Epic’s Trashion Show: Make the most of what you got

This past Friday (February 3rd) EPIC hosted a “Trashion” Show, where participants could design and construct outfits from recycled materials; cardboard boxes, plastic wrapping and packaging, paper posters, and old forms/assignments, as well as a few other trinkets such as masks and gloves. Each material was sorted into piles with posts detailing the positive impacts of recycling, as well as the negatives of waste pollution.

The event started at 7:30 pm and went on until 9:00 pm, with music and lights bouncing around the SU Arena as participants poured in, stopping by the snack bar to check in and grab cookies and lemonade. Once all the participants arrived, they divided up into teams, and phase one of EPIC’s Trashion Show kicked off.

The design phase allowed teams to plan out their outfit and the materials they would use, and after thirty minutes, the buzzer rang as the second phase was underway! Teams raced to the supplies and ran back to their tables with piles of cardboard and plastic, carefully– yet quickly– crafted their outfits.

With the construction phase underway, we were able to ask EPIC about the event, to which the coordinator was happy to respond.

What made you choose a “Trashion” Show?

“I thought it was something that was really unique, and we do a lot of dances, and I thought it was a creative idea that could get people involved in something fun and educational. The idea came from a friend I had in high school who would make mattresses for people without houses out of trashbags, and I was like ‘why not make it a night out for people?’” the Trashion Show Coordinator responded.

What are the prizes?

“The prizes are $25 gift cards for the Grange Co-op. It’s to encourage people to garden more and grow their own food,” The Coordinator responded.

After an hour of music, laughs, and focused outfit construction, the timer buzzed and it was on to the runway for the final phase. Each team chose a song for their runway walk and presented their creative and resourceful outfits. Judges chose three winners based on the most creative, best catwalk, and best use of trash, each rewarding a $25 gift card to Grange Co-op, as well as EPIC merch, such as portable chargers and EPIC shirts.

With the winners decided, and the music dying down, everyone began to wrap up the event, recycling the left-over supplies and storing whatever could be saved for later. Where you might expect the EPIC members to be the only ones cleaning up, teams and guests to the event joined in and worked together to clean up the mess all together, both EPIC and guests laughing and thanking all the while.

This year’s Trashion Show may be over, but EPIC has more events planned and coming soon. The Blind Date with a Book will be on February 9th, where participants will receive a book at random, and later that evening is a Pub Night. 

On February 18th & 19th is The Heist, as elusive as it is safe (SOU, EPIC, and The Siskiyou highly discourage criminal activity, but The Heist is an exception). 

Keep an eye out for more EPIC events in the future on campus, or through their Instagram page @souepic

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