On April 22, Earth Day, Salt Lake Community College fashion students presented upcycled fashion in a “Trashion Show.” Models strutted down a catwalk resembling grass, fit for the holiday.
Upcycling is the process of taking something old and modifying it so that it becomes more usable and gains value. Some students demonstrated upcycling by merging two clothing items into one, using tablecloths as fabric, or altering thrifted pieces to make them better fit their personal style.
Zaylie Handrahan, a fashion student featured in the fashion show, designed an inspiring outfit using thrifted jeans and fabric scraps. “When I think about the earth, I think about flowers, and that’s exactly what inspired this outfit,” said Handrahan.
“I believe striving for sustainability is important because if we don’t, we start losing all the beautiful things around us, such as the flowers at our feet,” she continued.
Another fashion student, Victoria Clark, upcycled a swimsuit coverup she doesn’t wear anymore into a playful babydoll dress.
Clark shared how, during the pandemic, she got stuck in a cycle of fast fashion and overconsumption. But she senses we are all ready to move away from that kind of clothing.
“We’re all kind of thirsting for more uniqueness,” said Clark.
This is Clark’s first year at SLCC. She wants to get all three degrees that the fashion institute offers — fashion design, fashion merchandising and technical apparel design — and wants to make sustainability a big part of her career in the fashion industry. Clark also hopes to start a company that creates fashion materials out of old clothing and fabric.
The event was just one element of the fashion department’s Earth Day celebrations. After the fashion show, organizers invited guests to a clothing swap, where they could pick out secondhand clothing for free.
The fashion department also held a “fashion to ‘dye’ for” workshop, which presented natural dying and printing techniques, and a repair clinic, where attendees learned to fix a distressed or ill-fitting clothing item to extend its life.
The Earth Day function especially promoted the idea of “craftivism.” Old jeans were reshaped into tote bags. Shoes found without a pair and headed for the landfill were filled with soil and transformed into flowerpots. They had tags that read, “REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT.” Guests could take any of these creations home for free.
“Taking small steps like consuming less, being more mindful and looking at the materials [of clothing] is what’s going to help us all,” said Clark.
