Freecycling & Recycling Fashion Statements

Daily Fashion Juice
Sunday April 3, 2011

Recycling in fashion: MSU visual design students put their creativity to the test!

Visitors to Phyllis Bell Miller's class in visual design find plenty of recognizable items on display, just not things they might associate with wearing. This semester, 45 university students in the Mississippi State course used elements of design to create clothing and accessories from such everyday objects as football tickets, car seats and coffee cups. / Photos by Megan Bean/Special to The Clarion-Ledger

Written by
LaReeca Rucker

Going green and recycling isn't just an environmental trend; it's a fashion statement.

That's why a Mississippi State University class recently held a fashion competition for 45 visual design students, requiring them to create clothing and accessories using recycled materials and everyday items.

Students used football tickets, bike chains, coffee cup holders and filters, restaurant receipts, newspapers and other items as their materials.

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Phyllis Bell Miller, a MSU professor who specializes in the history of apparel, textiles and merchandising, said the competitors kept color, light and texture in mind.

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"The project was to allow them to use any materials - either pieces of other clothing they were recycling or items that weren't really related to clothing," she said. "The goal was to make something and use design elements and principles to make it better.


"My goal is to take the guesswork out of designing. If you pair creativity with knowledge, you can come up with any combination."


One student used football passes to create a flapper dress. Another made shoes from Coca-Cola cans.
One made a purse using Reese's Peanut Butter Cup containers, and another paired leather from an old automobile seat with lace curtains to create a hair ornament.


Megan Bedells, an apparel, textiles and merchandising major, won with a coffee-themed dress.
"I get coffee pretty much every day before class, and I probably had a coffee cup sitting in front of me when she handed out the project sheet," said Bedells, 18. "When she announced the competition was going to be recycled materials, I kind of had an idea in mind to use the sleeve that goes around the cup whenever you have a hot drink at Starbucks."


Bedells used the cup sleeves to create a corset bodice. She cut snowflake shapes from coffee filters and used them to create a skirt.


"A belt and a bow in the back is made out of old T-shirts," she said. "I also used the cups from Starbucks that have decorations on them and some little sayings from the cup."