ABOUT
Eight emerging designers were selected from the North East Coast to compete in the annual Project Upcycle in 2019. Each designer must use their skills in this wildly creative and fast-paced design challenge, transforming secondhand clothing provided by Goodwill of Northern New England into a gala-worthy outfit. Each designer worked with a local community role model to strut their designs down the runway.
INSPIRATION
It all started with a tattoo! I noticed a tattoo of Max from Maurice Sendak’s “Where The Wild Things Are”on My model Josh Denton. We immediately struck a connection over the book and found it was formative for both of us and that we related to the story in similar yet different ways. Inspired by this immediate connection, I set out to create an outfit that captured the unique balance of whimsical child and wild male energy that Josh embodies in his day to day.
CRITERIA / DESIGN OBJECTIVES
Designers will compete for cash prizes and will be judged on execution, creative reuse of materials, and styling by our elite panel of judges.
The judges – Justin Desper, last year’s winner Nadine Farag, sustainable and ethical fashion designer Nathalia Jmag and Allison Spahr, director of material development for Timberland – gauged the contestants’s designs for execution, creative reuse of materials and styling.
DESIGN PROCESS
Because of the very real time constraints, I designed a visual game-plan and allotted myself amounts of time to ensure I could complete my ambitious layered look in the 48 hours.
BEHIND THE SCENES
Here are some candid shots of all the magic taking place..
OUTFIT BREAKDOWN
Drew used many materials. Two winter coats helped make his puffy crown for his Where the Wild Things Are-inspired outfit, which was meaningful to both him and his model Josh. Drew took the lace off a frilly top and hand made a shirt out of a lace curtain. He dyed a pair of jeans and turned them into a coat. The green pants (not featured) were also Goodwill finds.
GALLERY
A highlight of all the best moments from Josh’s performative runway strut and from the award ceremony. I chose to connect to the judges and audience through Story. I Chose a “where the Wild Things Are theme” for my outfit As an homage to my model, who had multiple tattoos of Maurice Sendak’s work on his Body. Connecting his outfit to his own life journey also helped us to better work together to expand on the narrative for his runway walk, which featured three reveals and Seven handmade pieces.
PRESS
Drew Rosen took second place for his theatrical “Where-the-Wild-Things- Are” inspired multi-layer creation, modeled by Josh Denton, a member of the Portsmouth City Council. Rosen’s whimsical, theatrical homage incorporated a crown hat, a hoodie with ears, and a half mask (with monster’s teeth), and a tail. Its top layers consisted of a patch jean jacket, a white, layered shirt, with hood and three- quarter sleeves finished in a lace frill. The final layer was a lace, cap-sleeve bodycon top. The collection’s grey pants were appointed with jean patch- pockets, embellishments (“the inner monster working out,”) and a thick tail.
INSIGHT
The competition really inspired me to ask whether upcycling is truly sustainable? Thrifting and upcyclying exist because of the excess of ‘stuff’ generated by consumerism. Our challenge was successful in the sense that each designer was able to create something new and of greater value through artistry and ingenuity. My greatest learning was that people connect to story. Even though the process of thrifting goodwill disguises the “human cost” of fashion, there are people who can understand the dilemma of consumerism through the artistry of story.