By John Cornicello
Studio Photographer
The RE Store’s Trash Fashion Show
Seattle ~ 2010
I’ve known Robin Worley for around 10 years now. When she first moved to Seattle from Hawaii I was one of her supporters in starting a new business called “Nothing New” in Wallingford that was a shop selling trash fashions and other items made from recycled materials. Since then I have photographed many of her shows in the Seattle area, plus some in Olympia and Eugene, Oregon.
I’ve always been impressed by the designs and cleverness, but the last two years have brought things to an even greater level with some stunning designs and fresh new talent. The popularity has also grown immensely. I remember early shows that The RE Store sponsored in Fremont and Ballard. They were more like small parties, where now there were two sellout shows (550+ people) attending on one evening.
It is hard to select a favorite, but from The RE Store’s 2009 show, I like Rebeka Ginda’s blue shower curtain dress and the yellow Marie Antoinette piece by Remixa Plastique (Jen Girard). For this year I had many favorites, including Rebecca Maxim’s steam punk inspired creation, a black and tan outfit featuring QFC grocery bags, and Nic Griffin’s hoop skirt piece.
In the past, I would have had some issues with photographing these creations using film and all the chemicals involved, but digital photography feels more in line with recycling, reusing the same memory cards and sharing most images online instead of having them printed out.
See more of John’s photos
Visit the Recycled Art Program and learn more about the The RE Store’s annual Recycled Arts and Trash Fashion Show