Not every day do you get to attend a zero-waste fashion show and wine mixer where you can shop discounted brand name labels for a good cause while rubbing elbows with KC’s theater scene.
Yes, it’s a pretty unique shopping, fashion and social event, that’s environmentally friendly and all for a good cause. Proceeds from the event will help fund the summer staging of a Black theater production.
“I want to invite people from all classes and backgrounds to something that they haven’t been to before,” says event organizer and playwright Olivia Hill.
At this free to attend event to be held Sat., May 6 at Bliss Books & Wine, attendees can shop at a custom boutique featuring designer brands and quality clothing, handbags, and jewelry at thrift store prices. Organizers have pulled together more than 400 Attendees upcycled and donated fashion items.
If you’re not hip to “upcycling,” it’s simply reusing or repurposing existing goods rather than sending them to a landfill and it prevents raw materials from being unnecessarily extracted for new goods. Okay, maybe it’s just a fancy name for thrift shopping, but the practice is not just rugal, it’s good for the environment.
Organizers say the event will feature a mix of donated, some with tags still on them, and repurposed goods in a setting that elevates them. The price points and location were chosen to be inclusive. You don’t normally see items like this in thrift stores and you certainly don’t normally get Wine and hor d’oeuvres at the Salvation Army store.
The event kicks off with networking from 2 to 3 p.m., where attendees can enjoy wine, refreshments, and light food offerings while shopping. At 3 p.m., the fashion show showcases upcycled threads. The fashion show is followed by an auction where each model’s outfit, including accessories, will be auctioned off to the highest bidder.
In addition to the fashion show, there’s a gift card raffle, with winners announced at 3:40 p.m.
Play Staging to Benefit
Hill thought up the fashion show fundraiser to help fully fund the Kansas City debut of her play “The Price of Bail.” Hill was awarded a $2,500 grant from the Kansas City Theatre Community Fund to produce “The Price of Bail,” which was a finalist for the Kennedy Center’s Lorraine Hansberry Award.
The Kansas City Theatre Community Fund was set up to support local artists during COVID. After the pandemic, they have expanded to give grants to diverse voices in the form of the Crescendo Award. This year three Black playwrights won the awards, and their plays will be showcased this June during a playwright festival at the Arts Asylum.
“We are praying to raise some money for the play,” says Hill. “We’d like to walk away with $2,000 to give us some cushion because I won’t ask any of my cast to do this for free.”
Zero Waste Event
The fundraiser is a zero-waste event, promoting sustainable practices to reduce waste and minimize environmental impact. In addition to the upcycled fashion, food waste will be composted, and all flatware is reusable.
“I’m an activist in everything I do,” says Hill. “So we made the event zero-waste to reflect everything that I believe in.”
Free registration for the event is now available online at Eventbrite. Registration gets free admission, wine, and refreshments. For those unable to attend who would like to support the production of “The Price of Bail,” there is a Kickstarter webpage set up for donations.
Fundraiser Details
Upcycled Fashion Show & Sale, Sat., May 6, 2023, 2 to 4 p.m.
Bliss Books & Wine, 3502 Gillham Road, Kansas City, MO
Register on Eventbrite HERE
Donation Kickstarter page found here
