By Emily Rosman, ’17

Winners of Tuesday’s third annual Trashion Fashion Show at St. Bonaventure have been announced. 

The Trashion Fashion Show is part of the Recyclemania initiative on campus.

Tread Lightly, an SBU environmental club dedicated to raising awareness about issues such as recycling, uses the show to demonstrate multiple ways to incorporate recycling into daily life. 

Top Trashionista was Andy’s Glitter Factory Gurl, designed by Sean Conklin and modeled by Chernice Miller. The outfit was inspired by the style and sass of Edie Sedgwick in the 1960s. Chernice wore a duct-tape, bando-style top inspired by Andy Warhol’s Silver Factory. 

The Trashionista runner-up was Savage Beauty, Reclaimed Grace, designed by Sean Conklin and modeled by Asia Williams. The outfit used a juxtaposition of hard and soft edges and was made out of plastic tablecloths.

The top model was Naudia Saroyan-Dunn; Laura Zakrzewski designed the outfit. The outfit was titled The Perfect Package and incorporated bubble wrap detailing. 

The top model runner-up was David Bryant, whose outfit was designed by Maggie Morris. 

The People’s Choice Award went to an outfit called Blue Steel, designed and modeled by Erik Furgal. His outfit incorporated a cardboard helmet, a trash bag outer layer and a newspaper undershirt.

“I’m continually blown away every year at how creative everyone is and how good the show turns out,” said Sean Conklin, adviser of the Urban Art Club and assistant curator at The Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts. “I think this year more so than previous years people were very thoughtful and really took into account every aspect of the show.” 

There were a lot of new materials used in this year’s show to create the outfits. Metal beer bottle caps, trash bags, coffee cup holders, gum wrappers, duct tape and tablecloths were just some of the materials used.

For the first time, area high school students interested in art, design or sustainability took part in the show. From Fillmore High School, Becca Sisson, Nicole Kemp, and Sam Bower participated. From Randolph High School, Kaylee Hettenbaugh and Jacqueline Philp participated. All five students were able to design or model different outfits.

During the competition, the Trashion Fashion Show’s first walk-off occurred to break a tie. During the walk-off, models walked the runway for the purpose of judging the models stage presence without taking their clothes or fashions into consideration.

Male models David Bryant and Erik Furgal competed in the walk-off, ultimately resulting in Bryant becoming the top model runner-up. 

“They both had such extremely different outfits, and they both had so much confidence which sold them well on stage,” Conklin said. “I think everyone who was there would agree they did not disappoint.” 

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About the University: The nation’s first Franciscan university, we believe in the goodness of every person and in the ability of every person to do extraordinary things.  St. Bonaventure University cultivates graduates who are confident and creative communicators, collaborative leaders and team members, and innovative problem solvers who are respectful of themselves, others, and the diverse world around them. Named the #3 best college value in the North by U.S. News and World Report, we are establishing pathways to internships, graduate schools and careers in the context of our renowned liberal arts tradition. Our students are becoming extraordinary.