Runaway Runway 2026 and the Caution Tape Dress

(Above:  My three models for Runaway Runway 2026.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

It's been almost two weeks since Steve and I went to Columbia for Runaway Runway.  I've been busy since then and am now just getting around to blogging about the experience!  So .. Runaway Runway was an event presented by the Columbia Design League, an affiliate group of the Columbia Museum of Art.  They used to have this "trashion fashion show" every year.  The last time that it was held at the Township Auditorium was in 2013 and I went in disguise in my Pantyhose Dress.  (Click here to read about it.)  Then ... there was a long hiatus.  I've had garments in other shows since then but now Runaway Runway is back!  It's also now back at the museum instead of the giant-sized event venue.

 

(Above:  The Caution Tape Dress under construction on a dress form that is older than me!)

The Red Carpet Dress has been in several shows (even one in Canada ... making it "international"!) and even in Fiber Art Now Magazine.  It was made from a section of the Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show's floor covering (a non-biodegradable, non-woven synthetic) and artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters. The Class of '49 (also known as the Black Lives Matter Dress) was made from yearbook photos that were fused to a scrap of muslin and stitched on a tear-away stabilizer) has also been in another recycled artwear show.  It is a requirement for Runway Runway that the entries all be made from non-fabric/recycled materials!  This is the challenge and I adore a challenge!

(Above:  The Caution Tape Dress, photos courtesy of Keira McDermon.)

So ... for this show, I made one new design.  I used the caution tape that was recently part of my entryway installation to the Degenerate Art Show.  I blogged about it HERE.  Initially, I was just going to toss the caution tape ... basically adding to the amount of plastics in our landfills.  Instead, I stitched through strips that were woven until I had enough to stretch around the dress form that I inherited from my mother and grandmother.  I think it is older than me! LOL!  Then strips were stitched in a flowing skirt.  The attachment was hidden under a band of gathered caution tape.  I used grommets (found in my stash of potential objects for my mandalas) to close the back.  The hat was made from a old piece of six-ply mat board and yarn (stitched like one of my fiber vessels). It was embellished with artificial flowers collected from cemetery dumpsters.  All my designs looked great walking through a sold-out crowd and I'm already planning on a new look for next year!