PHOTOS BY: Jen Lee Photography (more photos for purchase), Joe Kline (more photos for purchase), Bruce Couch Photography, Maddie Phillips Photography

Click on a photo to enlarge and for photographer credit

“HEAVY METAL” Designer: Savannah Sammon & Chloe Rhoades Model: Chloe Rhoades Materials: Soda Cans, plastic scraps, old shower curtain, old tarp, amazon bags, and plastic wrap – CASCADE & SISTERS Middle Schools Description: Approximately 370 billion cans per year of soda waters and sugary drinks are consumed by people around the world, taking a huge amount of energy and resources to process cans every day. We show how we can reuse sodas and other drinks to make a garment that is inspiring and beautiful while at the same time raising awareness to help our planet.

“OUT OF THIS WORLD” Designer: Noelle Steinbach Model: Ava Steinbach Materials: Foil insulation, styrofoam, plastic bag, can carriers, old necklace beads – REALMS Middle School Description: When I found shiny foil insulation, I immediately knew I wanted to create something “out of this world” — literally! I layered the foil with a green plastic bag for my collar, used can carriers as a belt, and strung old necklace beads down the skirt to look like floating stars. My spoon antennae finish the look and show that I’m ready to explore the galaxy. I made this entire costume from materials that would have ended up in the trash, because I believe that protecting our planet starts with seeing the potential in things we throw away.

“THE BOOK BASH” Designer/Model: Andy Evert Materials: Reused birthday streamers, shiny streamers, white ribbon from a birthday present, recycled book covers from Buckingham — BUCKINGHAM Elementary Description: I gathered the throwaway birthday streamers from my little brothers party, shiny streamers from my birthday party, white ribbon from a birthday present and fashioned them into a skirt and sewed trash bound book covers from Buckingham into the top.

“WADING THROUGH FIELDWORK!” Designers/Model: Astrid Pava Materials: Waders, spray paint, measuring tape — REALMS Middle School Description: This garment was inspired by fieldwork. We wear waders in the stream to measure water temperature, turbidity and see what’s inside of the water. We take that data and use it to work on in class. Some of the waders had holes in them, so Mr. Beck gave them to me to make a unique look. My mom helped me make my top and pin my pieces together. The spray paint adds color and the measuring tape makes texture on my garment for unique flowers. Fieldwork and waders inspired my outfit to wade down the runway of Rubbish Renewed!

“TRANSFORMTION TRAIN” Designer/Model: Iris Boettcher Materials: shoe lace, furniture plastic packaging wrapping, repurposed black speedo swim shorts, black equipment, hotel laundry bag, amazon plastic packaging. — PACIFIC CREST Middle School Description: When Iris was sourcing her materials, she wanted to keep the clear idea in mind of how easy it can be to forget about the trail of trash you’re leaving behind. All of the items making up her garment are something you would use once and forget about. So instead, she’s transformed them into this fashion piece , so they can be something to remember, not forget.

“FLOWER QUEEN” Designer: Lucy Linenko & Anna Model: Kora Linenko Materials: Old clothes, fabric scraps, old pillowcases, broken lei — REALMS Middle School Description: We were excited by the idea to make something out of old items that weren’t being used anymore for Rubbish Renewed. We thought it would be cool to see what happened if two friends each made a different piece and then brought them together. Our garment is called ‘Flower Queen’ because it is flower themed – it was really fun turning something that was sitting in the garage unused into something beautiful like a flower.

“SILVER DESTINY” Designer: Danielle Arif Model: Aliya Arif Materials: Foam that came with iPads, cut out bike tire tubes, silver insulation, can toppers/rings, sunglasses frame without the lenses — REALMS Middle School Description: When I first heard about Rubbish Renewed, I was really inspired by the mission and I wanted to help spread that. First, in making my garment, I found these foam pieces that were nonrecyclable and planned to make them a big part of the outfit. Then, I kept getting more nonrecyclable materials and more inspiration and kept making the outfit cooler and better. And though my design changed quite a bit throughout making it, I think what I have now is a unique product of my creative process.

“TRASH FASHION SCRUBS” Designer/Model: Lily Sarmiento Materials: waterproofing fabric scraps, medical fabric waste, old tape, grommets, and a black cord — ST. THOMAS ACADEMY Description: These cute wide leg pants are made with lace up sides with old tape as the lacing and the top is corset based with a lace up in the back. The fabric looks like scrubs but much more fashion! My Dad is a professional tile installer and he gave me the fabric to make the top.

“PEAT – Pride, Enoughness, And Togetherness” Designer: Amara Featherston Model: Finley Heald Materials: hospital drapes, old Easter decorations, twist ties, zip-ties, paper towel rolls & various other materials from the Rubbish Renewed free design workshop at DIYcave — PONDEROSA Elementary School Description: Pride is very important in my family, so Pride is in my design. Knowing that you are enough is also important, so Enoughness is part of my design. Togetherness is important for the world, so Togetherness is part of my design too. And that is how I got the name PEAT.

“YOU BE YOU AND IMA BE ME” Designer/Model: Jordan Knapp Materials: Blanket, pillow case, silk, swim shorts — REALMS Middle School Description: I made this garment with the love and support from my teacher and my mom. I used the blanket and the silk for the body, the pillow case as the pants and the straps, and sterile hospital drape for the split cape. Always remember to love and take care of you!

“TIE’D UP” Designer/Model: Maddie Jakob Materials: used ties, denim and thread — RPA Middle School Description: Every time I go to the thrift store I am surprised that so many people dispose of great looking ties! Ties are truly great art — they come in a variety of materials/textures, have cool patterns and amazing color schemes. Ties also tell the true fashion history — first worn as male professional wear, then embraced by women entering the male workforce and now worn in unique ways be all genders and style types! I love the way the ties flow and move when used to create new fashions.

“UPCYCLED ELEGANCE” Designer/Model: Nora Sites Materials: Old curtains and their metal loops and Denim, tea bag wrappers plastic frozen fruit bags — REALMS Middle School Description: When I started seeing lots of teabags and frozen fruit bags in the trash, I had the idea to make it into a fun and creative outfit with some old, scrap fabrics that were sitting in the back of the closet. I came up with this idea and was inspired by layering and contrast as well as things that were in the trash to be used for a better purpose. I thought that Rubbish Renewed would be the perfect place to show off a fun creative and reusable garment.

“GIRLS JUST WANNA HAVE FUN” Designer: Josie Herrmann and Remy Wilson Model: Remy Wilson Materials: Foam. Rubber, cardboard triangles, paper flower, silk squares, tulle — ST. THOMAS ACADEMY Description: The shirt is made of a long piece of foam, painted pink. Fabric squares glued as accent pieces and a flower made of paper. The belt is made of rubber and 3-dimensional cardboard triangles. The skirt is made of a ripped dress, destined for the garbage.

“ONE GIRL’S TRASH, ANOTHER GIRL’S TREASURE” Designer: Sloan Olson, Melody & Mimi Cameron Model: Sloan Olson Materials: Can tabs, used dress from thrift store — CASCADE AND PACIFIC CREST Middle Schools and MILLER Elementary Description: Our mission to make this dress came from feeling frustrated that our world is becoming a landfill. We hope to inspire others to follow along and take action to help make this world cleaner, friendlier, and more beautiful. We also wanted to come together as friends to create a fun, meaningful, and beautiful masterpiece that looks like sparkling waters.

“TEA PARTY” Designers: Guthrie Cyr and Serena Dunning Model: Serena Dunning Materials: Tea bag envelopes sourced from friends and family, old mylar birthday balloons, an industrial plastic sugar bag from Metolius Tea, and an old purple bath sponge. — CASCADE Middle School Description: We noticed that many materials were going to the landfill that could be used again. One item that caught our attention was brightly colored tea envelopes. Tea Party reimagines thrown away materials from around the community into a beautiful outfit, reusing old trash into new treasure! By melting popped birthday balloons together to make a top and machine sewing hundreds of teabags onto a plastic sugar bag, we were able to make a stunning piece that allows the viewer to see the potential in each piece of trash.

“PROM CORE” Designer/Model: Kaia Chopra Materials: Climbing rope core — SUMMIT High School Description: I’ve always wanted to make my own prom dress and the climbing rope core turned out to be the perfect material. Tons of climbing rope is thrown away after it becomes unsafe to use despite how easy it is to up-cycle with crocheting, knitting, weaving or sewing. I got this rope from the Bend Rock Gym so this dress is very local and reduces waste in our community.

“BIOMIMICRY TENT CLOAK” Designer: Anders Page-Roth, Mel Castaneda, Ryan Leonard, Colton Kennedy Model: Anders Page-Roth Materials: 100 percent waste products, like a discarded tent fly, tent poles, paraglider cord, buckle — OSU CASCADES Description: Walking the runway is a biomimicry inspired tent cloak designed as a waterproof shield against extreme weather. This project draws structural inspiration from the protective geometry of shells and the natural movement of a river as seen in the specific blue details in the rear pleats. The design flows and billows with the wearer to mimic the fluid nature of water while ensuring rain beads and rolls off the surface like droplets on a leaf.

“THE MAGICAL TRANSFORMING STRIPED BUNNY” Designer: Arley Stark Model: Angel Paternoster Materials: Thrifted towels, mattress cover, comforter; discarded buckles and webbing; scrap wire, thread, and fabric from other up-cycling projects (Tablecloth, shoelaces, and other assorted fabrics) — OSU CASCADES Description: Perfect for those who want to stand out with texture and color. This outfit is designed with a reversible shrug top made from towels, perfect for after swimming, a shower, or a water balloon prank gone wrong. Green puffy and baggy pants designed to have a detachable bottom panel so that you can rock pants or shorts and legwarmers with the matching bunny hat. What better to have with a shrug than a sleeveless top bodysuit to go under it, made from scrap fabrics, all designed to be casual and stylish, street and avant-garde.

“SHIFTING GEARS” Designer/Model: Mara Monaghan Materials: coffee filters, news paper, garden fencing, cardboard, string — RPA High School Description: I created a corset like top made of newspaper, with a skirt crafted of different kinds of used coffee filters producing a full scalloped skirt over black garden fencing. Accessorized with cardboard and newspaper bow and hairpiece.

“FLUIDITY” Designer:  Ava Tedesco Model: Ruby Rosales Materials: Ties, Cardboard, RV Cover, Fishnet, Snaps — HOME SCHOOL Description: The inspiration for my piece was derived from unspoken gender standards of the modern era. Generally suits and ties are considered to be a masculine, and accessories like headbands are considered to be feminine. The suit-based dress I created is demonstrating the clash of masculinity and femininity together, establishing a sense of fluidity. Each year,100-200 million ties are sold, with the majority of them ending up in second-hand stores, and ultimately landfills. This piece consists of upwards of 20 ties, only a fraction of those being thrown into our earth each day, but for each one re-used, one less ends up into our Mother Earth.

“WASTE-Land Wanderer ” Designer/Model: Arley Stark Materials: Thrifted mattress cover, berry clamshell containers,bubble wrap, packing air bags, PET and HDPE plastic Bottles, Metal Ramu Bottles, non-corrugated cardboard, scrap 3D prints/supports, and plastic packaging. — OSU CASCADES Description: Based in fantasy streetwear and dystopian design, this outfit is almost entirely made of Poly Plastics. Its clear and white coloring makes it ideal to reflect the sun, yet the material will still keep you warm in a cool environment, and it has plenty of bottle storage for important resources. There is even a mask made to filter out dust and toxins, preparing for a future where trash is all we have to work with.

“JELLY FISH HAT AND FISH SCALE PANTS” Designer: Daniel Atkins, Soren Maguire, Mikael Caverly, Jake Kirchgraber Model: Mik Caverly Materials: An old raincoat, with an old puffer jacket as stuffing, a fishing hat and stuffed fabric tube of a camping sleep pad, unusable waders, the scales are scraps, climbing rope. — OSU CASCADES Description: Our design represents the waste that we leave behind that ends up floating in the ocean. One of our biggest inspirations for the project was an image of a plastic bag drifting in the ocean that, at first glance, looked exactly like a jellyfish. Additionally, we wanted to depict a scene of how our sea life is being replaced or trapped by plastic pollution.

“A DAY AT THE LAKE” Designer/Models: Simone & Vida Halpern Materials: 100% old inner tube — BEND High School Description: About two months ago, we skied out to Elk Lake, where we found a pile of beach toys next to the lake that were partially buried in snow, including pool noodles, a life jacket, and an inner tube (which the dresses are made out of). It was shocking to see that these toys had been left in the summer and remained through the entire winter. Finding these objects highlights how important it is to leave no trace, as the inner tube was buried under the snow for multiple months before we found it. These items will never disappear, and we felt it was important to make garments out of them to illustrate the effect that ignorance can have on the environment.