East Sustainable Fashion Show

Nothing is as captivating or inspiring as a fashion show. But one that is entirely student-run, student designed, student-produced, and student-modeled?

Oh, and it is all stunning sustainable innovation with reused and repurposed materials. Welcome to the East Sustainable Fashion Show. 

The Sustainable Fashion Club hosted the fashion show on the night of February 18th in the foyer of the school. The show featured a panel of guest judges; most being professionals in the fashion wo

rld of Denver, as well as designers, models, makeup artists, photographers, directors, helpers and, of course, a lovely audience of friends and family. It ran for over an hour. 

The Sustainable Fashion Club is one of many clubs at East High School that caters to a unique passion of students and shows how amazing things can happen when a community comes together. The fashion community here is no exception. With 64 members of the show this year, the club is filled with talented, vibrant, and hardworking students from all different backgrounds. But it's not just any fashion show.

Today’s fashion industry is highly unsustainable, with 50,000 tons of microfibers being released into the oceans every year (Ellen Mac Arthur Foundation) and 215 trillion liters of water (Quantis). Furthermore, the industry contributes to 10% of carbon dioxide emissions, 20% of industrial wastewater pollution globally (WEF). 60% of materials are polyester and plastics and 85% of products end up in landfills (UNEP, UNECE). The economy is linear: material, production, waste; the industry is polluted by unethical working practices and low-to-nothing wages. 

But East students are determined to reimagine fashion. “It is very important to be conscious of your impact environmentally, especially when creating something often used in consumerism,” says Toby Mitchell, one of the club presidents. Toby emphasizes buying less, and prioritizing longevity over trends when shopping. Other ways we can be more sustainable with our fashion are buying clothes second-hand, taking care of our possessions so they last longer, and donating clothes when we are ready to say goodbye. 

Dr. Overby, the club sponsor and an art teacher at East, promotes the club by helping people see what sustainable clothing actually looks like. “We talk a lot about sustainability in the club and how to repurpose clothing and fabric,” Overby says. She also mentions collaborating with the Sustainability Club, who supports the show and uses it to communicate their message as well.

Students preparing for the Sustainable Fashion Show, February 18th

The fashion club started when a former student of Overby’s expressed interest in sharing their fashion-passion with others at East. When asked why sponsor such a club, she responded, “I hope that students feel confident that they can express themselves and that their voice matters.”

The process is no small feat, but the impact seems to be incredibly worth the sweat and tears student designers put into the show. “Anybody can create, especially fashion,” Toby said. “[Students], too, have the ability to make clothes.” 

Additionally, the club feeds off group-project psychology, with positive interdependence forming a community of belonging. It teaches students to have individual accountability and responsibility, and buy into the life skill of understanding that we do well, if we all do well. “This is a team,” Overby reflected, “It took the designers, and the models, and the makeup artists, and the photographers, and the behind the scene stuff to make that show.”

Toby is a junior, as well as other co-president Gwennan Holloway and many of the designers and models. What happens to clubs like these when we start graduating?

“After I leave, I hope that the club is still thriving and still teaching our younger people to manifest their creativity into something,” Toby says. “Their choices on what they wear and what they buy impact so much more than they could ever imagine.”