Each year, the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show graces the Bend stage. Participants create upcycled couture in a celebration of sustainability and innovation, turning trash into treasure. Designs constructed with recycled materials are modeled and auctioned off to support community efforts. On a night when Earth comes first, local talent is the star of the show. [Photo above by Joe Kline, Gear Fix Business Challenge]
Origins of the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show
Created in 2010 by a group of teachers from Realms Middle and High Schools, the eco-conscious fashion show has grown into a community favorite. The event now features a single runway show with an intermission. The first half showcases younger student designers, adult-designed pieces available for auction and the Business Challenge. The live auction takes place at the end of this first segment. After intermission, the show continues with the Community Garment, older student designs, additional adult pieces not for auction, a continued focus on the Business Challenge and voting. Attendees can enter a raffle to win one of two bikes—a mountain bike and an e-bike. Local restaurants provide food and drinks, making the night a lively celebration of community and fashion.
In Support of Local Students
The fashion show raises more than $20,000 each year for immersive programs at Realms. The funds from the event support the creation of fieldwork and experiences for students outside of the classroom that are not supported by Bend La Pine Schools.
“Coordinated by the efforts of Friends of Realms, a volunteer group of parents and community members, the fundraiser makes possible opportunities ranging from collecting data on Tumalo Creek and climbing at Smith Rock to learning how to play guitar,” said facilitator of creativity and joy Karen Holm. The goal is to align real-life experience with the curriculum to enhance students’ growth.
Sneak Peek of the 2025 Event
On May 10, designers, models and community members will gather at The Pavilion in Bend for the 13th annual show. This year’s event will feature two runway shows, educational booths and an eco-market with locally made and sourced goods. Central Oregon food trucks, including The Bob, Big Foot BBQ and The Pizza Cart, will be onsite throughout the evening. Slow Ride Mobile Bar will keep the drinks flowing with locally loved beverages such as Boneyard beer, AVID Cider, cocktails from Crater Lake Distillery, wines from Willamette Valley Vineyards, Humm Kombucha and other nonalcoholic options.
Conscious to the Core
With the tagline, “Transforming Trash and Inspiring Community for a Sustainable Earth,” the Rubbish Renewed organizing committee ‘walks its talk’ by centering the event around conscious practices. Waste stations at the event encourage recycling and composting. Reusable dishware will be used for food and drinks. All signage is made using reclaimed materials. And every item on display in the eco-marketplace will be either re-fashioned, designed to keep trash out of the landfill, or provide interactive education about local resources for living more sustainably.
Designs from the 2024 Show
The 2024 Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show lit up The Pavilion stage with showstopping creations designed by artists from ages 8 to 90 years old. Behind the scenes, hair stylists from Badlands Hair Studio and student makeup artists from Realms High School performed their magic to bring dramatic looks to the runway. Highlighting imagination and ingenuity, the colorful displays of fashion served as a powerful statement about consumption and environmental responsibility, proving that one person’s trash can truly become another’s couture masterpiece. Here’s a snapshot of the 2024 runway hits.
Repurposing an old pillowcase, lids from cat food cans, Coca-Cola bottle tops, sheets of clear plastic from mattresses, bubble wrap and can tabs, Bend High School student Vida Halpern and her sister, Simone Halpren, created an elegant gown that was aptly named “Hold Onto Your Caps.” Their idea was ignited by the amount of unnecessary packaging carelessly thrown into the trash that could be transformed into something beautiful.
With plastic mesh produce bags sourced from the Grass Valley Food Bank, Amity Creek Elementary student Samantha Press designed a whimsical two-piece gown. A rainbow of fairy-like layers comprised the skirt, and fruit and vegetable labels added pops of interest to the coordinating top, creating the flowing garment, “Don’t Mesh with My Dress.”
In a blend of fashion genres, “Camp-torian” was a fusion of science fiction and the Victorian era in a dramatic two-toned gown. Damaged tents and old climbing ropes set the stage for this collaborative past-meets-future design from Gear Fix’s Nico Brilmyer, Kasey Boyd and Ethan Engemann.
Lost ski gloves found their match in the Oregon Adaptive Sports’ entry, “Gloves Off,” by Martha Campbell and Karen Holm. Rescuing Mt. Bachelor’s left-behind gloves and combining them with punctured bicycle tubes, the designers constructed a functional two-piece outfit ready for the trails and slopes in Central Oregon.
A Bend Anesthesiology Group team of two perioperative nurses and two anesthesiologists created “Aeternum,” a dress made of blue wrap commonly used to wrap surgical instruments, to shed light on the issue of medical waste. “Our aim is to highlight ongoing initiatives focused on recycling this material and giving it a new lease on life,” said Dr. Cherie Long. Beyond the catwalk, Long and Dr. Holly Graham are repurposing blue wrap into products such as reusable totes for The Environmental Center’s annual fundraising campaign and for new mothers at the St. Charles Medical Center Family Birthing Center.
With the stroke of a magic wand, “Fairy Rubbish Godmother” floated across the runway in a cloud of pink and purple grace. Gathered from the dump and a local thrift store, artist Carolyn Parker swirled felt scraps, thrifted lamp shades, wood banding, wire, paper flower cutouts, tulle fabric, a salvaged beach sunshade and worn out gym workout tubes into a spectacle worthy of the most fashionable fairy godmother.
Lasting Impact
Artistry and community spirit reign supreme at the Rubbish Renewed Eco Fashion Show, and the driving mission behind the event can be seen in every detail. It raises awareness about personal waste production in a lighthearted and creative way to motivate its organizers, designers, models, vendors and viewers to adopt sustainable habits that reduce their environmental impact. “The show is electrifying,” said Holm. “It is a sophisticated and playful evening of creativity, ingenuity and accessibility, elevating the community in a collective celebration of conscious living.”
More Designs to See
“THE 2ND REINCARNATION OF EARLY 20TH CENTURY COATS”
Designer: Karen Holm | Model: Michi Sato | Materials: Worn-out early 20th-century braided wool rug, made originally from worn-out wool coats
“My great uncle made braided rugs during the Great Depression and World War 2. Living in Roundup, Montana, the winters were long and cold. He gathered worn-out woolen coats and scraps from family and neighbors, and spent hours deconstructing garments, stripping fabric, and manipulating the newly formed strips into braids. This rug was riddled with holes from 80 years of service. I deconstructed, washed, cut, reversed and resewed strands. Then sewed them into this coat, creating “The 2nd Reincarnation of Early 20th Century Wool Coats.”
BUSINESS CHALLENGE: Bend-Redmond Habitat for Humanity ReStore – “AMPED-UP EVERYDAY HERO”
Designer: DeeDee Johnson | Model: Steve Stevens | Materials: Old speaker wire, chandelier parts, thrift store Halloween cape, thrift store jeans, empty Yerba Mate cans, and pop tops
We drink Yerba Mates. A lot of them. It gives us the energy to do hard things, every day, for affordable housing in our community. We love giving new life to old things and having fun while we do it.
“PACIFIC EVEN COOLER”
Designer/Model: Olive Morris | Materials: Caprisun pouches, Caprisun straws, thrifted beads, repurposed zipper, repurposed bird netting – Sisters High School
“After being inspired by other artists online, I made a backpack and wallet out of Caprisuns and was immediately interested in creating something bigger. Something as simple as a juice pouch is so quickly used and disregarded, and this piece can help bring to light how much we use without ever noticing our impact.”
BUSINESS CHALLENGE: Lonza Pharma & Biotech – “SCIENCE WEATHERS THE STORM”
Designers: Kari D’Angona, Amy Hansen, Thyia Scott, Nahi Ortiz | Model: Nahi Ortiz | Materials: Deconstructed garments from previous Rubbish Renewal Runway years, more old, stained lab coats, used GC copper tubing, pop can tabs.
This fashion ensemble is inspired by the X-Men character Storm, whose power over the weather and atmosphere is unparalleled. We dyed discarded lab coats black and purple to evoke Storm’s moody elegance, then added pop can tabs scavenged from hundreds of canned beverages and accessorized with copper tubing from gas chromatography equipment, transformed into jewelry. We hope to remind all of the power of science to battle waste, climate change, and more.
“THE ORBIS DRESS”
Designer/Model: Presley Lester | Materials: Repurposed dress, Repurposed tutu, bubble wrap, thrift store hat, old ornament, magazines rescued from the recycle bin – Pine Ridge Elementary School
“Mother Earth inspired my dress. I hope to visit every place featured on this dress. Fashion has always been my passion!”
JEANS, JEANS, READ ALL ABOUT IT!
Designer/Model: Iris Boettcher | Materials: Repurposed ribbon, rollerblade lace, old newspaper, upcycled jeans – Highland Elementary School
“This lace-up halter top consists of an old pant leg from jeans, with a rollerblade lace-up the front to make a corset effect. Paired with a boring newspaper that we have now made not so boring in a giant frilly tutu. And don’t forget the bright pink bow on the back. I like street style and coquette, and I wanted to find a way to combine the two and share “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure.”
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