ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The 10th annual Color Me Asheville fashion show, an annual showcase of up-cycled clothing by Goodwill Industries of Northwest North Carolina, has announced that the design team application is open for the 2026 season.

Up to seven design teams of no more than three people each will be selected for Color Me Asheville. Following the show, the winner of the audience award will take home $500, in addition to a $300 stipend given to each design team. Applications must be submitted by Friday, Nov. 14 at www.colormeasheville.org.

Read about the 2025 Color Me Asheville show here.

Crafting Color Me Asheville

Before the event, Color Me Asheville designers are assigned a color – red, blue, purple, yellow, pink, brown or green – and given $200 to shop for materials at local Goodwill stores, after which they will design a five-piece collection of clothing inside their color spectrum.

“With this year being the tenth edition of the event, we are adding some special touches and extra features,” said Ginger Salt, Goodwill chief communications and public affairs officer, in a press release. “The upcoming year also includes another major milestone: the 100th anniversary of Goodwill’s founding in 1926.”

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the event and the 100th anniversary of Goodwill itself, each Color Me Asheville design team will also be assigned a decade to inspire their collection. The decade will fall somewhere inside the first centennial of Goodwill history, from the 1920s to the 2020s.

Check out a photo gallery from the 2025 Color Me Asheville show here.

Another added flourish for the 2026 production will be a community exhibit of the looks designed for the show.

“The post-show exhibit is something we’ve been wanting to add for a while to extend the Color Me Asheville experience and bring more attention to the incredible artistry of our designers,” Salt said in the release.

At last year’s show, Color Me Asheville raised over $20,000 for local charity organization BeLoved Asheville, a feat they will look to replicate this year for Bounty and Soul, a Black Mountain-based charity combatting food insecurity.

Curious about Color Me Asheville?

Color Me Asheville show director Leanna Echeverri will host two drop-in information sessions for prospective designers on Thursday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 8 at the Goodwill Career Connections Center, 1616 Patton Ave.

For more information, visit www.colormeasheville.org or email events@goodwillwnc.org.