A recent highschool graduate (Class of 2020), Carley used some of her down time during quarantine to reimagine unused regular household items into a beautiful, sustainable fashion line.
In addition to her dedication to creating a 12-item line, Carley also donates a tremendous amount of time to working with The Bridge, one of Recipric’s organizational partners. There, Carley has showcased her savviness through business strategy, hands-on project work, and overall collaborative spirit… Not to mention becoming a Gold Award Recipient through the Girl Scouts Heart of Pennsylvania for some of the work on site!
We are excited for Carley to join our Plexus of Individuals with Intention and look forward to the opportunity to elevate her work, and connect her with a network to help her vision come alive.
Goal 12 is my favorite SDG because it relates most to the work I do. I am all about recycling and reusing everything and giving things that people consider ‘waste’ a new purpose. I believe we should really try and limit out waste and I believe my work helps limit waste.
A note from Carley:
This sustainable fashion collection pushed me outside my comfort zone and made me try something new. I am debating on going back to traditional fabrics after this. I think one way I can change things up is to make less dresses next time and use some other designs, such as patterns for pants.
I started because I realized that I needed new clothes during the lockdown because I used all of my fabric to make masks. Since stores weren’t open, I had to start getting creative with the clothes I was making and the materials I was using. I want these clothes to basically say:
“You can wear anything. Anything can be reused and transformed.”
My dream job is to own my own business to teach people about creating. Among the offerings, I want to teach sewing classes, which is a dying art and a necessary life skill.
Carley (right) & Friend modeling part of the collection for their socially-distanced prom
Left: Magazine Dress
“The dress on the left is upcycled magazines. I took the magazines and cut them into strips and then weaved them together and into a dress. After that, I took two strips and I added them to the shoulder to make a strap. Then, I made a flower out of the magazines and added it as an accent. The matching clutch and corsage were accessories for our prom event.”
Right: Duct Tape Dress
“I started by layering the duck tape to create strips, similar to the magazine strips to resemble fabric. The top and bottom are separate pieces and are decorated with rhinestones. I love this dress because of the asymmetrical pattern and matching clutch!”
the full collection
Scroll to see the amazing pieces and guess what everyday household items were recycled to make each piece. Details below.
(described in order that they appear)
VHS Tapes: “I loved watching VHS tapes as a child. So for this outfit I took apart the VHS tapes. The top is made out of the reels and the bottom skirt is layers of film.”
Toilet Paper: “The top of the dress has 136 hand made toilet paper roses. I thought this dress would be a funny way to make toilet paper beautiful.”
Homework: “I wanted to capture the moment in time. I wanted to remember that it was my senior year and summer time when I made this collection. So I made all my assignments and test into a sundress.”
Coffee Filters: “I love love love Coffee. I wanted to make a wedding dress out of the coffee filters that was fitted and modern since white is such a clean and pure color.”
Phone Books: “I feel like phone books are a thing of the past, but they still waste a lot of paper. I created a dress with flowy layers. I weaved the top and then I added a flower belt!”
Trash Bags & Grocery Bags: “I took a defective trash bag and a few old grocery bags. I cut the Trash bags into pants and cut the grocery bag into a bandaeu. I wanted to have at least one pair of pants in this collection to give it a different look.”
Playing Cards: My family plays cards at every event. We had a lot of old packs of cards laying around my house and many decks were missing some cards. I took all the misfit packs and turned them into a ball gown.”
Gum Wrappers & Balloons: “The gum wrappers were donated to me by a friend and I thought that they could become a fun skirt. Since the skirt was so colorful I thought that it needed balance with a dull top. The top is made from white balloons.”
Coke Caps & Straws: “Straws should not be used because they are harmful to the environment, so I wanted to make a skirt to symbolize that. I made a top out of plastic soda bottle caps because they also cannot be recycled in my town.”
Raffle Tickets: “This is a two-piece. The top is a Bandeau and then I did texture layers on the front and made a basic cocktail skirt. I thought this outfit was the perfect close to the collection because it represents my work, a gamble… because people may or may not like it!”
Follow Carley: @c_furlow01
