Auckland designers turn trash into fashion

Through its Schools Trash to Fashion Awards, Auckland, New Zealand, is encouraging young designers to showcase their talent by transforming trash into fashion, while also educating students about the impacts of waste.

Organisers of the Schools Trash to Fashion Awards are now calling for expressions of interest from young designers across the region for the 2013 edition. This year’s theme is ‘Celebrate Individuality’ and encourages young designers to consider and celebrate what makes them unique.

“It’s great that Trash to Fashion continues to promote waste elimination and recycling in our local communities, and we are proud to support creativity in our young people,” said Penny Hulse, the Deputy Mayor of Auckland.

Every year young students throughout Auckland respond to the challenge: What would you create if you couldn’t buy anything new? Using their imagination, the students take inorganic and organic materials, usually just thrown away, and transform it into moveable pieces of art and high fashion.

Organised by Auckland Council and Keep Waitakere Beautiful Trust, the annual awards are open to all primary, intermediate and secondary pupils aged between 5 and 17. Students can enter through their school or as individuals. Last year’s Supreme Award Winner was 12-year-old Chantelle Reilly from Waimauku School.

“I have learnt that we could be recycling so much more than we already are,” said Reilly. “I was at the dump for an hour finding parts and how much waste we were burying in our earth was disgusting and that was only one dump–there must be thousands of dumps in New Zealand, let alone in the world. Soon enough we will just be a bit of garbage floating in space!”

The Schools Trash to Fashion Awards helps spread the word about recycling, reusing and reducing waste and gives students the opportunity to work on a creative project with an environmental twist, using recycled items to create high fashion and moveable art. Students will learn to collaborate, conceptualise, and work with a variety of hard and soft materials.

With 3.4 million tonnes of waste already going into landfills every year in Auckland, and this increasing with the growing population, the council are looking to students for inspiration on positive ways to recycle trash.