The creative mind is one that fabricates beautiful things out of the most meager resources. From recycled plastic, bottle caps and straws, to scraps of wood and acrylic pieces, University of the Philippines-Cebu’s third year Product Design students, Lyanna San Pedro and Jay Chadly Pulan, aim to give life to pieces we once neglected as trash.

Osiris

Since her win during the Aboitiz Green Fashion Revolution stint for her collection of accessories, 20-year-old Lyanna San Pedro has ventured on the path of jewelry making. She recalls that in class, during the conceptualization of one of her designs, her goal was to always innovate materials and give it an aesthetic rebirth.

Lyanna San Pedro’s Osiris collection of earrings were created purely from scraps and trash the Fine Arts-Product Design student picked up.

Her earrings collection Osiris is made up of different pieces, unified by the essential ingredient of recycled materials. From Egyptian mythology, Osiris is the god of resurrection, transition and regenerations–which Lyanna believes encompasses the essence of her design.

The earrings collection made from scrap materials and 50% plastic is a rebirth of the tons and tons of scraps and trash she found in places she frequented. Machineries in her university also helped her make use of the scraps through the process of grinding and pressing for plastic, which then allowed her to play with different shapes and materials in her collection.

The rightmost pair is Lyanna’s personal favorite rom her collection, which is also her first ever prototype.

The spring and summer collection was inspired by Lyanna’s childhood memory of the local borloloy, a Tagalog slang for fashion accessories. These are colorful pieces of jewelry, such as bracelets, necklaces and earrings, that one would wear at church on Sundays or for special events. 

Her favorite piece, though nameless, holds a special place in her heart as it is her first ever prototype. She also took the time to develop such a piece, adding one piece after another until she found the design complete. No wonder it had become her go-to accessory when she went out.

Lyanna finds her earrings collection unique, aside from her advocacy for a zero waste lifestyle, because she also takes pride in its creation. Her creative eye was put to the test in order to take in junk and transform them into a one-of-a-kind product. With bits and pieces of lace, buttons, worn out pearls, acrylic, scrap fabric and a dash of creativity, Lyanna gave birth to the Osiris collection through the the rebirth of what many had considered trash.

Foliosa

One look at the at 22-year-old Jay Chadly Pulan’s designs, and you wouldn’t think they were made straight out of recycled plastic bags of different shapes, sizes and colors. Giving in to her inner diva, she translated the styles of Lady Gaga and Beyonce into her trashion (trash + fashion) pieces.

Jay Chadly Pulan used heat to melt the color of the plastics she had collected, putting them all together into one sheet that she then used to cut out patterns.

The collection is named after the coral specie folios, as the composition depicts the abstract formation of ruffles and waves in corals. By fusing plastics through heat pressing and ironing, Jay collected at least two large bags containing varied types of plastic–bags, caps and straws, among others–and ironed it into a big sheet that she then formed patterns with. Jay went on to buy heels from a thrift shop, and experimented its form using scraps of wood to form the unique arched shape of the heels in the piece.

Jay sees her designs as a unique venture into sustainable and environmentally friendly trashion concept, as it resulted in an avant-garde piece. This is a unique take on clothing made from recycled materials, which usually focuses on the creation of ball gowns and ternos. The technique of using heat and fusing the colors to come off into an off-white color makes this Fine Arts student stand out.

The Foliosa shoes were created from a pair that Jay had bought at a thrift store, then experimented with using the plastics.

Calling out to budding artists in the local art scene of Cebu like her, Jay says that anyone can create a perfect design. What sets a good designer apart, however, is the advocacy they are supporting through their designs. In Jay’s case, she hopes for zero waste in the fashion industry. 

Jay aims to add to her collection more fine, sustainable and environmentally friendly pieces in the coming months, and visualizes that the future of the fashion industry, and that of her projects, will venture into new technology that would develop motion on dresses.

The concept of fast fashion has come about in this generation, which has proved to leave polluting footprints. Some clothes literally just end up in landfills after they go out of style.

However, with efforts like this, the future of the local fashion scene looks promising. New ideas, like those of these art students, show that fashion doesn’t have to focus just on aesthetics. Instead, they also put heavy thought on how to reduce waste in the industry of fashion, without compromising their art.