Above: Participants in last year’s ReThink Fashion Show.
By Andrea Smith
Photos courtesy of Goodwill
Thrifty people know the thrill of entering a shop with racks of pre-loved garments, shelves of vintage bags, and bins of unique accessories. However, those accustomed to shopping online or in boutiques with new, organized clothes are less likely to find joy in mining through used items. Enter the ReThink Fashion Show, a high-energy design and shopping experience hosted by Goodwill of Delaware and Delaware County that demonstrates how to style thrifted clothes.
The annual show returns for a third year on Sept. 17 and unites local experts in sustainable fashion, as well as aspiring fashion professionals. It’s a response to the rising fast-fashion trend that encourages shoppers to purchase poor-quality items with limited relevance, and after the current season, these cheap garments go out of style and often end up in landfills. Piled there, they’ll decompose and release greenhouse gases that exacerbate climate change. Some contain PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” and microplastics that further pollute the environment.
“Sustainable fashion is more than a trend — it’s a movement,” the ReThink Fashion Show event webpage declares. “At Goodwill, we extend the life of clothing, reduce waste, and empower communities through the ‘Power of Work!’ Every outfit in the show comes directly from our stores, proving that style can be both conscious and creative.”
Goodwill has an ongoing partnership with the University of Delaware’s Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies, which has been working to reduce textile waste across the region for 10-plus years. Students have been involved with staging pop-ups featuring their designs and merchandising, conducting waste audits that inspire new sustainable business models, and making yarns and products out of unsold products through a National Science Foundation-funded project known as ReSpool.
Currently, a group of UD and Delaware State students are using items from a local Goodwill outlet to design sustainable fashions for the ReThink show, with guidance from UD professor Kelly Cobb and DelState assistant professor Francesca Antinarelli Freitas.
“This goes back to our mission, which is doing relevant teaching and research that tackles problems that our community is affected by,” Cobb says.
Cobb’s research focuses on sustainable textile innovation, so she teaches courses that require students to confront sustainability problems in the fashion industry. Nevertheless, as a designer she appreciates opportunities like the ReThink Fashion Show, which continue the tradition of showing off new looks on a runway.
Goodwill has teamed with the University of Delaware’s Department of Fashion and Apparel Studies to reduce textile waste in the region.
“I want people to shop and have fun shopping. Enjoy being out and seeing the new items, but really think about what you’re actually going to wear as opposed to what you wish you would wear,” Cobb says. “Longevity is key. Also, knowing how to mend, how to fix buttons, how to shine your shoes — these are kind of lost arts at this point.”
When Delaware-based professional designer Dell Scott sees a unique trim or standout sleeves hanging from the racks of a Goodwill store, she’s already picturing how she might refashion those details into something new. After scouring numerous stores in the area, she completed a bold, colorful collection to debut on the ReThink runway.
“We’re looking for it to be bigger and better this year,” Scott says about the show, adding that tickets sold out last year.
Scott specializes in formalwear and has shown her work at New York and Los Angeles fashion week events and on runways in Paris and Dubai. Now in her home state, she’s eager to illustrate what can happen when creative artistry meets a sustainable mindset.
“[When] sourcing garments from Goodwill, you never know what you’re going to get, so that’s the challenge but also the surprise of it all,” Scott says. “I go into different stores and [work with] whatever’s there at that moment on that day. And it just really took my creativity to another level.”
The event will feature multiple designers’ work and allow attendees to purchase looks from the runway, as well as from a curated pop-up shop. Also, expect small bites, drinks, a swag bag, photo ops on the blue carpet, and opportunities to mingle with like-minded fashionistas.
— Ticket sales benefit Goodwill and are being sold online at GoodwillDe.org/EcoEdit, where additional details are posted. The ReThink Fashion Show takes place on Thursday, Sept. 17, from 6-8:30pm at the Goodwill Outlet and Recycling Center located at 400 Centerpoint Blvd., New Castle.
