This year’s fall fashion trend: Trash.
On Tuesday evening, Sustainable Carolina hosted the third annual Reclaimed Runway fashion show, featuring 14 original designs made entirely from recycled or up-cycled materials.
Sustainable Carolina, the student branch of the University of South Carolina’s Office of Sustainability, seeks to educate and involve students in environmentally friendly initiatives. They organized the event in coordination with Individuals Respecting Identities and Sexualities (IRIS), Fashion Board and EcoReps.
Designs ranged from form-fitting cocktail dresses, tasteful skirt-and-shirt combinations and full-length ball gowns. Some of the materials used include plastic bags, magazines, water bottles and Chipotle bags and foil.
Students were impressed by the event and the creativity of the designs.
“We kind of stumbled in,” third-year finance student Abigail Carey said of herself and her friends. “We didn’t intentionally come here, but we … thought it would be cool. It was great.”
Third-year retail and fashion merchandising student Anne Coleman came in first place. Her design was inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland” and was made out of old playing cards. She said she worked for several days leading up to the show to finish it.
“I’ve always been really interested in any kind of fashion,” Coleman said. “Was it worth me not sleeping for 72 hours? Of course it was. In the end, it’s something I love.”
Coleman also won the competition in 2013 with a dress made out of water bottles.
Other younger designers also succeeded in creating impressive, intricate designs. First-year marine science student Aly Topscher designed a full-length, strapless gown out of old newspapers.
“A lot of people are really creative in how they did these. A lot of people thought outside the box, which is really cool,” Topscher said.
Topscher’s model, first-year international business student K. Lee Graham, was enthusiastic to be involved in the show.
“I love representing EcoReps. They put in a lot of work,” she said. “It’s been really cool learning about how sustainable fashion works.”
When explaining their creations, many of the designers expressed great interest in sustainability.
Second-year retail student Amelia Shuler designed a dress made out of toilet paper rolls collected in her own household. She said this particular material appealed to her because it is a source of trash that people tend to overlook.
Coleman said she enjoys up-cycling not only to be sustainable, but also to save money and to be creative.
“The drape on my bed is an old lace tablecloth,” she said. “I really like to be … frugal and to just live sustainably. I try to do anything to save money or to save the environment.”
Reclaimed Runway is related to No Impact Week, which is being led by EcoReps, a group of peer leaders who sometimes collaborate with Sustainable Carolina.
Second-year international business student and EcoReps peer leader Rachel Whitbeck said the goal of No Impact Week is to make students aware of the easy ways to be more environmentally friendly. She joined EcoReps to further her interest in sustainability.
“I’ve always been really into recycling,” she said. “In elementary school, I would stay in during recess and pick paper out of the trash to recycle it.”
No Impact Week spans from Monday to Saturday, with each day having its own sustainable theme. Monday encouraged students to reduce their consumption by buying nothing new. Tuesday challenged them to make no trash.
Wednesday focuses on eating only organic and locally grown food, Thursday emphasizes reducing electricity and water usage and Friday is all about sustainable transportation. On Saturday, students will give back to the community by going out and picking up litter.
Staff writer Emily Mewborne contributed to reporting in this article. K. Lee Graham is a photographer for The Daily Gamecock.