COTTAGE GROVE – As the sun set in Cottage Grove, golden hour cast a warm glow on the display windows at 513 E. Main St., showcasing pieces of garbage turned fashion. Headpieces made of deflated balloons and dresses composed of plastic bags were just a taste of the show to come.

The Opal Center was alive and buzzing last Thursday night for the premiere of the 17th annual “Trashion” fashion show. Emcee Kathy Carbone introduced each designer and their unique creations, while models swaggered on the runway.

Catchy music played inside the dimly lit venue, and art decorations created with reused materials scattered the walls. 

Terrisa West set the mood with an energetic catwalk as the first designer and model to take the stage.

She opened with a patchwork dress made of fabrics “rescued from a recently flooded basement,” narrated emcee Carbone. West showed off a homemade hat made with a fan that broke while drying the fabrics.

The show’s youngest designer, Danika Johnson, 6, crafted four eccentric outfits. Johnson’s inspiration comes from themes of dragons and flowers, as well as her big sister Bailegh Creech, who also designed for the show. 

Johnson’s wearable art pieces were made of items like a party tablecloth, straws, a throw pillow, black bags, wrapping paper, an old tuxedo jacket, and newspaper.

Johnson’s older sister came up with four one-of-a-kind looks of her own. One of the designs being a blue bird she called Linda, after the 20th Century Fox movie Rio. 

The outfit consisted of her dad’s old work jeans that she transformed into a stylish skirt, cardboard and leftover diamond art beads for the head and beak, and packing foam and shower curtain turned into wings.

Designers came up with themes of spring, birds, vintage-style outfits, and anything else their imagination could handle.

Kailey Creech created “Peacock’s Alter Ego: Disco Chicken,” which included a tassel whip, out of bicycle tubes, plastic food containers, and aluminum can tabs.

She also created “Balloonciaga” out of – you guessed it – old mylar balloons sewn into a quilted-style overcoat.

A waft of soft breeze fabric softener momentarily filled the room and a bright yellow dress made its way onstage. Designer Carmen Dowell hand-sewn the piece out of over 500 dryer sheets. Dowell also created a matching wig headpiece made of foam and plastic sheets.

Personalized playlists accompanied each unique catwalk creation. Veteran designer and model Cheri Moritz was influenced by Marie Antionette – someone who is a part of Moritz’s family tree.

A catchy Let Them Eat Cake by LDShadowlady played through the speakers while petticoats made out of plastic shopping bags and salvaged fabrics from the 1700s were paraded.

Audience members were invited on stage just before intermission with an opportunity to sashay the runway themselves. 

The party-like event ended with one final walk of all the designers and models. The show goes on this week April 24-26, with tickets available online at opalcentercg.org or at the door for $20.

This reporting is supported by the Catalyst Journalism Project at the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication.