Middle and high school students submitted unique up-cycled fashion creations that will be hitting he runway in about a week for Mount Mary's Uniquely Yours Competition.
The challenge: design an outfit using materials in their homes or materials they can find to reuse. Some of the students strung together soda can tabs, used crinkled and cut paper and lots of other unique materials.
"I've seen a lot of people making chain mail out of bottle tabs, and I was like that's cool and a reasonable material that is everywhere," said Lia, one of the contestants. "I asked friends to collect their bottle tabs and I crocheted them together."
Mount Mary staff judged the outfits of the 11 to 18-year-olds and gave out awards like scholarship money for the university's summer academy and the opportunity to model their designs in the CREO 2024 fashion show on May 10.
"It really makes us proud and gives us a lot of hope for the new generation," said Elena Pitts, co-creator of Uniquely Yours. "They put a lot of thought into this and they really get their creative juices to flow."
TMJ4's Stephanie Brown spoke with the young competitors and some modeled their designs on a makeshift catwalk.
Edelle, one of the contestants, is excited about future competitions. Her outfit was made from her dad's old ties and a shirt she thrifted.
"I think it is super important to re-use things and repair stuff rather than use fast fashion," Edelle said.
"I am a total fashion girl," said Maya, one of the contestants. She wants to be a fashion designer when she grows up. She made her outfit out of tablecloths and strips of t-shirts for the lower skirt, and the top was a collection of her past artwork fastened to a shirt.
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