(Photo:QueenieAustralia black formal dresses)A teacher at Bayonne High School is showing students that haute couture is in the eye of the beholder.
Irene Pyke, a fashion marketing teacher at the high school, challenged her students once again this year to design and create not only a dress, but one that is made out of the delicate material of toilet paper.
On Thursday, Pyke was in her classroom with the three winners of the sixth annual Toilet Paper Creation Contest. Out of about 100 student creations, three winners were chosen: Jazmin Lora was awarded first place; Allison Hladik took second place; and Lijie Zhang won third place.
„They’re very creative,“ Pyke said as she looked around her classroom where more than a dozen toilet paper dresses from previous competitions are hung. „Each year the designs are getting better and better.“
Lora, a junior, designed a dinner or party dress that was periwinkle-colored with a single shoulder exposed.
„You could wear it to a really nice … elegant party, like to a sweet 16 or New Year’s party, because it’s really out there,“ said Lora.
It took Lora more than a dozen attempts before she ended up with her final dress. However, she added that creating the single gossamer sleeve was probably the hardest part of all.
Hladik, a senior who will be attending St. Peter’s University next year to study education and mathematics, said she „wanted to create something that was fun yet still classy, something that I would personally wear.“
So, after rummaging through her grandmother’s sewing kit for embellishments, she created a jaunty evening dress with a lace top.
„You have to figure out proportions, make sure it creates a shape of a woman’s figure, and make sure you’re toilet paper doesn’t rip!“ said Hladik. „So you have to keep wrapping it and use lots of tape.“
Zhang, a junior, created probably the most intricate dress of all. Using only toilet paper and adding no color, she interlaced the material in what appeared to be a tight weave pattern. She got the idea from a similarly designed dress she had come across.
„I folded the paper and put them together, and used tape on the back,“ Zhang said.
The idea for the student contest came from a real-life story of a couple getting married at a public toilet in New York City. Pyke saw the unconventional ceremony on an early morning talk show and, of course, the woman getting married was wearing a wedding dress made out of toilet paper.
Pyke also said she keeps the dresses hanging in her classroom throughout the year to show students past designs and inspire them.
„I show them what other students have done in the past,“ Pyke said, „and because of that, they want to do better than what they’ve seen. Each year, they have gotten better.“
Next year, Pyke said she hopes take the toilet paper dresses off their hangers and hold a fashion show with students actually wearing the dresses. The idea would also challenge students to be even more creative in their designs to make the delicate material wearable.
„It’s going to be a challenge,“ Pyke said.Read more here:QueenieAustralia blue formal dresses