Colorado State University students exploring the principles of design in apparel and merchandising combined their creativity with sustainability for one of the foundational assignments: create a wearable garment out of recycled materials.

Their group projects from the course AM 130: Design Foundation-Apparel and Merchandising, taught by Design and Merchandising Professor Diane Sparks, are on display in CSU’s Gustafson Gallery. The stunning and often surprising results are a part of the “Recycled Design Exhibit: An Exhibition of Undergraduate Ingenuity.”

Sustainable garment art

Car seat belts and an old umbrella; a lampshade and coffee filters; a mop and burlap; a shower curtain and magazine pages; doilies and CDs; nylon stockings, pop tops, and plastic bags; and landscape fabric and a pink curtain are just some of the unlikely combinations that are transformed into sustainable garment art.

There is no sewing involved. Instead, the students use duct tape, hot glue, staples, wire, or whatever they can think of to assemble the recycled materials.

Students, family members, faculty, and the community attended an exhibit opening to celebrate the young designers. Check out the video to see what tomorrow’s apparel designers have to say about their creations.

Video by Marissa Isgreen and Gretchen Gerding

Gustafson Gallery

If you can, come and see the designs in person. The Gustafson Gallery is located in room 318 of the Gifford Building at 502 West Lake Street on the CSU campus. Hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Admission is free. “Recycled Design Exhibit: An Exhibition of Undergraduate Ingenuity” will be up until April 13.

The Gustafson Gallery is under the umbrella of the Avenir Museum of Design and Merchandising, part of the Department of Design and Merchandising in CSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences.

Photos from the “Recycled Design Exhibit: An Exhibition of Undergraduate Ingenuity.”