Sustainable Couture turns 10 and celebrates

A decade on Sustainable Couture – a creative event that’s about changing mindsets – is celebrating  its own longevity.
 
It was an instant hit when it launched its mix of fun, fantasy, art and fashion with an anti-waste ethic. That meant seeing the potential in the materials around you that might otherwise go to landfill and repurposing them with flair, as things you can wear – garments and accessories.
 
Right: Sustainable Couturiers, front, Franca Frederiksen, Marg Johnson, back, Carmel Ryan, Philomela Hali. 
 
Some of the event’s founders are still involved, new faces have joined the core group, and there are always some first-timers – demonstrating the sustainability of the  concept itself.
 
In this anniversary year, the public program is about more than the parade in the Aviation Museum.
 
The Lost and Found exhibition – of non-wearable pieces, including homewares, created from a myriad of repurposed and up-cycled materials – opened on 6 June and is still showing at The Residency, corner Parsons and Hartley Streets.
 

Still to come are:-
 
The main event (ticketed): it’s this Thursday night, with the catwalk show starting at 6.30pm. The theme this year is ‘The Great Fashion Heist’, with designers taking their inspiration from favourite fashion icons.
 
Left: Creations by Carmel Ryan for the 2013 show. 
 
The parade is preceded by food and drink from 5pm and followed by a marketplace for the catwalk creations and more. They will continue to be on sale at the Sustainable Couture retail Pop-Up Shop, also at The Residency from this Friday through to 8 July, 10am to 2pm, seven days.
 
The Show & Tell Storytelling Sessions (free): On the lawns of The Residency,  Sunday 1 July, starting 12.30pm, in the style of the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow, you are invited to bring along your favourite hand-crafted treasure – something you’ve made, a family heirloom, an op-shop find – and share its story over a cuppa.
 
The Artist’s Trail Adventure (free): Starting at 10 on Sunday 8 July, follow the ‘mud-map’ to join artists in their studios or homes to learn how they work and their current projects. Along the way the trail map will draw your attention to the public art that already exists around town. Register and pick up the map from The Residency.