Local businesses, designers and students transform trash into runway fashion for a sustainable earth. The fifth annual Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show is set for January 15 at The Bend Armory and features two runway shows: one at 6pm (all ages welcome) and one at 8:30pm (21 and over). The event is a fundraiser for REALMS, a charter middle school committed to sustainability which offers expeditionary learning experiences for its 6th through 8th grade students.
Over 50 garments made from re-purposed materials will be shown across the two shows, with student creations featured only at the early all-ages show.
Rooted in a love of fashion, an appreciation of art and a passion for the planet, this fundraiser features an eclectic, wearable art runway show (featuring both trash fashion and re-purposed garments), a live and silent auction, a gallery marketplace (where local artists sell and showcase their work), local food carts and drinks provided by the Velvet Lounge.
Inspired initially by Project Runway, in 2012 the organizers added a popular Business Challenge in which local businesses fashioned garments from their business waste and were invited to enter an audience-decided contest to win the coveted Trash Trophy. This year’s Business Challenge participants include Bend Area’s Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, Strictly Organic Coffee Co. and Tozer Designs, and, new to Rubbish Renewed are Angelina’s, Aspect Boards & Brew, The Gear Fix, Mt. Bachelor, The Maker’s District, Sparrow Bakery and Stringsoil, which will create a garment from live plants.
In addition to the Business Challenge, local designers from the community and students from Bend La Pine schools have entered their creations into the show. Additionally, a Community Garment will feature pledges from community members about reducing consumption written on tin can lids and collected at a recent First Friday event at Hot Box Betty. The lids are being attached to the inside of a Matrix-style jacket created from repurposed 1960s curtains which will be worn by a Realms teacher during the show.
“Rubbish Renewed is a way of bringing awareness to our unconscious decisions,” said Amy Anderson, event co-producer. “It’s so exciting to see students bringing new life and creativity to all the stuff we are so accustomed to getting rid of.”
Tickets to the show are $20 for adults and $10 for students and are currently on sale online at www.rubbishrenewed.com and at Wabi Sabi (downtown) and REALMS Charter School. If not sold out, tickets can also be purchased at the door.
Major Sponsors include Tambi Lane Photography, Bend Area’s Habitat for Humanity’s ReStore, Sonic Solutions and The Maker’s District.
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