For the first time since 2019, the Bloomington Trashion Refashion show will return live on stage at 7 p.m. Sunday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.
Trashion Refashion has been a staple of the Bloomington entertainment and arts scene since 2010. Each year, the runway show promotes environmental sustainability and creativity.
The annual runway show is a two-part event featuring more than 70 original looks that have been upcycled from discarded materials by local artists and modeled by a diverse group of Bloomington community members.
Bloomington Trashion Refashion Project Manager Stephen Hale first participated in the event as a model back in 2012. Having experience as a model and as a project manager behind the scenes, he said the show is an example of the amazing things that can happen when a community works toward a common goal.
“This is a group of people working together and moving in the same direction on something,” Hale said. “There’s just so much to the event with what you see and also with the ideas behind it about sustainability, diverting waste and rethinking how we consume as a community.”
Refashion will be the first part of the show, followed by trashion. The refashion side includes items transformed from underused garments, while materials used for trashion must be rescued from the landfill. All designs consist of at least 90% discarded items.
Pat Anderson is one of the many designers who have curated looks for the show. Her trashion ensemble this year — made from leftover spray paint, egg cartons, discarded tissue paper and flower bouquet wax paper — will be the fifth design she has created since the event’s establishment.
“This event is a chance to create something that has no other use and doesn’t have to be permanent,” Anderson said.
This year’s event includes a performance by singer-songwriter Tom Roznowski. Yael Ksander and Devta Kidd will be the co-emcee’s for the night.
Tickets are on sale at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater box office and website. General admission tickets are $15 in advance and $20 the day of the show. Student and children tickets are $10. All proceeds from ticket sales go directly to the Center for Sustainable Living.
Doors will open at 6 p.m. The event will last an estimated 2 1/2 hours. Vaccine verification or a negative COVID-19 test result within 48 hours is required to enter the venue.
