We all know the impact of too much trash – Air pollution, climate change, soil and water contamination… but it’s easy to ignore when it’s whisked away from our homes each week and hidden from view of our daily lives.
Our student designers elevate these issues to the forefront of their creativity and learning, then take the mantle, using Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show as a platform, to inspire and educate the themselves and the rest of us. It’s time for us to listen!
Photo: SHE Photography
Savor the inventiveness of these young artists’ fashion from our 2020 show through stunning images by SHE Photography’s Suzette Hibble and Jazmine Turner Photography’s Mindy J. Turner.
We’re back!Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show, one of the most forward thinking, eco-friendly, fundraising events to witness, is on track for a Spring Event. It did take another year, but this Rubbish Renewed Revival gives us the opportunity to refresh and re-imagine for the best show ever!
Photo: SHE Photography
With a Spring event on the horizon, I’ve started to gather materials and put my ideas down on paper. What about you?
There is a lot of work ahead to ready this event, but we are on our way!
Next week look for the 2020 Show Galleries with mesmerizing photos by Jazmine Turner Photography and SHE Photography.
For our 10th year and our 9th Business Challenge we have 8 local businesses competing for the 2020 Rubbish Renewed’s Coveted Trash Trophy! Each year a group of businesses come together to celebrate sustainability, support REALMS education, and have some … Continue reading →
Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show is just 4 days away, and for the 1st time it’s a Saturday night! One of the most engaging events in town, this fundraiser features two eclectic, wearable art (trash fashion) runway shows (one that features local students), our Business Challenge (competing for the Coveted Trash Trophy), a live auction of a select group of runway garments, a silent auction comprised of local sustainable donations, a pop up “marketplace”, featuring sustainable, creative products from local artists, local food and drink.
The animated atmosphere, features environmental responsibility, funky fashion and celebrates the best of our Bend community. Buy your tickets today!
Jessica Browning created her first garment for Rubbish Renewed as a 7th grader in 2014. Since that time, her complexity of design has soared. When I think of Jessica as a designer, its her masterfully marrying sustainable stories with intricate material manipulation. Learn more about Jessica and her vision in this designer profile.
Designer/Model: Jessica Browning in the 2019 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show Photo: SHE Photography
RR: What do you do in real life when you are not designing?
JB: I am a manager at Joanne Fabrics as well as a full-time college student pursuing a transfer of Arts degree. I hope to become an illustrator. When I’m not working or at school, I spend my free time drawing and sewing. I run a business through Etsy where I make and sell dice bags (for players of dungeons and dragons). I also enjoy playing Magic the Gathering with my friends and playing video games when I have the time.
RR: How did you become a trash fashion designer?
JB: Going to REALMS for middle school taught me a lot about climate change and sustainability. It became something I was really interested in. When I heard there was a chance for kids to make creations and show them on a runway, my mind was blown. Not only did I have a chance to create something amazing, but it also showcased something I care about. The first two outfits I made were… interesting to say the least. They weren’t technically my creations. It was a collaboration between my brain and my mom. Finally, she gave me the sewing machine and said your turn. From then on, I have made and modeled my garments and it’s always the highlight of my year.
Designer: Jessica Browning Materials: Plastic newspaper bags Quote: “I really had to think outside the box because finding useful trash materials is harder than using store bought materials.”
Who Let the Dogs Out Designer: Jessica Browning Materials: Dog food bags
RR: What inspires your creations?
JB: When creating a garment, I don’t really go for just anything. It takes a while to brainstorm materials. I have always tended to drift towards plastic things: Plastic bags, newspaper bags, chip bags, sandwich bags etc. Single use plastics. I gravitate towards these because out of everything someone can do to help and be more sustainable is to cut these single use plastics. There are so many better fabric alternatives. Oregon has taken a great step in fixing this with its ban on plastic bags. So, it’s usually the story behind a material that inspires my creation. A great example is my dress titled Plastic Ocean. I had gone to the beach, one of my family’s favorite spots, and was disappointed by the amount of garbage I found. I took a garbage bag and picked up pieces as we walked along. Then I made them into a dress!
RR: Describe your design process?
JB: Once I have my material it gets to my favorite part, designing! I sketch up several designs taking in the give of the material and how it will lay. Thinking of different ways to manipulate it. Once I decide on a design I start to create!
RR: What is something you want to share with aspiring trash fashion designers?
JB: You are never too young! You might need a lot of help and guidance, but if you are determined then your only limit is your imagination. So, shoot for the stars! Find something you are passionate about and create!
Once Rubbish Renewed sneaked onto the Bend scene in 2010, our first 3 years premiered at the Century Center. They provided the perfect venue – huge open space, a modular stage and few rules. We had our own bar provided by Plum & Boneyard, a cozy marketplace as you walked in, and moody lighting.
Year 1: there was 1 runway show with a total of 23 garments (compared to 57 split into 2 shows for 2020), and one designer made 5 of them! Diverse materials, from the launch of fused plastic as fashion, to beanie babies turned into a faux fur coat, graced the runway.
Designer: Renee Owens
Designer: Mai Nguyen
Designer: Nichole Cuddihy
Year 2: our first Business Challenge garments battled it out on the runway from ReStore, Wabi Sabi, Cuppa Yo, The Horned Hand, Utilitu Sew and the Environmental Center. Cuppa Yo won the 1st coveted trash trophy designed by, now 4 time winning designer, Panambi Elliott! Skillfully manipulated materials from bicycle tubes and slides, to a kiddy pool and Capri Sun containers raised the runwaybar. And we added a 2nd show!
Designer: Allison Murphy
Designer: Panambi Elliott
Designer: Paula Bullwinkel
Year 3: On the runway were 19 student designers up from 9 the year before! 2 of the Business Challenge entries were made by 2 of our talented students. And bags dominated the material cache: plastic and canvas grocery bags, dog food, ramen, paella, and coffee bags.
Designers: Sara Weiner & Karlin Hedin
Designer: Barb Campbell – Wabi Sabi
Designer: Paris Draheim – Barrio
Check out last year’s posts on the Birth of Rubbish Renewed: Part 1 & Part 2, to get the background on our start.
Look for Years 4-5: The History of Rubbish Renewed coming soon.
We have just 3 spots left for our 2020 Business Challenge. The designers working with these businesses produce some of the most innovative and well-crafted Fashion of the show. Check out the 2019 Business Challenge Gallery to get inspired for our Saturday, January 25th, 10th annual Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show!
Each year up to 10 businesses, dedicated to sustainable practices, come together to celebrate sustainability, support REALMS education, and compete for the Coveted Trash Trophy.
Barrio Business Challenge
Designer & Model: Paris Draheim
At our 2019 show, Barrio won the Coveted Trash Trophy with Salva al Toro (Save the Bull). Designer Paris Draheim was in our first ever Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show as a high school student (check out her piece), and has designed for Barrio in the Business Challenge multiple times. Check out Barrio’s piece along with the other competitors in the2019 Business Challenge Gallery.
The Business Challenge submission closes when the competition is full. Get your application in today!
This year it’s climate change that’s brought youth to the head of the table around the world. Greta Thunberg, reminds us of how generations haven’t stepped up, and that the time is now for great action! We all need to do our part individually, and also push our communities to start making change today.
The student’s garments at Rubbish Renewed are shouting the need for environmental action too. These pieces tell a variety of stories from the challenges of medical waste showcased by Soli Lachman’s Diabetic Warrior(model Abby Lachman wears the waste from her diabetes treatment), to Jessica Browning’s Snacktastic made with non-recyclable, single serving packaging. These young artists painstakingly create fashion from trash, that are at once art and a message to take action for our planet and our future.
Enjoy these young artists’ fashion from our 2019 show. Brought to you through stunning images by SHE Photography’s Suzette Hibble and Jazmine Turner Photography’s Mindy J. Turner. Click on the links for more images from the 2019 show with options to purchase from SHE Photography and Jazmine Turner Photography!
Competitors for the 2020 Business Challenge are signing up! Click on the photo below to learn more about last year’s Business Challenge through Jazmine Turner Photography’s stunning photos. Click HERE to go to her website for more images from all of last year’s show!
Announcing the coming season’s RUBBISH RENEWED ECO FASHION SHOW:
SATURDAY, JANUARY 25, 2020!
Photos by Suzette Hibble of SHE Photography. Pictured Designs: Kiana Kogan, Amanda Bowers, Wendy Pierce & Devon Stevens, Devon Lizza.
Thank you student designers for your creativity,
passion for fashion and our planet, and for shining in the show! You are
what makes Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show unique, entertaining, and
meaningful.
Aja Kogan, Alice McKnight, Amanda Bowers, Coral Reed, Devon Lizza, Devon Stevens, Ellie Hoiness, Gabriella Shirtcliff, Harper Rich, Holiday Barnes, Jessica Browning, Kiana Kogan, Lily McNabb, Loa Minsker, Louisa, Chloe, Lucy Lamarre, Harris, Mullins, Marley Foster-Wexler, Matea LaFrenz, Noe Anderson, Soli Lachman, Sophie Singer, Soren Chopra, Twyla Wayman, Vinna Ottaviano
Photos by Suzette Hibble of SHE Photography. Pictured Designs: Denise Oldridge, Carla Holm, Mayra Stearns, Allison Murphy.
Thank you adult designers for your stunning designs, refined material manipulation, imaginative style, and dedication to the Rubbish Renewed mission. The 2019 show rocked the house!
Alf Humphrey, Allison Murphy, Aspen Lowe, BBT Architects Inc, Brenda Jackson, Carla Holm, DeeDee Johnson, Denise Oldridge, Erin Donnell, Harriet Langmas, Heidi Lamb, Janet Lansburgh, Jen Riker, Karen Holm, Kari Martinez, Kat Bergman, Kristi Teasdale, Martha Campbell, Mayra Stearns, Meg Knight, Melany Fry, Michelle Handford, Paris Draheim, Patty Baragona, Rob West, Ruby Swanson, Simone Kujak, Susan Galeck, Tenley Wallace, Therese Langley, Tiina McDermott, Wendy Pierce, Zoey Lane.
Thank you Sponsors. You made it possible to showcase these amazing designs that transform trash, inspire community for a more sustainable earth!
Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show 
