SIFE and Girls Inc. show sustainable style

The Girls Inc. gymnasium was an array of makeshift sustainability Friday — the floor was lined with Christmas lights, bits of fabric posed as a red-carpet runway and a small laptop served as speakers. Then, of course, there were the clothes.

Runway fashion consisted of only reused clothes found in bins or on hangers at a local Goodwill. These articles were then remade by student designers to fit today’s trends and serve as a testament that good fashion can also be green.

Girls Inc. is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering girls to understand and assert their rights.

Erin Policinski, program director for Girls Inc., said that, since working with Students in Free Enterprise, an organization that promotes business ethics, entrepreneurship and personal financial skills, the girls seem to place a greater value on sustainability.

“They’re more energy conscious,” she said.

“I’ll notice little things. In the winter, when someone leaves the door open after carrying something outside, they’ll be like, ‘Okay, we need to close the door so the heat doesn’t get out.’”

As the show began, the eight models were ready to show their friends and family just how fierce they could be in head-to-toe awareness.

As they entered the catwalk, all smiles and some shyness, they struck signature poses to the tune of “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.” The audience roared in response.

Sophomore Ashley Sowders, member of SIFE, was among the onlookers at the show.
Though she said she was more involved with the fair-trade aspect of the organization, she wanted to support the other members in a cause she has tried out herself.

“I think it’s really interesting to turn these old garments into something new,” Sowders said. “I’ve made a scarf before on my own and a duct tape bag ... things like that. It’s cute, fashionable, fun.”

Many of the models sported long skirts and ankle-length dresses whose fabric was then fastened in one way or another onto the top half of their outfit, whether a ruffled flower or paisley lining.

Today’s popular trends, such as color-blocking, also made an appearance.

Jackie Cottrell, senior in the Individualized Major Program, said she heard about the opportunity to design for the show in one of her classes.

Though at first she “let it go” and didn’t plan on participating, she said she started to feel excited about the prospect of working with younger girls. After signing up, Cottrell had only a week to make four outfits.

“I just thought, ‘If I were 11, what would I want to wear?’” Cottrell said. “It was about getting in the mindset of a young girl. So of course came the colors, little frills and leopard print.”

As all the models lined back onto the runway for the finale, audience members were thanked for their participation and asked to make a small donation to Girls Inc.

SIFE hopes to later supply the facility with touchless water fountains, which would lowers costs and energy usage for the facility.

At the end of the show, Policinski said she believed Girls Inc. individuals learned an important lesson.

“It’s about giving something to the girls that’s not physical,” she said.

“They’ve been given the knowledge to make better choices as they get older and become consumers.”