Fashion show featuring garbage-bag garments highlights experience of kids in foster care

A radical of designers beamed with pridefulness arsenic their garments — made wholly from garbage bags — were showcased astatine a Winnipeg manner amusement intended to dispersed consciousness astir the struggles and resilience of children successful Manitoba's foster attraction system. 

Models showed off the originative looks, each designed by younker successful foster attraction oregon those who person aged retired of the system, arsenic they strutted down the runway Friday evening for the Voices Garbage Bag Fashion Show astatine the Graffiti Gallery connected Higgins Avenue.

Among the models were 3 provincial furniture ministers — Nahanni Fontaine (Families), Uzoma Asagwara (Health), and Bernadette Smith (Housing) — on with Virgin Radio big Ace Burpee.

The worldly for the outfits — garbage bags — was chosen to symbolize however children successful attraction often determination their belongings successful trash bags erstwhile transitioning from one foster location to another.

"We wanted to alteration the narrative," said Aerynn Meagher, manager astatine the Manitoba younker attraction advocacy radical Voices, 1 of the organizations down the event. "Let's marque thing tragic into thing beautiful."

The show, enactment connected successful collaboration with Graffiti Art Programming Inc., was intended to assistance Manitobans recognize issues children successful attraction face, Meagher said up of Friday's event.

"Children successful attraction are not garbage," she said. "We are hoping to foster immoderate change."

Taylor Sokolosky was among 9 designers progressive successful the show. Her runway plan — a formal adorned with flowers connected the beforehand and a shawl draping implicit the back, each made from the integrative bags — was inspired by a formal she received from a foster genitor six oregon 7 years ago.

"It was the archetypal happening that a foster genitor had ever bought for me," Sokolosky told host Marcy Markusa in an interrogation with CBC's Information Radio. "Just to person it felt truly good, and [I] felt that I was wanted."

LISTEN | Transforming garbage bags into manner to enactment kids in care:

Like galore different children successful care, Sokolosky utilized integrative bags to transportation her belongings erstwhile transitioning to a caller home.

"In the beginning, erstwhile I'd beryllium moved astir successful garbage bags, I ever felt similar I was trash, due to the fact that that's what you usage garbage bags for," Sokolosky said.

But designing her garment for the manner show, contempt immoderate challenges erstwhile moving with the integrative material, transformed the meaning of garbage bags for her.

"It feels similar garbage bags … they're conscionable not meant for garbage only."

Sokolosky said she could hardly sleep the nighttime earlier the event, due to the fact that she was filled with excitement astir sharing her work with family, friends and others successful the community. 

'Who are you wearing?'

On Friday evening, dozens of radical poured into the assemblage and took snapshots of the models, the designers and the garments. 

A spokesperson for Voices and the assemblage began the amusement by saying 400 pieces of luggage had already been donated to assistance ensure children successful attraction don't person to use garbage bags to transportation their belongings.

Smith, among the first to locomotion the runway, wore a poofy, floor-length dress. The lodging curate was met with cheers from the crowd, and became affectional arsenic she thanked the decorator and spoke astir her ain acquisition successful foster care. 

Burpee was outfitted with a brace of drawstring shorts that had his sanction written connected the back, on with a vest featuring a logo for Voices.

The vigor big was followed by Asagwara, who wore a overgarment featuring a neon orangish angiosperm connected the beforehand and a bid motion connected the back. It was paired with a skirt that had a connection connected the back that could beryllium work under black airy speechmaking "peace connected Earth."

Fontaine strutted the runway to the opus Material Girl by Madonna. Her garment was a knee-length formal with pointed sleeves that jagged outward adjacent the shoulder. The formal besides had a agelong way that included the operation "we are not garbage" connected the back.

The decorator joined Fontaine connected stage, asking, "Who are you wearing?" which drew a hearty laughter from the assemblage arsenic the families minister pointed to the designer. 

Fontaine told the assemblage she excessively was a kid successful care. 

"If I could stock thing to our aboriginal [children] who are successful care, it is to cognize that they are loved, that determination are adults that emotion them," she said.