The University of Illinois held its annual Re-Fashioned Fashion Show on May 4 at Temple Hoyne Buell Hall, and designers amazed the public with their ingenuity and ability, creating ensembles from reclaimed, reused or recycled materials.

“Re-Fashioned” has become the brand name for the show that features the work of students taking the spring semester Fashion Design course. “I hope that people now associate it with (School of) Art and Design at Illinois,” clinical assistant professor Susan Becker said.

Re-Fashioned takes place at 7 p.m. the first Saturday in May. “The term ‘re-fashioned,’ I hope, calls to mind the premise of the show, which is to use repurposed and up-cycled goods to create one-of-a-kind, unique wearable art and fashion,” Becker said. “The fashion industry has a disastrous impact on the environment.”

According to Becker, some statistics show it is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. “As a fashion educator, I can’t ignore that,” she said. “It must be central to the education of the designers of tomorrow to be thinking about designing and making in new ways. The current system for manufacturing clothing is truly unsustainable. The idea for the show was born out of that desire to spark conversations around fashion and sustainability for students and the surrounding community.”

When Becker first started teaching fashion at Rhode Island School of Design in the late 1990s, “using repurposed materials was a fun, novel idea and one that students who were living on a limited budget appreciated,” she said. “Now it feels like a moral imperative, not only to encourage designers to reduce the harm the fashion industry exerts on the environment but to raise awareness for consumers. All of us can make individual small choices that add up to big societal changes.”

Becker began teaching at the University of Illinois 13 years ago and began holding an annual fashion show shortly thereafter. The show has been a way to reach out to the community and showcase students’ work from the semester. It also gives students the experience of putting on a fashion show, which is still the standard way for collections to be presented within the fashion industry.

All work for the show is done in one semester. For the 2019 show, students majoring in fields as diverse as physics, public relations, consumer economics, linguistics, mechanical engineering, as well as a number of students majoring within Art and Design, created the fashions. The majority of students had very little, if any, previous sewing experience. Students were required to complete four construction projects in addition to producing two dimensional “plates” (mini-collections). Students were given about two weeks for each project to source, design and craft the up-cycled materials into ensembles.

Becker appreciates the support of those who are able to attend the event. “The crowds get bigger every year,” she said, estimating this year’s at between 350 and 400.

Former Dandelion owner Sarah Hudson donated some vintage and used pieces before she sold the business. “The I.D.E.A. Store is a fantastic place to get materials and find inspiration,” Becker added. “We are so lucky to have this amazing resource right here in CU. Working with and listening to found materials means you are building on laid foundation. The same is true with working with interesting vintage pieces like those found at Dandelion.

“Another business that has been incredibly supportive of the show is Circles Boutique in downtown Champaign,” Becker said. “The owner, Danielle Jameson, has been so generous in loaning selections from her inventory of fabulous footwear to the show. Shop local! These business enrich and give back to our community, and shopping local is better for the environment!”

Six critics offered suggestions for improvement and feedback on styling and presentation. Each piece is voted into the show by the critics and the students’ peers in the course.

“The purpose of a critique is to give feedback to the designer and make the work stronger,” Becker said. “The critique creates a space for the designer to get a chance to succinctly describe their inspiration and intention behind their work to someone, other than their professor, to someone seeing it for the first time with fresh eyes. I believe that giving and receiving feedback is central to a creative practice.”

Two critiques are held throughout the semester. “Not everything is ready to walk the runway when first created,” Becker said.

Some of Becker’s favorite pieces that students have made over the years include a swimming romper made from plastic beach balls (some still partially inflated), a dress made from Barbie dolls and a dress that was beautifully crafted to create an ombre rainbow effect out of paper paint samples. “I could go on and on,” Becker said. “I am always blown away by the creativity and innovation of my students!”

Another favorite was a cocktail dress made from whole and skinned Beanie Babies. “By the mid-2000s the Beanie Baby mania was officially over, and you could find huge piles of them in thrift stores,” Becker said. “I loved the idea of ripping into something that was once so highly valued you wouldn’t take the tags off. The designer created new value out of something that in some people’s eyes had become worthless or embarrassing. The dress also highlighted the questions and controversy surrounding what was once a very traditional material in fashion: Fur. The piece did all this while being quite whimsical in design and well crafted.”