Sustainable Fashion: The Fashion of the Future
Photo courtesy of the City of Chandler.
Have you ever considered taking your bathroom shower curtain and transforming it into a dress with sea glass for some sparkle? Well, ACP Knight, Abigail Rothert, thought exactly that! Abby created a spectacular and sustainable dress out of those materials for Chandler’s Annual Trashion Fashion Show and won. I had the extraordinary opportunity to speak to Abby and learn more about her award-winning dress. Without further ado, Abigail Rothert everyone!
Q: What is the Chandler Trashion Fashion Show?
A: It is a competition held every year by the city of Chandler to raise awareness about recycling, especially in the fashion industry. Each year, the participants are required to create a garment made from at least 75% recycled material.
Q: How long have you been working on your piece?
A: I started making the sea glass in January because I had to do it outside and didn’t want to harm myself. I started making the actual dress in March.
Q: Have you participated in this competition before? If so, how was the experience different this year?
A: Yes, I participated in 2019. In 2019, the competition was held at the end of May, which is one of the reasons I started working on this year’s dress so early. In 2019, I used old book pages and a whale pool float to make a ball gown.
Q: What is your favorite part of the dress you designed?
A: My favorite part of my dress is the bodice. The sea glass on the bodice looks beautiful, especially in the sunlight.
Q: What is the hardest part of this specific dress design?
A: The hardest part of this dress design was gluing the glass on. It was very time consuming and tedious.
Q: What specific categories did you win?
A: I won in the adult category as well as the community choice award.
Q: Could you describe the emotions you felt when you found out you won?
A: I was so excited when I found out I won because I worked really hard designing the dress. The prize was $50, so I was very pleased to acquire that as well. It was so heartwarming to see that so many people (462) voted for my design for the community choice award. It means so much to me that so many people care. I felt very victorious when I won.
I would like to congratulate Abby on behalf of the whole ACP family for her extraordinary performance in the Fashion Show! I would also like to thank Abby for taking the time out of her day to share more about her dress. I encourage you all to find a creative way to pursue your passion, like Abby. Don’t forget to strive for the impossible and be extraordinary!
