The thigh-high outfit created by Christiane Love, and shown by model Natalia Alvarez would turn heads — not only on the catwalk, but on the everyday street.
“This is an upcycle,” Love said. “It was created using a bed sheet that outlived its life in a resort. Bed sheets are good material — they’re Egyptian and have a high thread count. The drawback of using new sheets is they are hard and too crisp. Once they have served in the resorts, they still have a lot of life. They don’t belong in the landfill.”
Love is one of three Kauai designers, labeled the Dynamic 3 by Marynel Valenzuela, the Kauai Fashion Weekend coordinator, who will be joining the field of the seventh annual Kauai Fashion Weekend when doors to the event open on June 22 at the Kauai Marriott Resort &Beach Club.
The Celebrity Guest will Elizabeth Elias, best known for her lead role as Mia on the Nickelodeon series “Every Which Way.” She also has a music single, “At Night” with Flo Rida, and has music collaboration credits with Akon.
Elias will be among the field of international designers and performers showing off their work when registration for the Kauai Fashion Weekend opens at 5:30 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. followed by a VIP dinner at 6:30 p.m. and the fashion showcase starting at 7:30 p.m.
Vendor booths may be available from as early as 11 a.m.
“I had two pieces — kimono — three years ago,” said Love, who owns Silk and Cotton out of Kekaha. “They were used as cover ups for bikini. This year, I’ve been privileged to have been asked to show six upcycled pieces. These pieces are entirely created by myself, including drafting, scaling, creating the artwork, dying, and even the accessories.”
Silk and Cotton has been a vendor at the KFW for at least three years. It is geared to inspire, showcase, and celebrate the creativity of Kauai in a signature red carpet event presented by Inkspot Printing Corp., and Ahmadcouture.
“The Kauai designer segment is themed upcycling,” said Julie Lopez of Leiko. “Everything I use I get from around the community — friends, family, online, and in thrift shops. I work out of a shipping container in Anahola and take pieces, some up to 50 years old, and remake it into something fashionable. Everybody’s doing it.”
Desiree Duclayan is the model coordinator for Kauai Fashion Weekend. She also is Dezignz by Deziray, who is the third of the “budding designers” that form the Kauai contingent of designers presenting upcycled material during the showcase.
“This is exciting,” Duclayan said. “I’ve been doing recycling work since 2004. It’s good to continue the work I’ve been doing for so long, and it’s exciting to have the opportunity to bring back the effort.”
Tickets are available at Eventbrite. Tickets for the VIP dinner and show are limited and are pre-sale only. No VIP tickets will be available at the door.
