Recycled materials lead to runway fashions at Morton

Duct tape, trash bags, crossword puzzles, potato chip bags and a large dose of creativity were some of the elements of the upcycled/recycled fashion show at Morton Middle School recently.

More than 70 designs and models headed down the runway for the annual fashion show, now in its fifth year.

The fashion show is the brainchild of art teacher Jen Mattei, who also teaches an ELT fashion design class for sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders at the school.

Belle from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast," a mermaid, and a nature dress were a few of the designs the students created from the unusual materials.

The models were a mix of students and teachers.

While the fashions showed the students’ imagination and design skills, the show was also a chance to bring the students and staff together over a project.

“It was a way to merge staff and students working together to celebrate a lovely event,” said Mattei.

A graduate of B.M.C. Durfee High School, she said the idea of an event uniting students, teachers and staff was inspired by her time at Durfee and events such as the senior follies that involved students and staff. “I really wanted to promote a sense of community because we have a really wonderful staff and community of students. And it’s way to showcase things together in unity,” said Mattei.

The students take the fashion design class once a week for two terms and then another cohort of students comes in for another two terms. Anyone who has been in the class was able to participate in the fashion show. The students work in groups on the designs and they selected the staff to wear them down the runway.

Some of the staff models included Mr. Carvalho as “Monopoly Man,” Mrs. Cabral-Levesque as a crossword puzzle and Miss Dopart as a checker board game. “I have princesses in this, I have faeries in this. I have over 78 designs,” said Mattei.

Another successful Fashion Show and Art Night. Great collaboration among staff and students. Mrs. Mattei rules the runway and the art department rocks! @frpsinfo @FRPSFinePerArts pic.twitter.com/w0iYkGJpO9

— Morton Middle School (@frps_Morton) May 25, 2018//
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“I’m excited to see them showcase their work,” she said “backstage” in advance of the fashion show amid a flurry of costumes and makeup sessions. “I’m proud of my students and the staff — they’re brave and they’re very supportive.”

Eighth-grader Samantha Camara designed a nature-themed dress for teacher Miss Woods with leaves on the front. “It’s sparkly and it has flowers – it’s supposed to represent nature. We made her granddaughter a sun dress,” she said.

She also worked on a black and blue dress made from a tablecloth and duct tape for Miss Cheann.

Camara, who came to the school near the end of last year, helped out backstage with that fashion show, but it was too late in the year to take part in the design process.

This year, as she waited for her designs to head down the runway, she said, “It think it’s fun — I love it.”