After a three-year hiatus, last year’s Color Me Goodwill fashion show benefitting the eponymous nonprofit was a sold-out smash, yielding runway collections from the likes of Ray Fawley (featured in last year’s Asheville Made), Jenna Jaffe, and The Three Graces. The latter design collective — now styled Th3 Graces and comprised of Studio Vonceil owner Susan Sertain, Hannah Wood, and Charlotte Murphy — is a veteran participant and was awarded first prize last year for “The Orange Collection,” modeled by Demetrius Strickland. (All models are past participants in employment programs and services of Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina.)
The popular showcase requires a half year of planning; potential designers must submit their portfolios many months in advance, and, if selected, get a stipend of $200 to spend on materials from a local Goodwill to upcycle into runway-worthy creations. Winners receive a cash prize of $500.
In this, the show’s seventh year, six designers and teams returning and debuting will compete along the color spectrum: Rosanne Capone (purple), Valentina da Costa (yellow), Vivien Gough (orange), Th3 Graces (red), Mae Reilly Mueller (green), and Sybil Todd (blue).
“Color Me Goodwill celebrates the local sustainable fashion community and the talented creators who demonstrate the potential of reused materials,” Goodwill of Northwest North Carolina’s Chief Marketing Executive Jaymie Eichorn said in a recent press statement. “We often say that Color Me Goodwill is ‘fashion with a mission’ … [and] the inspiring stories of the program participants who have benefited from Goodwill’s services are at the heart of the show. Every year, the designers will tell us that working with their client model is the most rewarding part of the experience.”
The 7th Annual Color Me Goodwill Fashion Show happens Friday, April 21, 7pm at The Orange Peel (101 Biltmore Ave., Asheville). $20/$25. For more information, see goodwillwnc.org.