Meow Wolf hosted its second Absolute Rubbish Trashion Show on April 30 in Meow Wolf’s Perplexiplex. Inspired by Earth Day, 22 designers showed innovative ways to repurpose found items and secondhand materials and turn them into high fashion ensembles, under the central theme “Bloom.”
Though this show was in celebration of Earth Day, sustainable repurposing is a central part of Meow Wolf’s mission all year round.
READ: What You Missed at Meow Wolf’s “Absolute Rubbish: A Trashion Show.”
“Meow Wolf is a B Corp, and part of that is holding ourselves to a high standard when it comes to sustainability, so we wanted to go all out to celebrate the Earth,” Kate Major, Meow Wolf’s Costume Designer and the brains behind Absolute Rubbish said. “Upcycling and repurposing is also an integral part of Meow Wolf’s history and what better way to give reverence to that than with walking, talking, wearable ART that is hopefully an accessible inspiration to the community to re-use more.”
This time around, 22 designers including Major, showed one intricate piece, crafted from secondhand materials, found items, and — of course — garbage.
The show was hosted by 9News Entertainment Anchor Erica Lopez, who wore an ensemble made from materials from the night’s sponsor, Southwest Airlines. Southwest Airlines provided secondhand materials including seat leather to Major and the Meow Wolf team through their Repurpose with Purpose (R program.
Celebrating its 10 anniversary this year, Repurpose with Purpose allows artists and makers to breathe new life into material that would otherwise be discarded into the landfill.
The rest of the show’s designers took up this very same mission, crafting unexpected pieces from unconventional materials.
Adobe Darko
Designer of Adobe Darko, Chaim Bellinsky, who also kicked off last season’s Trashion Show with a look made entirely of IKEA frisbees, opened this show with a look that seemingly exists in the same universe — except, instead of frisbees, the dress was made of five gallon buckets and lids from Home Depot. The skirt of the dress was crafted with 21 fully functional clocks, playing off Bellinsky’s theme, “Once Upon A Time” and symbolizes the interconnectedness of all things.
The resulting look, enhanced by the model’s stark-white hair and accessories, was somehow incredibly dreamy, a testament to Bellinsky’s ability to enchant audiences with decidedly non-enchanting materials.
Reyna Jane
Reyna Jane‘s “Futuristic Flippin N’ Reversin‘” design is a bold and innovative interpretation of the theme combining elements of music, fashion, and technology.
Utilizing unconventional materials such as broken CDs, trash bags, duct tape, old magazines, and cords, Jane showed a visually striking ensemble that challenged traditional perceptions of haute couture to create a vibe that, in her world, is a clash between “Missy Elliot and Matrix Couture.” Jane achieved this near-impossible collision by using unconventional materials in a decidedly conventional and high-fashion silhouette, including a tiered skirt and sky-high shoulder pieces.
Eliza Vlasova
Eliza Vlasova‘s “Green Tide” design made a powerful statement on environmental sustainability, using defective tulle salvaged from bridal veil manufacturing.
The ensemble embodied the concept of a “green tide” overtaking oceans, with the model draped in “algae,” symbolizing environmental degradation. Through repurposing discarded materials, Vlasova highlighted the importance of recycling in fashion and the wastefulness of the bridal industry in particular, prompting reflection on our relationship with the environment and the role of sustainability in the industry.
Brie Kole Fashun Intents
“FASHUN INTENTS” is an ongoing collection of designs crafted from discarded tent fabrics. This particular look draws inspiration from model and muse Michy, blending a traditional Jamaican dress with mountain aesthetics — including bright colors, ruffles and a larger-than-life handbag.
The design aims to convey the resilience of LGBTQIA2S+ individuals, finding love in unlikely places despite facing discrimination and hate. The body of work is dedicated to shedding light on and providing support to queer youth in crisis, offering them the opportunity to flourish and thrive.
SKYE|AIRE
Designer of Skye Aire, Skye Barker Maa, created a look titled “Back Alley,” was made entirely out of coat hangers. A fully red ensemble, the coat hangers splayed out from the model’s body and shoulders, reminiscent of feathers on a bird.
Striking, innovative, and decidedly high-fashion, Skye Aire’s Absolute Rubbish look represented the impossible notion that the show was built on: taking items that are seemingly rubbish and crafting something that makes these items almost unrecognizable.
Madbell
With “My Fair Lady,” as the inspiration, Madbell invited the audience into a world where creativity knows no bounds. Constructed from black-and-white type found in newspapers, magazines, and other paper forms, Madbell created a proper gown reminiscent of Victoria-era fashion.
Complete with a ruffled petticoat, flower adornments and a hat that would strike envy in any Kentucky Derby spectator, Madbell’s creation was a magnificent display of sustainable repurposing.
Blue Muze
“Madame Le Fleur has bubbled from her swampy waters as a bold, bright and lively creature, full of curiosity and whimsy, reminding us to always show up like we are in our own Spring Day Parade.”
These words introduced Blue Muze’s design, made of bubble wrap, plastic bags, coffee filters and 6-pack can holders — in other words, the exact rubbish that pollutes our oceans and harms our oceanic wildlife. Complete with LED-lit tentacles and bubble wrap jellyfish dangling from the model’s umbrella, the floral masterpiece was a spectacular display of color and joy while still reminding audiences of the dangers of pollution.
Kelter Kenna
Kelter Kenna‘s look, called “Chlorophyta by Consumption,” was made entirely of thermal printed receipts, representing fast fashion consumerism and its harmful effects on the planet.
The receipts were fashioned in an open-knit style with floral squares making up the skirt, combining the popular crochet style with the nautical vibes of a fisherman’s net. To enhance the mystical aspect of this look, the model hula-hooped down the aisle, contributing to an altogether dreamy and flowing vibe.
Andrea Fischer
Andrea Fischer’s “Garbage Girly” combines resources from all sorts of trash. In Fischer’s words, this ensemble was inspired by all of the plastic bags stuck in trees, sad birthday balloons and dog poop bags left on the mountain trails.
And though the look’s inspo is less-than-glamorous, Garbage Girly is a sassy and fun figure, dressed in tulle leg warmers and a teeny tiny crop top. In a move that would make Elle Woods proud, Garbage Girly was joined on the runway by a dog crafted from plastic and other found material
Too Much Apparel
The inspiration behind Too Much Apparel‘s “Don’t Forget To Bloom” comes from perhaps the most unconventional use of bloom used at Absolute Rubbish: the patience required to bloom the coffee grounds while making pour-over coffee.
The look is inspired by pouring a little bit of water over coffee grounds, giving them a time to bubble up and release the full flavor of the grounds before adding more water. As a result, Too Much Apparel’s look was made complete with a tea kettle, a coffee filter back piece and enough earthy neutrals to spread a warm and comforting vibe the entire way down the runway.
Your Gal Kiwi
Your Gal Kiwi used paper scraps, old magazines, fishing line, and baking plastic to create a look called “It Rhymes With Envy.”
This envy-based ensemble was inspired by the hundreds of hours the designer spent looking at magazines during her formative years, longing to better fit the prescribed mold of the average teenage girl. As such, the look seemed to be a rebellion against the conventions of femininity: featuring an A-line silhouette (that intentionally hid the model’s natural form) and chunky combat boots, the focus was instead drawn toward the intricate mosaic design of the dress.
Nick Rose
Nick Rose dedicated his “Eternal Petals Bloomed” to the loss of loved ones and the love of mothers. Made from books, cans, aluminum foil, bags, and soda tabs, Rose’s look represented the idea that loss and grief doesn’t always have to be sad: instead, those who are grieving can take comfort in the beauty that lost ones give us in the after, that helps us to heal and bloom into fierce, fabulous, and ferocious beings.
And “fierce, fabulous, and ferocious,” are all words that could be used to describe Rose’s design for Absolute Rubbish. The model took the form of a rose, with a floral headdress and an intricate cape of vines and embroidered roses.
VVyrmsign
VVyrmsign’s “How To Bloom In The Dark” was an aptly-named dark interpretation of the night’s theme.
Made from discarded advertising vinyl, bicycle inner tubes and plastic take-away containers, the look was inspired by night-blooming botanical shapes. The resulting look, complete with an exo-skeleton along the back, was also reminiscent of the creepy crawlies that might explore these night-blooming botanicals. Paired with an extravagant train and sleek heels, this look was equal parts menacing and sexy, dark and striking.
Kate Major
Kate Major kicked off the second half of the show with three looks, made from repurposed materials provided by Southwest Airlines. These looks, all titled “Executive Travel” were inspired by the Neo-Victorian era, though maybe not in the way the audience might expect.
Instead, the pieces were risqué in their own right using bustles and exaggerated shoulders and skirts to create unique silhouettes. Not one to ignore a theme, Major incorporated intricate flower petals and giant flower shapes to demonstrate that even the most unexpected of materials can bloom in their own right.
EA Creative
EA Creative‘s “Next Day Delivery,” served as an unsettling — thought aesthetically pleasing — reminder of the destruction that comes with blooming into an era where Amazon Prime is king and 1-day delivery reigns supreme.
As such, EA Creative’s look incorporated packaging from online orders, fashioned into a jumpsuit and helmet fit for a dirt bike champion. However depressing EA Creative’s inspiration may be, the resulting look demonstrated a clear path forward: may we all use our future packaging to create an outfit for the tough baddies we dream to be.
Being Things
Being Things crafted their “Litter Lion” out of synthetic material and plastic bits. Inspired by the lion fish in the tropical discovery exhibit at the Denver Zoo, the look mimicked the fish’s iconic striping.
This striping — paired with sky high platform stilettos — created a dreamy and otherworldy vibe, as the model appeared to float down the runway. Fittingly, all the materials used to create this look were sourced from the Denver Zoo.
SLYNN
SLYNN‘s “Tóxica” was inspired by dangerous plant life. In SLYNN’s words, “Although very beautiful and often visually alluring, they can be deadly when encountered.”
This dangerous beauty was aptly represented in the brightly colored and intricately patterned ensemble, made from recycled cardboard and paper. SLYNN showed their inspiration through the model’s transition down the runway, revealing jewel-toned wings and an ivy and vine tail halfway through their walk. These two distinctive looks reminded audiences that some things are not always what they seem.
K Works & Kristi Siedow-Thompson
“Veiled in Vinyl,” designed by K Works collaborating with Kristi Siedow-Thompson, gave new life to vinyl pulled from discarded billboards. With sparkling fringe and arcing antennae, the look was at first sophisticated and high-brow.
Halfway down the runway, the fringed skirt was removed, revealing a cotton-candy-colored mini skirt and bright pink thigh high boots. The transformation was dynamic, ever-moving and chaotic in the most high fashion way. And this chaos was totally intentional — inspired by the story of collaboration to strive for something greater than oneself.
As K Works put it, “Growth is messy and dynamic and sexy as hell.”
Tokiprism
Tokiprism presented “Sakura Saisei,” made entirely from Japanese newspaper and candy wrappers. Translating to “rebirth of the flower,” Sakura Saisei paid homage to the designer’s Japanese heritage and strived to highlight the subtle beauties in Asian culture.
Though the designer used muted colors and delicate florals, the final look was anything but subtle. Instead, the asymmetrical paper jumpsuit was highly accessorized with fan, scarves, chunky boots and an intricate hairpiece, making for an altogether striking and powerful tribute to Japanese culture.
AB Jones
AB Jones highlighted the importance of bees in the world’s ecosystem with their look “Bees for the Garden.”
To make this ensemble, Jones used dryer sheets and manilla envelopes to craft a waving skirt and corset-like top — playing into traditional silhouettes with nontraditional materials. This skirt was then transformed into a cape for the model, decorated with brightly colored flowers. This transformation brought Jones’ inspiration to life, demonstrating the necessity of bees for colors and dynamism of the environment.
Moss Lair
Moss Lair‘s “Midnight Metamorphosis,” was, in their words, inspired by queer and trans expression. Moss Lair brought this central inspiration to life by leaning into the strange and unusual — that which is, in their words is, “dark, romantic, and beautiful.”
As such, Moss Lair used a variety of unexpected materials, including black trash bags, string, yarn, newsprint, coffee filters, and cloth scraps, plastics from food containers, secondhand curtains and blankets, tent stakes, broken cords and phone cables. The resulting look was both striking and provocative, including crocheted horns and an open-chest shirt, as well as wings, spikes and ruffled bloomer-style pants. In other words, Moss Lair did exactly what they set out to do: present a thought-provoking ensemble that was both dark and beautiful.
Mold Space
Mold Space wrapped up the show with a look that inspires the unsettling feeling where you just can’t look away with their “Carnivore,” design. Inspired by carnivorous plants, Carnivore questions the separation between plant and animal. As Mold Space describes it, “Luring in its victims with bright colors and sweet digestive enzymes, it poses a threat we rarely associate with anything that blooms.”
Made from salvaged fabrics, bottles and clear plastic, the resulting look — paired with the model’s high-energy stomp down the runway — was a powerful and dynamic end to the Meow Wolf Trashion Show. If anything, this somewhat terrifying look helped the audience imagine a world where plants, scorned for decades by the thoughtlessness of the human race, come back to seek revenge against those damaging the planet.
Photos by Robins Photography & Lauren Lippert