Reuse, but still just as fresh. The theme for the third annual Storybook Theatre fashion show is recycled clothing and accessories, but done up in style. “Everything can have a second life,” said Shannon Hiramoto, owner of Machine Machine in
Reuse, but still just as fresh.
The theme for the third annual Storybook Theatre fashion show is recycled clothing and accessories, but done up in style.
“Everything can have a second life,” said Shannon Hiramoto, owner of Machine Machine in Hanapepe.
Her recycled designs will be featured along with rice bag clothing and vintage aloha shirts from Jacqueline Viennes, and children’s fashions by Renee Uliana of Keiki Kovers.
“I like taking junk and making it interesting and fun,” Hiramoto said.
A clutch bag created using old blankets, a trucker hat with a hand-stitched fishing net Hiramoto found at Mahaulepu Beach and shorts designed using vintage fabrics from thrift stores are among Hiramoto’s recycled designs.
Mark Jeffers, producer of this weekend’s Polka Dots and Stripes Family Fashion show, said the event will unveil several dozen fashions to be modeled by local children and adults.
“We believe families enjoy looking good and having a good coordination of color and style,” Jeffers said.
Hiramoto has been designing with recycled goods for more than 20 years. As a teenager, she found it easier to take something from a thrift store or garage sale and deconstruct and reconstruct it.
“On this island, it’s nice to have something very different to wear, an outfit nobody else would have,” Hiramoto recalled. “It’s fun to push yourself to see any old, junky thing, and then turn it into something unexpected.”
Those “junky” finds include hats made by Hiramoto’s father out of paper bags from local grocery stores and the post office. He designs and folds them and she sells them for $20 each.
The show will be held at Sparky’s Garden Stage at the Storybook Theatre space. The stage is named after former U.S. Sen. Sparky M. Matsunaga, a Hanapepe-raised politician who founded the U.S. Institute of Peace.
Besides fashion, Janet Carafa, a mime trained by the world renowned Marcel Marceau and a member of the American Mime Theatre, will be conducting a two-hour workshop for 8- to 16-year-olds. After the workshop, the participants will be the hosts of the fashion show. Magenta Billet, a local wedding seamstress and film costumer will be emceeing the event.
The event will be from 5-7 p.m. Saturday at Storybook Theatre of Hawaii on Sparky’s Garden Stage, 3814 Hanapepe Road in Hanapepe.
Tickets are $12 for adults and $5 for keiki. Admission will include pupus and drinks. The mime experience will be offered from 2 to 4 p.m. and will cost $12 per person. Info: 335-0712 or email director@storybook.org
