Wearable art: Models don costumes made of recycled materials

PALMER — The annual Wearable Art Runway Fashion show hosted by the Valley Arts Alliance filled up the Palmer Depot on Saturday, Feb. 16. Each model walked down a lighted runway with costumes made from handcrafted materials mostly made of recycled materials.

“It’s a very popular show and the costumes are very creative,” VAA member, event emcee and model Hillary Saffran said.

Saffran was one of the two event emcees. She is a longtime VAA member and usually makes her way down the runway, like she did this year. On Saturday, she donned a red costume made from toilet paper rolls, fabric strips and twinkling lights. She said that about 12 women from the Mat-Su Mamas Red Hat Group worked on her outfit.

“Every year the shows get better and better, and this year was a great show with three male participants as models, also artists- two of the outfits as a group effort from My House volunteers,” Saffran said.

The Palmer Depot rang out with assorted songs to each model’s routine, ranging from hard rock, classical or funky Bruno Mars jams. Each model had their own themes and inspirations, from tributes to classic movies or literature to completely original concepts, often with a local flair.

This year’s theme was “Bewitched,” so many of the models used magical and beguiling elements in their costumes and backstories. Saffran and the other emcee, Pam Huyck, took turns reading the model’s scripts prior to their performance.

There were detailed backstories, including Peter Nicolson’s original concept, “The Birch King’s Revenge,” a story of the Birch King exacting his revenge on the insects that are killing trees. Nicolson walked down the stage looking almost like Groot from “Guardians of the Galaxy,” inside a suit of armor made from real wood.

Nicolson walked down the runway like a fantasy warrior, complete with a wooden sword and shield. His costume was made with natural materials like birch bark and branches, cedar shims, raven feathers, ferns, and moss. At the close of Nicolson’s routine, Huyck watched the tall tree of a man exit the stage sultrily saying, “I’m a real tree hugger now.”

VAA executive director Carmen Summerfield said this show was one of her organization’s first endeavors. It’s been 13 years and this show is an annual tradition for the group. Summerfield said that she looks forward to it every year.

“It’s a great show every year. I love seeing what people come up with,” Summerfield said.

Marilyn Bennett modeled an outfit created by fellow VAA member Diane Boyd. This was Bennett’s first show ever. She strutted down the catwalk in a mostly red creation that was crafted from recycled materials that included 300 plastic grocery bags, tablecloths, water bottles and long soda bottles.

“It’s better than just going out and buying something brand new,” Bennett said.

This is Boyd’s fifth Wearable Art show. She said that she began putting Bennett’s outfit together in November. She said that the most time consuming task was cutting strips out of the plastic bags and tablecloth. She said that she crafted the plastic flowers by softening them over a candle and twisting them into aesthetically pleasing shapes. She got the inspiration by browsing images online but she is proud of her original creation, claiming superiority over the source materials.

“I actually saw dresses made of plastic stuff on the net but theirs didn’t look as good,” Boyd said with a laugh.

Bennett moved to the Palmer last year to be closer to her grandchildren. She said that she’s enjoyed acclimating to the small town and joining the VAA has greatly helped her make a lot of friends in a short amount of time.

“It truly does bring the community together through the arts,” Summerfield said, referring to the VAA’s motto and mission statement.

Bennett said that she easily recognized about a dozen faces in the crowd as she was going down the runway.

“I just love Palmer,” Bennett said.

The VAA meets every Thursday at 1 p.m. at Sophia’s Café.

Contact Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman reporter Jacob Mann at jacob.mann@frontiersman.com