big stage, where they will present their talents, and our students are more and more aware of sustainability.”
GSA partner Renew Merchandise supplied the Sac State students with polyester knit fabric – 43 yards in white, 47 yards in black – made from recycled plastic bottles. Each student was required to have one look made entirely with the sustainable material, and they were allowed to dye the fabric. The balance of their designs had to be at least 75 percent sustainable.
Jose Avila fashioned a men’s jacket from a sleeping bag and a pair of men’s pants from a women’s skirt that he found at a secondhand store. Desiree Vasquez turned three thrift-store sweatshirts into a casual cowl-neck sweater. And Gabrielle Pyle combined parts of a men’s baseball jersey and a basketball jersey with sustainable fabric for an eye-catching dress.
They and four other students – Alicia Tuatagaloa, Kristine Untalan, Theresa Truong, and Phua Lee – each created up to seven looks for the show. The designers recruited fellow Sac State students and hired local professional models to walk the runway. – Dixie Reid