ArtPop’s Upcycled Fashion Show Serves Sustainable Looks in Fourth Year

Whether you know it or not, you’ve more than likely been to the ArtPop Street Gallery if you live in Charlotte or visit the area regularly. 

Launched in 2013, ArtPop has for more than a decade highlighted the work of hundreds of artists from Mecklenburg and surrounding counties through its Cities Program, rotating their works on a slew of billboards spread throughout the Charlotte Metro along with other placements. 

But what happens to these 14-by-48-foot works of art when the billboards come down to make room for another artist?

Since 2021, ArtPop founder and executive director Wendy Hickey has led the effort to repurpose retired billboards created by local artists into unique, wearable designs to be showcased in its annual ArtPop Upcycle Fashion Show & Fundraiser.

The inspiration behind the Upcycled Fashion Show

Local artist Flavia Lovatelli, part of ArtPop’s inaugural Class of 2014, was the first to conjure up the idea that would lead to the Upcycled Fashion Show. 

When the new Class of 2015 was introduced and it came time to take her billboard down, Lovatelli decided to create a fashion piece from the material. Her proactive project and the stunning results inspired Hickey to rethink how her organization approached sustainability. 

Though ArtPop had already been upcycling all of its materials since its inception in 2013, a fashion show would expand the organization’s impact in a tangible way, highlighting the work of more local creatives and creating glamorous ensembles.    

Hickey mulled over the idea for years, keeping it in the back of her mind until 2021, when ArtPop hosted its first Upcycled Fashion Show. The show was a hit and has since become ArtPop’s biggest annual fundraiser. 

On Sept. 14, ArtPop will host its fourth annual Upcycled Fashion Show at the newly renovated and reopened Sullenberger Aviation Museum, featuring designs from 13 upcycle artists. The event will also be ArtPop’s 11th annual fundraising event, with all proceeds funding more opportunities for the Cities Program’s Class of 2025.

Selecting 20 new from the greater Charlotte area each year, Cities Program participants receive over a half-million dollars in benefits, including about $9 million worth of billboard advertisements locally, regionally, and nationally (sometimes even internationally) along with business education and paid opportunities.

Hickey told Queen City Nerve the fashion show is the most crucial event ArtPop has because it pays for the organization’s programming, keeping all of the organization’s other community events free and open to the public. 

“We do anything and everything to support local artists and small businesses in the Charlotte region,” Hickey explained, “but this one event is how we exist.”

Hickey said that, with it being a presidential election year, ArtPop is in dire need of donations while regular donors direct their money to political candidates. While tickets for the fashion show run at $150 a piece, Hickey said she’s grateful for donations as small as $5 — anything to keep ArtPop’s programming alive.

“It’s been really high demand,” Hickey said. “The last three years have sold out completely, so as long as that keeps happening, we’ll continue to have the shows.” The last time we spoke to Hickey on the Wednesday preceding the show, 17 tickets were still available. 

ArtPop sustains artists and the environment

The fashion show doesn’t just affect the Charlotte arts community by commissioning local designers and positively impacting their careers and small businesses, it also benefits the environment.

The fashion show and ArtPop’s Upcycling Initiatives have prevented more than 13,000 square feet of vinyl from going into landfills each year. 

The Upcycling Initiative takes materials used in the Cities Program and repurposes them as tote bags, bucket hats, koozies and other merch created by local artists who are paid for their work. 

Read more: Upcycle Arts Transforms Waste Into Sustainable Art

ArtPop’s project management division, Inspiration Projects, acts as a go-between for local artists looking for paid work. The artists register with ArtPop, who then select and commission artists from that pool when a project comes up. 

In July, for example, ArtPop unveiled a new mural by local artist Liz Haywood at Lake Mist Apartments, an affordable housing development on Old Pineville Road in south Charlotte. Funded by Ascent Housing and the Housing Impact Fund, ArtPop and Haywood collaborated with Lake Mist residents to design a permanent art experience, collecting community input through a residential survey and community kick-off event.

In 70 Inspiration Projects over its four-year run, ArtPop has coordinated more than $700,000 worth of paid work for local artists.

The Upcycled Fashion Show holds an open call for local and regional artists to apply as designers each year. Interested artists reach out to ArtPop and are put onto a waiting list from which organizers choose featured designers.

ArtPop Street Gallery Class of 2023 designer and season 17 Project Runway semifinalist Will White will return as one of 13 creators this year who will design and model a fashion item using his retired billboard from last year. Other participants include Rachel Malasky, Jamie Lykes II, JanelleMarie Jarvis, Sarah Grace Simas, Rocio Llusca, Que Blankenship, Verna Witt, CT Anderson, Edelweiss Vogel, Jennifer Gilomen, Shekinah Williams, Anise Austin and Chris Hairston.   

Daniel Gonzalez, a renowned Colombian-American womenswear designer based in Charlotte, will be the VIP speaker at Saturday’s event. Known for his journey from ballroom dancing to becoming an acclaimed designer, Gonzalez has created ballroom costumes and elegant ready-to-wear collections celebrated for their timeless style. He will unveil his own new piece of fashion created from an ArtPop billboard at the VIP reception.

Hickey hopes that, in a scene where everyone is looking for the cool, new thing, Upcycled Fashion Show can continue to innovate so as to cultivate some staying power.

“Charlotte loves new and shiny. At some point, somebody will want something different … [but] as long as the community wants this, you betcha we’ll keep doing it,” she said. “If you pull back the curtain at ArtPop, we’re the tiniest little organization but doing mighty, mighty, mighty stuff.” 

The Upcycled Fashion Show is scheduled for Sept. 14 from 6-9 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.