The Texas Campaign For The Environment presented the 2017 Trash Makeover Challenge at RIO Nightclub on September 16, 2017. Since 2011, the Texas nonprofit has held this one-of-a-kind fashion show where each original entry is comprised of at least 90% recycled materials.
This year's theme for the Trash Makeover Challenge was "Living Masterpieces." Each designer chose a category of art, Realism, Impressionism, Pop Art, or Modern Art, and an artist's work to highlight in their creation. Some of the artists the designers emulated were Frida Kahlo, Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, and Georgia O'Keeffe.
Grand Prize
The Grand Prize winner of the 2017 Trash Makeover Challenge was from the Impressionism category and was inspired by Georges Seurat's painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte." This original masterpiece was designed by Allison Lowery. Ms. Lowery was also responsible for the model's hair and makeup for the event. The outfit was modeled by Jennifer Lynn Larsen. The materials used to construct this creation included fashion magazines, hole punch holes, copper kitchen scrubbers, plastic wire insulation tubing, and toilet paper tubes.
Second Place
The second place award went to this gown from the Realism category inspired by Frida Kahlo's "Self Portrait Dedicated to Dr. Eloesser." It was designed by Veronica Vivanco, with makeup by Yolanda Garcia, and hair styled by Gylda Fuentes. The gown was modeled by Cecilia Leon Vivanco. The unusual recycled materials used for this gown included plastic place mats, corn husks, a hula hoop, and a blue tarp.
Third Place
Third place went to this colorful piece in the Pop Art category inspired by Andy Warhol's "Life Savers 353." It was designed by Megan Pinto. Makeup for the evening was provided by Anatasia Miller. The gown was modeled by Dani Bleir. Materials used for this creation included crate packaging material, mirror shards, canvas, and floral arrangements.
People's Choice
The People's Choice Award went to designer Greg Lara's Modern Art creation inspired by Jimmy Lawlor's "Dragonflies Night." The outfit (R) was modeled by Laurie Cornay. Makeup was provided by Alondra Manning, with hair styling by Ericka Rodriguez. Materials Mr. Lara used to create this one of a kind piece included different types of plastic, paper clips, soda can tabs, and feathers.
Other Entries
This unique piece from the Impressionism category was modeled by Toya Belle and inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's "A Starry Night." It was designed by Third place winner Megan Pinto and includes mirror shards, cable cords, plastic netting, and window screening.
Designer Emmy Starr created this Roy Lichtenstein inspired outfit for the Pop Art category by recreating "Hopeless." The materials used included an old bed sheet, white trash bags, aluminum cans, and potato chip bags.
This black and white creation is from designer Melissa Prentice and was modeled by Misty Dawn Taylor. Makeup was by Autumn Duris. The gown was inspired by Edgar Degas' "Dance Class at the Opera." Some of the unusual materials used in the construction of this dress included coffee filters, foil muffin tin liners, pantyhose, a curtain panel, nuts and bolts, an air conditioner filter, a paper mache box, felt flowers, and men's ties.
Designer Kalyn Kane gave us two interesting creations.
(L)From the Modern Art category we saw Emily Powalski modeling a dress inspired by Georgia O'Keeffe's "Grey Line With Black, Yellow, and Blue." This creation used receipts, junk mail and plastic.
(R) From the Realism category we saw model Jasmine Boone wearing an outfit inspired by Frida Kahlo's "Self-Portrait with Thorn Necklace and Hummingbird." Ms Kane used junk mail, a backpack, belt, screws, and broken Christmas lights in this piece.
Designer Carleen Holmes was inspired by Edouard Manet's "Roses in a Champagne Glass." This gown was modeled by the designer herself while her makeup was done by Nancy Diana. This gown was constructed with dried foliage, chicken wire, corrugated metal, paper bags, ribbon, and fabric scraps.
Nina Hawkins modeled this Realism creation from designer Roxie Guajardo. It was inspired by John Gast's "American Progress" and is constructed from an umbrella, Barbie dolls, wire, metal, phones, and chips.
Inspired by Frida Kahlo's "My Dress Hangs There," designer Laisa Chavez Macias created this dress for the Realism category using aluminum cans and disposable bags. Kelly Singh modeled this dress.
People's Choice winning designer Greg Lara created this unique piece. It is a Pop Art creation inspired by Patrice Murciano's "Angel." Lara used different types of plastic, paper clips, soda can tabs, and feathers to construct this.
Designers Misty Moore and Amanda King created these two entries.
(L) From the Modern Art category, Alex Joyce modeled this gown and headdress inspired by Georgia O'Keeff''s "Black Iris." They used curtains, overnight period pads, air filters, hangers, plastic packing material, spray paint, plastic flower petals, an old visor, and car sun shades to create this one-of-a-kind piece.
(R) From the Realism category, Machele Johnson modeled an outfit inspired by Tim Okamura's "Rosie No. 1." Moore and King used plastic loofah sponges, USA flags, plastic cups, packing materials, an old shirt, and acrylic paints to create this patriotic look.
This Modern Art gown was designed by Tom Pope and Maria Montoya. It was inspired by architect Zaha Hadid's "The World (89 Degrees)" and was modeled by Chandra Hall. This gown was created using a recycled/deconstructed wedding dress, with accessories constructed from plastic pellets extruded into 3D Printer filament, old video tapes, PVC roofing and items purchased from Austin Creative Reuse.
**On a side note, Austin Creative Reuse is a great place to find cool and unusual crafting/project materials. They basically have a little bit of everything. It is by the ACC Highland Campus. If you haven't been to this great shop, you need to check it out ASAP. Here's a link to their Facebook page. Austin Creative Reuse
Creative Kids Clothes
In the Pop Art category, we had Evelynn Heikkala modeling a creation by Veronica Vivanco. This outfit was inspired by Peter Max's "Statue of Liberty." It is constructed of lamp shades, dog food bags, a plastic headband,a plastic heart, wire, balloons, and bottle caps.
In the Modern Art category we had Angelica Heikkala modeling a creation by Paulina Padilla. This unusual dress and accessories were inspired by Hikari Shimoda's "The World We Do Not Know, That Today." Materials used to construct this piece included 300 band aides, plastic, paper, raffia, a teddy bear, ribbon, and metal rings.
From the Impressionism category we saw Maureen Vo modeling a unique creation from designer Delphia Vo. This creation was inspired by Claude Monet's "Woman With A Parasol - Madame Monet and Her Son." The recycled materials used for this outfit included bubble wrap, bottle caps, and soda can tabs.
Once again these amazing designers presented the audience with some truly exceptional works of art from materials that most of us throw away. They have inspired me to see what I can do to reuse, recycle and repurpose more items in my life.
