Who said you can’t be fashionable and green? Without sacrificing style and glam, Chicago students put on an innovative eco-runway show called “Project Greenway” in April.  It proved to to be a successful endeavor, and shows you can definitely be eco-friendly, while still staying fabulously up-to-date with the latest fashion. With fancy lights, a great space, and an enthusiastic set of workers, we all put on a great show! But before I tell you more about the marvelous event, let’s rewind. . . and go back to the beginning.

Way back in September of 2010, I attended my first ACE leadership training in Chicago. There I might ACE educators and leaders, Sophie and Leah.  I was deeply inspired to influence the public on how eco-friendly, fashion can be. I wanted to tell the world, “you don’t have to dress as a hippie or give up your unique style, in order to save the environment!”

Dressing green and economically smart can be a fresh, invigorating experience! My target audience was be the youth, particularly high school students, in hope of creating a new generation of green activism. The desired outcome of the runway show, was to attract, inform, and inspire.

I finally came up with the idea of holding a fashion runway show and Eco-Art largely focusing on environmentalism and sustainability of resources. The next step was bringing this idea to reality! Icreated a small planning committee to help me plan such a large event. The individuals I would then choose had to both have a large interest in environmentalism as well as knowledgeable about the fashion world. My official planning committee consisted of Jessie Sierra Calderones Recinos and Violet Gallardo, along with myself.

Planning first consisted of gathering youth fashion designers and models. By youth, I mean high schoolers. This whole event was focused on empowering the youth voice and strengthening everyone’s talents. Project Greenway was created by a few high students for the sake of bringing awareness to more high school students. Since this was a city event, the planning committee aimed  to invited participants from high schools throughout the Chicagoland area, not just one!

Fast forward seven months of careful planning, and the day of the event finally arrived. In total we had 17 different high schools around the Chicago area participate in the runway show. Several students represented their high school, either by being a model, fashion designer, or both. Within the runway show, there  was also a competition, based on how fashionable and ‘green’ the outfit was. The contest was split into two categories: vintage and actual recycled items.

The first grand prize winner of the recycled items category was Kayla Lubicz representing Maine South High School. She was both the fashion designer and model of her original dress, created from recycled neck-ties sewn all together! Then the grand prize winner of the vintage category was Tremanda Pewitt, who designed a vintage outfit modeled by her brother, DeVontei Shakur .

Alongside with the winners, were many other talented young designers. Each and every design was unique, showcasing personality and style! For our first ever runway show, with the help of ACE Chicago educators, we were able to get an audience of at least 75 people. Next year, we hope to make it even bigger and better. And remember. . . you can still LOOK GREAT while being Eco-friendly. It’s another great way to save the environment, one step at a time.

Click here to see more amazing photos from this night to remember!