The Sustainable Wearable Art Challenge requires participants to create a wearable masterpiece.
Each entry must be made from upcycled textiles/waste materials and can feature nature found/sustainable/green embellishments or accessories.
The Wearable Art Challenge is open now until November 19. The catwalk runway show will be held at The Bay of Plenty Garden and Art Festival, Bloom in the Bay at Tauranga Racecourse on November 19.
The 48-Hour Fashion Challenge requires participants to curate, upcycle and style second-hand clothes and accessories into a fresh and fashionable ready-to-wear outfit in 48 hours, creating an exciting new look out of recycled and repurposed textiles.
Entries for both challenges will be judged on a combination of sustainability, innovation and creativity, stage impact, and wearability and functionality.
Participants are encouraged to think about the message they are trying to display through the garment, as strong statements will be more favourably looked upon by the judges, Cathy says.
"With participants from under 16 and over 16 age groups, we reach out to the next generation of fashion designers and consumers to inspire future generations.
"Oh, and it is great fun!"
She encourages people to get involved because both challenges offer participants a chance to not only compete for great prizes, but also to help spread an important message around textile waste.
"It's a fantastic opportunity for participants to show off their creativity and display their proud work of art at a live runway show too."
She says Envirohub Bay of Plenty loves to see the creativity among the community.
"It's amazing to see how a wearable art piece can come together for the final runway show, and we look forward to seeing how people decide to showcase this year's theme of 'It's easy to be green'."
There will be a couple of supporting sewing workshops for those who don't have access to a machine or want a bit of extra support bringing their outfit together.
Cathy says textiles are a major global polluter, and Envirohub Bay of Plenty feels there needs to be more education and awareness around this.
"We all need clothes, but together we need to make wiser choices that won't have a negative impact on the environment."
She says these challenges are a great way to get people thinking about fashion and where our clothes are made, under what circumstances.
"The fashion industry can be split into fast fashion and slow fashion, each having a very different impact on the world.
"We encourage people to buy second-hand and go thrift shopping for some new wardrobe pieces instead of buying into new 'fast fashion' trends.
"Support slow, ethically-made clothing brands that consider people and planet."
Cathy says it is important to spread the message about textiles as a valuable resource, to get people thinking about new ways we can extend the life of some garments.
"New Zealand imports 380,000 tonnes of textiles each year and over half of it will end up in landfill.
"A recent report showed that one particular op shop in New Zealand spent $40,000 last year on waste services - $40,000 on disposing of our unwanted clothes.
"We think that sending the clothes to the op shop is the ultimate recycling of our clothes but often they don't make it into the store.
"We need to change our thinking around clothes. Buy once and buy well, and go op shopping to create your own look and style."
Cathy says, as consumers, we have so much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy.
"By encouraging young designers in this competition, we hope we can start those conversations and plant seeds for a new generation of home-grown designers."
"We are so grateful to the sponsorship of Creative Communities Western Bay of Plenty Funding and Trevelyans, whose generous donations have helped us host this amazing event."
- You can enter either the Wearable Art Challenge or 48-hour Challenge by registering on envirohub.org.nz/programmes/sustainable-art-challenge/.
