Taking recycled clothing to a new eco-friendly level with Gary Harvey

Gary Harvey and model in Weleda Packaging Dress

“Too many garments end up in landfill sites. They are deemed aesthetically redundant and get discarded at the end of the season, when there are often years of wear left”. ~ Gary Harvey

We are just about to enter into one of my favorite times of the year – spring. I just love everything about it flowers blooming, the sun stays out a bit later, and clothing takes on a new feel. Hmmm, speaking of clothing taking on a new feel, I was invited to a Green Fashion Show, billed as “Fashion with a conscience”; with designer Gary Harvey. This was a collection inspired by refined elegance, drama and proportion one would find in vintage couture. Best of all, each garment was made entirely from recycled clothing.

After days of viewing days of haute couture (can I say again how much I love Naeem Khan!!), I was really interested in what would be on this eco-runway.

The collection was designed to challenge people’s perception of second-hand clothing by re-contextualizing iconic everyday garments and creating dramatic new silhouettes to create Eco-Couture fashion. Well it was…interesting to say the least.

Each piece created was totally unique – truly one of a kind. There is a Denim dress made of 42 pairs of Levi 501’s; a Military Dress made of 28 army jackets; “Mac dress” 18 trench coats; Silk scarves dress made out of 50 pink scarves knotted together; a Wedding dress made of 16 wedding dresses; Newspaper dress out of 30 copies of the Financial Times and the Weleda Packaging dress made of 350 packages of Weleda “skin food”. There are others including a wonderful “Funeral dress made of 14 1980’s little black cocktail dresses.

I don’t know if anyone will truly wear these, but I give him credit for reminding us that your clothes can have a second life, if you have a bit of imagination. If you are interested in seeing more, check out his site at www.garyharveycreative.com