This is a guest post from Stephanie Greene (who certainly lives up to her last name), a Senior at Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago, the writer of the blog All Worn Out and an ACE Action Team member. 

Having just returned from the land of the green mountains, also known as Vermont, I have been thinking about what it really means to “go green.” Not like dense, Vermont mountain green, but environmentally green. Yeah, riding your bike is cool, eating locally sourced food is pretty hip, and recycling is just the thing that you do regularly now. But, the ultimate sign (in my fashion-minded opinion) that you’re committed to minimizing your impact on this world is changing the way you dress. Going and dropping a few dollars here and there might not seem like a big deal, but ever-changing trends ensure a constant flow of not-so-stylish waste.

The Alliance for Climate Education is doing its part in hosting the annual Project Greenway fashion show and encouraging students to design and create garments from recycled materials. Lucky for you, we were able to score a few pre-show interviews with some of the designers.

First, we have Saul Rodriguez. Saul is a junior at North-Grand High School and one of this year’s veteran designers. Having participated in Project Greenway last year, Saul knows the ups and downs of the design-to-garment process: “Some of the few things that I learned along the way was that tape is truly your best friend when coming to making outfits made out of plastic.” This year, Saul created a classic Victorian style dress with a tight bodice and full, floor-length skirt. Looking at the dress, you wouldn’t even know that it is made out of plastic bags, clothes picked up from the thrift store, paper, and other recyclable material. Any young lady (or young gent) that favors blasts from the past will absolutely love Saul’s dress.

The next impressive design comes from pair of eighth graders at Whitney Young High School, Sophia Reece and Lauren Delgado. These two are young, but don’t let their youth fool you; they have talent beyond their years. They are using items that teenagers use everyday to make their dress like “recycled ties, plastic bags, candy wrappers, chip bags, newspapers, magazine ads and old jeans.” Their dress is one that any girl would gladly wear out to the school dance or hip party. The colorful swaths of “fabric” make for a dress that is sure to catch anyone’s eye. Of their inspiration, Sophia says, “We used our personal style and wanted to design things that we personally would actually wear. We also got inspiration from the runway because we wanted to create cheaper, eco-friendly versions of what we saw.” I think it’s safe to say that this dress will definitely rock the runway.

Our third designer, Symone Baskerville, hails from the sophomore class at Kenwood Academy High School. Unlike her counterparts, Symone is creating a three piece look complete with an oversized sweater, leggings, and hat — definitely a look that is keeping up with the trends. Though this is a look that we could see any teenage girl wearing today, Symone says, “ I was inspired by of lot of older fashion like the 1950’s as well as inspiring music artist like Katy Perry.” The older the inspiration, the hipper the creation. Her outfit will be made out of bottle caps and playing cards. Be sure to keep an eye out for this modern day outfit with a throwback twist.

Last, but certainly not least, we have Grace Jentsch from Random Lake High School. Grace, a high school sophomore, is saving quite a few plastic bags from flying in the wind as plastic bags are the basis of her dress. She says, “The inspiration for the dress was actually from many places, like my closet.” If that’s the case, we know that Grace must have one awesome wardrobe. Her dress has a full, fringe skirt and an open back, but the bow and crocheted bodice keeps it classy. Grace adds, “I love tutus so they inspired the skirt and my grandmas inspired me to crochet part of it.” Nothing like a little familial inspiration. Watch out for her ballerina-gone-rogue dress as it makes it’s way down the runway.

Well, that’s all for now. I hope you all are as excited as I am for this fashion show. I think we all know, fashion and environmentalism are the perfect combo for creating a stylishly green world. See you all at Project Greenway 2013!