Palm Beach Atlantic Alumnae take on NYC for Fashion Week

NEW YORK - Sept. 5, 2016 - PRLog -- Palm Beach Atlantic University Alumni's have found a unique partnership through fashion and recycled couture. Megan Miller (2010 graduate of PBAU) and Kristen Alyce (2009 graduate of PBAU) began working together in 2015 after Miller had come up with a new and out of the box way to market Opera Company in North Carolina by enlisting the talent of her fellow Sailfish, Kristen Alyce.

Opera Carolina commissioned Alyce's unique and environmental marketing company, Garbage Gone Glam to create a one-of-a-kind gown from opera posters from their 2015/16 productions.

"Perhaps more than any other art form, opera invites patrons to glam it up," said Megan Miller, Opera Carolina's marketing director. "Although you'll see every kind of dress when you come to the opera, many patrons wear stunning fashions and accessories – particularly on opening night. So, we wanted to shine a spotlight on their creative couture."

Since college, Alyce has been involved in the fashion industry. Her ambition led her to working with Producer, Andres Aquino, of New York Couture Fashion Week in 2006. Fast forward a decade and Kristen Alyce has become an International Designer with both Garbage Gone Glam and now her new line VIVRE Couture. VIVRE pieces are 100% canvas, and individually hand-painted. The garments are worthy of any art collection or gallery exhibition, and excitingly wearable for those premeir moments in life. Bespoke by definition, gowns and cocktail attire are made with a minimum of five fittings and as part of their creation will have between 25-80 hours of hands on attention between designer, artist, and seamstresses.

In honor of the two alumni's partnership, Opera Carolina will debut the newest handmade couture gown made once again, entirely of recycled posters on the runways of New York Couture Fashion Week, hosted and produced by Andres Aquino, Alyce's fashion mentor. The opera dress is as much a fashion statement as it is environmental statement. Kristen Alyce, Designer of Garbage Gone Glam & VIVRE Couture, has designed a dress she hopes will delight patrons and demonstrate how items typically discarded can be given new life with a little ingenuity.

For this new 2016/2017 opera gown, Alyce used 150 Opera Carolina posters and packing tape to create the stunning dress to be worn on the runway by vocal performer, Raquel ----- at the 4:00 PM show on Saturday, September 10, 2016.

"It's very fun, colorful, and classic. I wanted to create something that made people – even in their own beautiful gowns – to stop and take notice." Alyce said, "Opera Carolina pushes creative boundaries, while maintaining the luxury of the opera, so I felt this dress should, too."

Alyce designs all her recycled couture on a live fit model to ensure the piece will move freely and stand up to repeat wearings. From order through completion, her custom dresses take an average of eight to ten weeks to complete.

The dress represents Opera Carolina's new program, OPERA RECYCLES, which promotes sustainability and recycling initiatives. "We will be partnering with local young artists to create reusable pieces of jewelry, dresses, and accessories from our past season materials to reduce our carbon footprint," Miller said.

www.garbagegoneglam.com for more information on recycled couture

www.vivrecouture.com for more information on painted couture at Fashion Week.