Evan Hirsch partnered with ShopGoodwill.com® to create 29 one-of-a-kind looks from thrifted and donated garments to show “Found Opulence”, his strongest collection to date at the 3 West Club. He sourced the pieces he worked with from Goodwill’s brick and mortar stores, and from www.ShopGoodwill.com.
Said Evan, when asked about his inspiration for his latest show, “My inspiration was what I call Found Opulence: Thrifted Beginnings, Couture Endings. These garments were once overlooked, but with care and imagination, they became extraordinary. At its heart, this collection is about honoring the planet, the wearer, and the stories stitched into every thread.”
While he showed some convertible pieces that are the genesis of his career as a NYFW designer, (and they’re always a crowd pleaser,) he flexed his design muscle and proved the 17th century proverb, “You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear” wrong. Evan demonstrated that it is in fact possible to make something of high value from items that are regarded as inferior. Take his voluminous Pink ball gown that resembled “Princess Aurora’s” gown put together by her Fairy Godmothers in the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty. Like the rags Flora, Fauna and Merryweather started with, Evan’s gown started its life as an inexpensive Halloween costume.
Other notable gowns were a sparkly Midnight Blue gown with an elbow length top that also served as a mini cape, and a fitted asymmetric White lace dress with seventies style sleeves accessorized with a lace trimmed parasol.
It wouldn’t be an Evan Hirsch show though, without some transformation dresses, like the Gold poncho that revealed a Hot Pink layered mini dress, and the bridal finale gown. Having a wedding gown as the finale piece, brought some of the magic of the legendary European shows in the eighties by the likes of Karl Lagerfeld and Vivienne Westwood. Evan checked all the boxes – a grand silhouette, dramatic sleeves, and plenty of lace and beading accents, and in this case, a brooch-encrusted bodice. The proceeds from the sale of these one-of-a-kind pieces will support Goodwill’s mission-driven workforce development programs nationwide.
For more information, visit
@evan_hirsch and ShopGoodwill.com
All images photographed by John Pankratz, courtesy of VERY New York.
-Vivian Kelly
