On Friday November 22nd, student designers, models, and attendees gathered to celebrate a night of fashion and sustainability in the 2nd Trash Fashion Show hosted on the new Qiantan campus. In partnership with DSC and welcoming 10 external designers from ECNU and the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Green Shanghai delivered a stunning showcase of talent, creativity, and hard work.

Green Shanghai, a student run club at NYU Shanghai, is dedicated to promoting environmental awareness and sustainable practices within the university community. Since 2017, The Trash Fashion Show has been a platform inspiring a collective reimagining of waste: changing discarded materials into wearable art to empower individuals to rethink their relationship with consumption and the environment. This year’s theme, Solarpunk, envisions a hopeful future where humanity thrives in harmony with nature. Green Shanghai’s President Elaine He explains, “We need optimism in creating solutions to today’s environmental challenges; organizing the show was a long process–we started off with knowing a timeline, budget planning, recruiting designers and models and volunteers, planning and giving workshops, and reaching out to guests. The process was not linear but involved constant back and forth communication.”

The event featured two guest speakers and an electrifying performance from SOS Dance. Annabelle Sanchez of Dean’s Service Corps (DSC) Environment and Animal Protection Cohort shared volunteering opportunities such as beach clean-ups and seawall paintings. IMA Professor Marcela shared about her work with the Re-makerspace and classes she offers where students can upcycle and repurpose natural materials.

Pearl Rehm, Bonnie Chang, and Tristan Wong, class of 2028, ambitiously created two designs, “Ribs” and “Futurenaut” for their first Trash Fashion Show. “When I got in [to NYU Shanghai], I saw a video of the Trash Fashion Show on YouTube and thought it looked really cool,” says Bonnie. For Pearl, the opportunity to be part of something unique was motivating. “It’s such a great way to get involved,” she shares.

“Ribs” features a black dress with exposed ribs made from wire, representing a connection between the past, present, and future. “Futurenaut” looks into the future, with elements like a telescope, goggles, and a jetpack made from tarp and plastic bottles and touches of green to represent renewable energy. “We didn’t cut the bottles up, so they could be easily recycled again after the show,” explains Tristan, underscoring the group’s mindfulness in their process.

Describing the trio’s conceptual process, Pearl insightfully shares, “You can’t have the future without the past–you have to look into the past to understand what will happen in the future. That’s why we created two designs. As for “Ribs,” it represents that if we continue using and using excessively, all we will be left with are bare ribs.” The team faced challenges like time management, and restarting one design only days before the show. “It was a bonding experience,” says Tristan, reflecting on the late nights spent working together. Bonnie adds, “It’s not about winning, it’s about the journey.”

“We had a lot of fun with it, and I think it showed with the final products. I would 100% do this again next year,” says Pearl.

Ariel Jiang (class of 2026) and Catherine (Cathy) Rong (class of 2026) were similarly inspired by the past with their design “The Paper Era.”

For designer and model Ariel, inspiration came from a pile of newspapers at her grandma’s home. “When talking about the Trash Fashion Show, the first idea that came to me was utilizing newspapers, since I like the nostalgia and retro style it evokes.” According to Ariel, the newspapers represent stories of the past, while the long dress indicates the length of our history.

In describing their unique approach, Ariel shares, “We felt that a lot of groups worked off of a prototype, but we just figured things out as we went along.” Though they had planned to create a ruffled skirt from the newspapers, time constraints led to a different result, but they were still pleased with the outcome.

For Ariel, the experience made her aware of the second life of materials forgotten and stashed away in odd corners: “I was astonished that my grandma had so many newspapers. I realized there are potentially many other overlooked materials that can be repurposed. It feels great to know you can turn these ‘useless’ materials into fashion.”

Mahrukh Shaikh (class of 2025), a returning designer, created “Earth Metal” out of a mix of scrap fabrics and waimai bags to highlight the colors of the earth: bright, bold, and varied. “I wanted to use materials that would otherwise never be used again–I felt spare bottles are more easily recycled, but the fabric from the FabLab otherwise wouldn’t be used.” The bright green sash with a shiny finish symbolizes lush greenery with a futuristic twist, while the golden mesh face covering represents warm earth tones.

On her reason for participating, Mahrukh expresses, “I thought it’d be fun to create an outfit, because there are not many fashion design-related courses at NYU Shanghai, so the Trash Fashion Show gave me an end goal and motivation.” Mahrukh also reflected on the need for more sustainable solutions in future shows. “After the show ends, there is a chance a lot of the designs end up as trash again, since designers don’t know what to do with their outfits,” she points out. She suggests that future TFS themes could focus on more practical designs for daily wear, ensuring sustainability long after the event concludes.

Green Shanghai’s second Trash Fashion Show at the new Qiantan Campus was a stellar showcase of innovative art, sustainable approaches, and community involvement, driven by an unapologetically optimistic vision of the future. It’s a reminder that discarded materials have the potential for transformation and that fashion can inspire positive change in the future.

Winners

1st place: “Aphros”

2nd place: “Eye Consume”

3rd place: “Gaia”

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