Fashion show to model green style

Students in Free Enterprise will sponsor a fashion show that focuses on a consistent concern at IU — sustainability.

The show, which will take place at 6 p.m. Friday at Girls Inc., is a result of months of partnership between students and the nonprofit organization, in which young girls are taught the value of eco-friendly choices in fashion through simple lesson plans.

One past activity included watching color dye and water spread across a coffee filter, showing the girls a visual example of the chemical properties in dye and illustrating the necessity of large amounts of water.

“It’s a fun process,” said Mary Embry, a professor in the Department of Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design. “We’re connecting things that aren’t usually connected. I know adults who can’t understand the connection between fashion and sustainability.”

Now, the many lesson plans are accumulating into one major show, which will feature the young girls as models.

Clothes for the event were pulled from Goodwill and altered by student designers, illuminating the importance of reusing material. The young models were able to draw beforehand what they each wanted their outfits to look like.

One designer, Alicia Leffers, said she has enjoyed the process of working with her young models.

“It has been really fun to get old clothing and rip it apart knowing that the garment has a new life ahead of it,” she said. “Old clothing ends up in landfills, so if more would buy second hand, we could diminish the amount of pollution.”

Marya Ruchala, a freshman and coordinator for the show, said this project is a unique opportunity for Girls Inc.

“It’s a pretty cool thing,” she said. “Because they’re so young, I don’t know when else they would be able to be in a fashion show.”

Although the show is free, a $5 donation is suggested. Proceeds will be added to the $300 in corporate donations Girls Inc. has received so far.

Ruchala said students in the group hope to raise enough money to make the facility of Girls Inc. more sustainable, specifically by installing touchless water fountains — an investment that would not only save the nonprofit a large sum of money but potentially lessen a harmful ecological footprint.

Embry said though the group might be young, it is crucial to increase environmental literacy at a younger age.

“I think it’s one of the most important solutions to environmental problems,” she said. “Kids to need to grow up thinking about these issues.”

While the students have enjoyed working with Girls Inc., they are excited to show off their progress.

“I’m really excited to show the community what we’re doing,” Ruchala said. “And I’m excited to show the parents what we’ve been teaching their children.”