February 27th, 2008
By John DeFore
Plenty of classical musicians have used wardrobe to set themselves apart from their peers, from the Versace-ish getups that helped put the Kronos Quartet on the map to the punk haircut of violinist Nigel Kennedy. But a dress made of garbage may be a first — almost certainly at Carnegie Hall.
Korean pianist Soyeon Lee, a Juilliard grad who has given recitals from Scottsdale to Spain, took the stage last week in a dress constructed mostly of recycled plastic juice containers. By all accounts the performance was brilliant, but it wasn’t virtuosity that earned Lee a mention in Vogue’s blog: The dress wasn’t just a stunt, but a stunner.
For what the pianist billed as an “Eco-Concert,” Lee commissioned fashion designer Nina Valenti to craft a dress from reclaimed Honest Tea grape juice pouches. Conveniently, Lee’s fiancé Tom Szaky was a founder of Terracycle (best known for their Worm Poop fertilizer line), which — since they already package their products in re-used soda bottles and milk jugs — had a program in place to collect the juice pouches from consumers.
The dress drew attention not just from Vogue, but from the New York Times and ABC News. It’s hard to know who benefits the most from this publicity goldmine — the performer, the fashion guru, the eco-entrepreneur or the tea company — but somewhere in there, the concept of extreme recycling got a boost, as well.
Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media
