Young Maltese Students Turn Trash Into High Fashion, Ready For The Runway
Glamorous gowns don’t have to be made from 24-carat gold thread, sometimes a little trash goes a long way.
A fashion show organised by Don’t Waste Waste, a campaign hoping to severely drop the amount of rubbish thrown away in the Maltese islands, proved that hard work and a little creativity can go a long way to saving the planet.
The event also hosted a competition, with winners being awarded a €1,000 prize from DIZZ group.
Organised by the Ministry for the Environment, Sustainable Development and Climate Change, the campaign made a call for students to upcycle trash into fashion items from handbags to dresses.
Giving a second life to unwanted objects, students were judged on the environmental sustainability of the outfit, whereby non-recyclable waste items had to be used, and on the aesthetic styling of the clothes.
The winning team was also presented with the chance to get a featured spread in fashion magazine.
From broken ceramics, stationery, CDs, snack packets and other creative items, six teams from five different schools participated, among them Sir M.A Refalo Sixth Form, St. Benedict College, two teams from MCAST Gozo Campus, MCAST Institute for Creative Arts and Verdala International School.
The seven categories the contestants were judged in were the best outfit, best bag, best shoes, best accessories, best headgear and best jacket awards, as well as an overall award for the best collection.
Hosted by Chucky Bartolo, the six judges were prestigious representatives from the Malta Chamber of Fashion, Dizz Group, the Ministry for the Environment and others with a waste management background.
St. Benedict’s College took home the grand prize after an impressive display from the junior fashionistas, but all participants went home with a goodie bag as well as the knowledge that their hard work had contributed to a bigger initiative.