Contributed by Jenine Lillian and the Alternative Teen Fashion show Planning team

Here is a long overdue post about the Fayetteville Public Library’s Alternative Teen Fashion show, put on for teen read week 2006. This post is also titled, “possibly the coolest teen read week program we’ve mentioned so far on the Alt. Teen Services Blog”. And yes the program involved reading! the teens read books to make their outfits!

——————————————————————————————-

Teen Alternative Fashion Show:
the ultimate fashion event for teens by teens

By Jenine Lillian and the Teen Alternative Fashion Show Planning Team

For Teen Read Week 2006
Fayetteville Public Library, Fayetteville, Arkansas

It all started with a book…

In April of this year, a Young Adult Librarian (um, that’d be AMANDA! of YaLibrarian.com) posted an entry on her nationally recognized blog about some cool, new fashion books for teens. I ordered the books for our YA Collection and while visiting schools in Fayetteville, featured the book Generation T and a spark flew among the teens. This book proved to be inspiring to young artists in Fayetteville and in August, we formed a Teen Alternative Fashion Show Planning Team, setting our sights on National Teen Read Week in October. After many months of hard work, generous donations of time and supplies, and unfettered creativity and dedication of the Planning Team, we created an artistic experience.

I had about 200 attend this once-in-a-lifetime performance art event. Members of my Teen Anime Club dressed in Cosplay and teens from a 30 mile radius planned and implemented this event—we met every two weeks since August, with weekly meetings the last two weeks before the show and a dress rehearsal two nights before the main event. The teens designed and created their own outfits using altered tee shirts, vintage clothing, knitting, plastics, costuming, packing materials, marking tape, office supplies, duct tape, paint, ties, bubble wrap, and fabrics. [I MC’d the event and wore an alt. fashion piece that I’d made (a “skirt”) out of slides and paper clips. It was a cool day to be a librarian.]

I worked with the University of Arkansas’ Apparel Studies Program/Fashion Merchandising Club to stage the show and tutor us on how to walk on the catwalk. And, the UofA’s radio station DJ (whom I work with a lot with my Teen Anime Club) to have specific outfit element-themed tunes for the event. I arranged for the local beauty college to send students to do hair for models, booked three teen photographers, and paid a friend to record the show. I also partnered with a popular local resale shop to raffle gift certificates and library volunteers served food and drinks at the short break. All told, the event took about 70 people to pull off. It was an incredibly powerful event for the teens of this community—we made something unique and beautiful and teen-powered, unlike anything that has ever been done before.

Below is a list of the books we used to get ideas and patterns. Perhaps you’ll be inspired to create your own alternative fashion…

Alternative Fashion Book List

• Generation T: 108 Ways to Transform a T-Shirt by Megan Nicolay. YA 646.404 Nic
• The Hip Handbag Book: 25 Easy-to-make Totes, Purses, and Bags by Sherri Haab. YA 646.48 Haa
• Rip It! How to Deconstruct and Reconstruct the Clothes of Your Dreams by Elissa Meyrich. YA 646.404 Mey
• Second-Time Cool: The Art of Chopping Up a Sweater by Linden, Brieditis, and Evans. YA 6465.408 Lin
• Sew Subversive: Down and Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista by Melissa Alvorado. 646.404 Alv
• Tease: 50 Inspired T-Shirt Transformations by Superstars of Art, Craft, & Design by Sarah Sockit. YA 746 Tea

Additional Information

• Read the Press Release for the program
• View a slideshow from Arkansas Online