Runway show brings together fashion and art to showcase sustainability and innovation.

Keep Orlando Beautiful (KOB) hosted its 7th annual Trash 2 Trends, an Evening of Recycled Fashion, on Feb. 1, 2020. The event featured the work of more than 20 local artists whose upcycled designs were worn by models on an elevated, 48-foot runway.

Here is a list of some of the winners:

  • Top Design
    • Title: Wash Back
    • Designer: Julia Rousey
    • Model: Shay Gorman
    • Materials used: Over 100 plastic shopping, newspaper and dry-cleaning bags, over 100 colorful straws, around 50 feet of dental tape, roughly 15 feet of VHS cassette tape, 10 plastic bottles, and one re-purposed umbrella.  
  •    Best Use Of Materials
    • Title: Shimmering Undulation
    • Designer: James Costello
    • Model: Divine Grace
    • Materials used: Large printed banners (fencing), hundreds of bottle caps, recycled Camping World Stadium banner, inner tube tire remnants from a previous Trash 2 Trends dress, grommets, and coat hangers.
  • Most Wearable
    • Title: The After Party Dress
    • Designer: Morgan Mac Adam
    • Model: Maya MacAdam
    • Materials used: Five deconstructed and handwoven silver tinsel curtains, varying sized recycled disco balls, plastic grocery bags, parchment paper, silver table clothes, and wrapping paper. All materials were recycled New Year’s Eve party decorations collected over the past three years.
  • Audience Choice
    • Title: Under the Big Top
    • Designer: Kelly Rex
    • Model: Erin Milks
    • Materials used: Over 500 plastic utensils , over 1,800 plastic straws , 48 plastic coffee bags, 30 plastic single-use food containers, broken plastic laundry basket and lampshade, a ripped screen, scrap wire, and cardboard and foam pieces.

The fashion show not only raises environmental awareness, it also serves as a fundraiser for the local community in areas of recycling, litter prevention, and beautification.

“The support generated at the 7th Annual Trash 2 Trends, an Evening of Recycled Fashion, has a far reaching impact, enabling KOB to advance our mission to engage, educate, and empower our community to take pride in their environment through litter prevention, recycling, and beautification efforts,” said Sean Hipps, coordinator of KOB.

In total, the event has raised over $100,000 for KOB since its inception. Those proceeds have enabled KOB to execute several initiatives in the community, including the installation of public space recycling bins.

“With the funds generated from Trash 2 Trends 2019, Keep Orlando Beautiful and volunteers were able to beautify 37 sites, plant 2,325 plants and shrubs, educate over 5,787 people on proper recycling, remove 356 graffiti sites, collect 45,260 lbs. of recycling, and put in 6,222 hours of volunteer time,” said Hipps.