Michelle Smith, Groundwork Providence

Michelle Smith is an AmeriCorps volunteer with Groundwork Providence, asmall nonprofit urban environmental organization in Providence, R.I. Sheworks on integrating the arts into Groundwork's environmentalprogramming.

Runway Earth: Recycled Fashions for a Sustainable World was a huge success! Fashion world beware: Recycled fashions are here to stay. As we all bask in the afterglow, it is hard to believe the show happened and is over.

Friday day was spent in a state of hurried excitement, as Dani and I raced to pick up last minute raffle prizes, safety pins, bobby pins, and other fashion show necessities. (Including a beautiful vintage dress for me. It is silver and glittering, with sheer arms and metallic flames darting up my shoulders. It was a perfect complement to Dani's stunning black number, complete with a thick belt of rhinestones.)

Around 3 p.m., just as we started gathering everything to head over to the performance space, we received a call from National Public Radio (NPR) in Boston; a reporter wanted to come to the show and interview us! I calmly gave her directions to the venue, hung up, and shrieked in excitement with everyone in my office. This call sprang us into action! We threw everything into our truck and van and raced over to AS220 to begin setting up.

We spent the next few hours setting up the stage and decorations, putting out the food and drinks for the models, laying out all the clothes in order, and setting up the video projector. Pretty soon the models began to arrive, then the hairdresser and makeup artist, and before I even realized it, backstage was a chaotic frenzy of clothes, hairspray, and mascara. I was running back and forth, showing models where to walk on stage, making copies of the program, finding someone to sell raffle tickets. Several last minute changes were made in the script, as some models did not show up, although a few did at the very last minute -- including one who arrived a full minute before she was supposed to go on stage; miraculously she made it! Dani and I talked to the reporter from NPR about the show, its purpose, and some of the outfits that would be worn that night. Before I knew it, Dani and Luis, our MCs were onstage, explaining the show to a packed audience. I peeked around the curtain and saw a sea of faces, eagerly awaiting a night of fabulous recycled fashions!

Thanks to Jen, who runs the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program and the R.I. chapter of the Conservation Law Foundation, and shares office space with us, the models were lined up and ready to go onstage in the right order. The first part of the show, which displayed clothes made from recycled PETE #1 plastic bottles (lent to us courtesy of NAPCOR) went off without a hitch, highlighted by several models carrying newspaper, plastic bottles, and juice cartons onstage with them, to be dropped in the appropriate recycling bin at the end of the red-carpeted runway.

The second part of the show, which featured vintage clothes from Ragtime thrift store, was the most crazed, since each model wore three outfits with about one minute to change. As they came off stage, I literally threw their next outfit at them as they hurriedly changed to make their next stage appearance.

In between each section, Adam and I gave away raffle prizes, which included a fleece blanket, makeup, and a makeover from our makeup artist, as well as recycled canvas bags and several clothing packages from the Blue Dress, a vintage boutique which features recycled fashions by local and New York designers. In the background during the entire show was the video montage we had put together, featuring shots of the landfill and recycling facilities. It turned out to be a great backdrop for the show.

The last part of the show, featuring remade and recycled clothing made by local designers, was the crowd favorite. From the lemon dress to the best in show skirt, the audience loved this part. Other favorites were the "secretary's dress," designed by a high school student, made out of used paper and shimmering silver pieces, complete with an old Dunkin' Donuts coffee cup; a skirt made out of neckties; pants made from old T-shirts; and the Madame von Cupcake dress, a gorgeous, handmade pink hoop skirt. This was our final outfit; the model slid out onto the runway, giving away pink frosted cupcakes. It was a great way to end the show.

Then suddenly it was all over. Everyone was thanked, Adam and I gave away the last raffle prizes, I paid the DJ, and it was done. I was finally able to breathe. I was so happy! The show went off perfectly, the venue was just about sold out, and we made it on the news later that night. It was a great experience and many people have asked us if we are going to do something like this again. Maybe we just will ...