Trashion Refashion showcases green style

The Center for Sustainable Living put on its third annual “Trashion Refashion” show at the Buskirk-Chumley Theatre on Sunday.

The 2012 “Trashion Refashion” show featured 50 designs made from recycled material by local designers. Event coordinators said the event had doubled in size from the previous year.

The Center of Sustainable Living, a community nonprofit that promotes sustainable living through projects, received a grant of more than $500 to fund the “Trashion Refashion” show.

The event was an opportunity for the center to raise awareness about recycling and sustainable living, as well as a fundraising opportunity for the organization and its new retail store, Discardia.

“A little more than half of the proceeds will go to the Discardia retail store and studio,” Assistant Business Manager Jeanne Smith said.

In celebration of Earth Day and the 20th anniversary of the Center of Sustainable Living, “Trashion Refashion” aimed to inspire thought about how clothing should be incorporated into sustainability, MC and Organizing Committee Member Yael
Ksander said.

“Tonight is the marriage of beauty and sustainability,” Ksander said.

The show was divided into two parts: “Refashion” and “Trashion.”  The “Refashion” component featured designs made from used clothing revamped into something new and fashionable. 

The “Trashion” component featured designs made out of items that were never clothing, such as trash bags, strips of film, flour sacks and mardi gras beads.

All 50 designs were made out of 90 percent recycled material. Local designers were allowed to purchase 10 percent of their material as new, as long as it was not a prominent component of the ensemble.

Dennis Mu, an IU sophomore pursuing majors in apparel merchandising and fashion design, designed a yellow skirt and a blue kimono top out of a men’s old military shirt and a long evening gown for the “Refashion” portion of the show.

“In class we had a bunch of old garments that nobody wanted anymore,” Mu said.  
It took two to three days to make the separate pieces because the whole ensemble had to be completely restyled, Mu said.  

Stephanie Ellis, an IU senior pursuing a major in apparel merchandising with a certificate in fashion design, made a dress out of old panty hose and polar pop cups, using an old skirt for its elastic. 

“We did this for a class assignment and could turn it into ‘Trashion Refashion’ if we wanted,” Ellis said. “Mine was accepted, so I’m modeling my own design tonight.”

Also present at the event was a pop-up store called Discardia, where items made from recycled materials were sold for local designers. 

Proceeds from the “Trashion Refashion” show will go to opening an actual retail store for Discardia in May on the B-Line Trail. It will act as a hub in which local artisans can sell their items that might have otherwise been discarded, such as reconstructed clothing, accessories, art and furniture.

“There will also be an educational component where people can come into the studio, learn to sew or learn how to make old things new again,” Smith said.

Sixty percent of the proceeds will go to the artists, encouraging local artisans to sell their work, Smith said.

“We really want to keep this regional,” Smith said, “Monroe County, Bedford and Indianapolis mainly to make sure we support local artists.”

The Discardia store and studio will open a block west from the summer Farmer’s Market to the public in May due to the “Trashion Refashion” show proceeds.