This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: October 10, 2008 - Pia Luchini, a fashion design student at Washington University, used dryer lint to accent her high fashion creation and won the grand prize in SciFest's version of Project Runway this weekend.
Luchini was rewarded with $1,000 as she used the lint to create swirls of roses to embellish her silk organza slip dress. The judges found her entry the one that adhered best to the contest requirements for original, eco-friendly clothing design.
Luchini explained that she had been saving dryer lint for about five months. She had even prevailed upon some of her friends to save their own lint for her. When the poster soliciting entries for the SciFest show was put on the bulletin board at school this fall, she had collected enough to separate the fuzzy bits into color categories and turn them into roses for her dress.
Cindy Brown of St. Louis Community College at Meramec turned a shower curtain valence into the skirt portion of a dress that took second prize in the competition. She plans to put the $300 award toward her ambition of starting her own line of clothing. The dress bodice was originally the skirt from a bridesmaid dress that Cindy refashioned with a sweetheart neckline. Cindy also won a $200 prize for a dress pieced and woven from ties purchased at area thrift shops.
Two other students from Washington University entered eco-friendly dresses in the competition. Camilla White showed her architectural background by making her dresses from modular units that could be re-used or interchanged. She made one dress from strips of white silk, loosely stitched for reassembly. The other had a reversible bodice, and could be worn forward and backward, giving four looks from one dress. Lauren Vassallo's entry, with a flippy skirt and empire waist, was made from extra fabric she had at home.
The fashion show, sponsored by Macy's, was an example of SciFest's mission to make science entertaining in unexpected ways. Pili Dressel from the Science Center staff organized the contest and show, and had her friend Patrick Cummings handle the master of ceremonies duties. Judges were Carol Valenta, senior vice-president of the Science Center; Lori Allen owner of Boutique Chartreuse, the only eco-fashion boutique in St. Louis; and Betsy Zeino, senior director and regional vice president (Midwest) of Macy's Department Stores.
Jo Seltzer is a freelance writer with more than thirty years on the research faculty at the Washington University School of Medicine and seven years teaching tech writing at WU's engineering school.