Runway RePurposed features North Allegheny student designers

From book lover to ball gowns, a North Allegheny freshman was a winner with her unique literary-themed dress at the Runway RePurposed fashion show, a benefit of The Salvation Army of Western Pennsylvania Division.

Student designers in the Pittsburgh area were to “create a look out of an item destined for the garbage and given a second chance” for the event held May 22 at the Salvation Army’s Pittsburgh Temple Worship and Service Center in Mt. Lebanon, according to Elizabeth Gallager, who chairs family and consumer sciences at North Allegheny.

“This could include unconventional materials like paper and plastics, or discarded clothing that was upcycled into a new design,” Gallagher said.

Students of the sewing and design class at North Allegheny Intermediate and the fashion art and merchandising class at the North Allegheny High School, as well as several other independent student designers in the district, participated.

Sidney Rice, a North Allegheny freshman sponsored by UPMC Passavant Hospital, won a $1,000 scholarship in the high school division for a ball gown made mostly from book pages.

“My love for reading greatly inspired this dress. I decided to use ‘The Selection Series,’ which is the book that introduced me to my love of ball gowns. I fell in love with this series as well as the dresses within it,” Rice said in the dress description for the event.

The floor-length ball gown had a corset and layered-book page fans aligned to create a full skirt, complemented with a large bow on the back made out of duct tape. She used black tape to highlight the areas of the corset containing boning, as “I love the way seams in corsets look,” she said.

The event, which was last held in 2022, originally began as the Garbage Bag Gala and emerged as Runway RePurposed, now featuring only student designers. All proceeds of the event benefited the Salvation Army’s Family Caring Center in East Liberty.

“Runway RePurposed is all about the idea that everything and everyone deserves a chance to be something great,” said Nicole Harrell, marketing director for the Salvation Army’s Western Pennsylvania Division. “In this spirit, all of the designs (featured) repurposed items that may have otherwise been thrown away, along with vintage items that will be given a new life.”

Other designs from NA students include a caution-tape dress designed by freshman Anna Svoboda, and senior Christina Kotchanka made a safety-pin top with a paper-bag skirt.

Junior Mandy Adduci had a design shirt from playing cards, and junior Adam Tran had upcycled flannel shirts and jeans, which were also on display at the recent North Allegheny Foundation’s Taste of NA event at Soergel’s Orchard in Franklin Park.

Additionally, Rice designed an all-gold dress for the event emcee Kelly Dzanaj, using Whole Foods and Target bags, hula hoops and muslin fabric. She also designed a “Great Gatsby” dress that was used at the Northland Public Library’s annual gala in April.

In addition to North Allegheny, other participating schools included Keystone Oaks Middle School, Pine-Richland Middle School, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, Hopewell Area High School, Beaver Area High School, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and West Virginia University, according to Gallagher.

The Salvation Army’s Family Caring Center provides a second chance to families in crisis in Pittsburgh. The shelter has 18 individual rooms, with a total of 85 beds for families in apartment-style units. For more information, visit salvationarmywpa.org/fcc.

Gallagher said next year’s show will be on May 14. Tickets can be purchased through the Salvation Army of Western Pennsylvania website.