“Let’s make a sustainable statement together!”—that’s the motto behind Bloomington’s annual Trashion Refashion Runway Show. This past weekend, Buskirk Chumley Theater hosted the fifteenth annual runway show. This show focuses on making new fashionable dresses, garments, purses, hats, and everything in between out of discarded and eco-friendly materials.

The show is open to the entire Bloomington community. The people behind the dresses and the models are all students, community members, and designers. This event prides itself on community involvement, and a big reason for that is how closely the board of directors works with the city. Bloomington Trashion is produced by Discardia. Because of this, every Bloomington Trashion show is a fundraiser for the Center for Sustainable Living.

This show takes place every spring, but the designs and preparation for the show begin in the winter months of January and February. Recently, the show has taken a new way to get inspired for its next show. At the end of each show, the fans are now allowed to vote on their favorite pieces of the night. A QR code is shown for those in attendance to give feedback on the show. That feedback is then taken to make improvements for future shows and see what the audience wants in the future.

This show aims to raise awareness of the waste we humans produce. Dresses can be made from plastic to old cardboard, bubble wrap, and even old soda cans. But it doesn’t stop there. The fashion pieces shown on stage can also be made from second-hand clothing at thrift stores or other hand-me-downs. The main message from Bloomington Trashion is to show how the fashion industry can be better at limiting waste.

Fashion is known to be one of the world’s leading causes of waste and pollution. Waste is a significant problem in the fashion industry. This problem is referred to as “fast fashion,” and according to sustainyourstyle.org, “Only 15% of clothes are recycled or donated, with the rest going directly to the landfill or is incinerated and synthetic fibers, such as polyester, are plastic fibers, therefore non-biodegradable, and can take up to 200 years to decompose. Synthetic fibers are used in 69% of our clothing.”

Bloomington Trashion is trying to change that.

“We’ve always welcomed all people,” Deb Christensen said. “We are a project for something called the Center of Sustainable Living so all of us have a passion for reducing waste, especially in the fashion industry. [The fashion industry] has now been labeled the third-largest polluter, sometimes, I call it the first-largest, I think there are ways in which we can count some other industries differently. But I think it is partially that passion and that we are all volunteers; none of us have this as our job, but it is connected to our jobs or our passions in one way or another.”

The 2024 show was another success, selling out every seat at the Buskirk venue. Anyone can join, and you can send in your designer submission once they roll around next winter. You can visit the Bloomington Trashion website or follow them on Facebook and Instagram for more information.

Helping the environment was a big point of emphasis during the show, and this dress was made out of recycled cardboard. (Credit: Bloomington Trashion)

Plastic was the main theme behind this dress. The body of the dress was made almost entirely from pop tabs. (Credit: Bloomington Trashion)

Both the dress and the handbag were made from old Polariod photos. (Credit: Bloomington Trashion)

This dress was inspired by the recent events of the solar eclipse. The theme of this garment was the sun. (Credit: Bloomington Trashion)

"Breaking News" was a dress made out of old newspapers. (Credit: Bloomington Trashion)

Fiona Deng on stage showing off her dress made out of Asian snack bags. (Credit: Bloomington Trashion)