- [Announcer] Keep Odessa Beautiful and Odessa Arts present the sixth annual Recycle Fashion Show.

(upbeat music) - Hello, good evening.

Welcome to Keep Odessa Beautiful sixth annual Recycle Fashion Show presented by Odessa Arts.

I am your co-host Tatum Guinn.

- And I am your other co-host Randy Ham.

It is no secret that Covid pandemic changed the way nonprofits operate and Keep Odessa Beautiful was no exception.

The contestants you will see in this program first entered the Recycle Fashion Show scheduled for October, 2020.

- Yes, we had a lot of phone calls, a lot of planning.

Oh hey, we're gonna hold on for a second.

Oh, wait it's back on.

Y'all know how the past two years really have gone, right?

- The last two years felt actually like a decade.

- Honestly, it did.

A lot of pivoting.

We've learned the art of the pivot.

You know, after several date changes and postponements, keep Odessa Beautiful Odessa arts, and event sponsors partnered with Base and PBS to film the show with some modifications - Few little ones.

- No more than three contestants are in the studio, and filming times are staggered to provide downtime for additional sanitizing.

- With our Covid protocols in place, the winner is you, the viewer.

We hope you enjoy the show.

Now, tonight let's meet our esteemed panel of judges.

- And we are so excited to introduce each of our judges tonight.

We'll start here as the curator for the Ellen Noel Art Museum, Daniel Zies is no stranger to fashion.

Having created the recent betrothed 250 years of bridal fashion.

Loved that exhibit.

- It was amazing.

It was like a whole cloud of white just envelops the Ellen Noel.

- Yes it did.

And hey you can go read about each of the looks on social media.

That was my favorite thing to do.

- Right.

- While that was in town.

And there was also the Hollywood fashions exhibits.

You can see his current exhibit Through the Looking Glass, the art of Alice in Wonderland at the Ellen Noel Art Museum through the end of this year.

Welcome to the show Daniel.

- Thanks for having me.

- Our next judge is no stranger to the Recycle Fashion Show.

He has served as a judge for the past two Recycle Fashion shows.

He's also very active in the Austin fashion scene.

He's created many, many capsule collections for Austin fashion week, and of course he served as a contestant on Project Runway, season 11 and Project Runway All Stars.

Please welcome back our dear friend, Daniel Esquivel.

Daniel, welcome.

Thank you so much for being here.

- Always a pleasure to be here.

Such an honor.

I'm so excited to see what they bring to the runway.

- And our final judge, Audrey DeLeon is the grants coordinator for the Odessa college foundation.

She has lived in Odessa since 2017, and is originally from Lubbock.

Audrey enjoys fashion shows like Project Runway, and Top Model, and is thrilled to be a part of Keep Odessa Beautiful's competition this year.

Audrey, welcome.

Thank you.

This is super exciting.

And oh my gosh to be in Project Runway royalty presence is awesome.

So thank you.

- All right, we've met our judges.

The designers are back there all ready to work the runway.

So let's start the show.

(upbeat music) - Well, Randy over the years that we have done this, I've got to say each year the designs are elevated.

But the designs this year, there is something to be said for the creativity that the designers have done.

- You are not kidding.

I mean last time that we did this over at the Marriott, when we saw that peacock dress, I thought how are they going to top this?

How are they gonna do any better?

I think we've hit the peak, and it's all downhill from there.

But no.

- no, no, no, no.

- They brought their A game again this year.

- And every year we've always had like one or maybe two pieces that are very memorable.

But this year I've got to say almost all of them are, they're all memorable and unique in their own way.

- Every single one of them is a home run.

I do not envy our judges because they have to pick the winners.

- Yes they do.

- We get to tell them that they're all great, but the judges have to tell everybody who's the winner.

- Yeah, they've got quite the task.

And while the judges narrow the field to narrow the field, I mean.

- I mean how can you even do that?

- I don't know.

We've got three winners from each category.

Let's I guess, take a second to introduce some of our designers.

- Yeah, we had a chance, or actually you had a chance to talk to the individual designers between runway shoots.

And so it'd be great to hear what they had to say.

- We've got Jennifer Lopez Martinez and Brittany Groze, y'all have been very busy.

Tell me about the materials used for this look.

- As a shirt, we use a recycled trash bin.

We used to have clothes inside of this, and after we donated it, we decided to recycle it.

For the skirt, we used paper that we folded together, and this is a recycled table cover.

For the heads, we made a balloon and we paper machete with paper.

- That's cool.

- And underneath here is a wire that we used to connect it.

And for the corset, we used cardboard and broken CD's that we painted.

- That is awesome.

So tell me the story of what was your inspiration for this look?

- Well, we looked online at some of the images, and we saw that they're usually like dramatic looks.

So we decided to go for dramatic look as well.

And so we were thinking about Hecate, the Greek goddess.

She represents power of femininity.

And that's where's the impression of this.

The heads, she appears in three forms, and the black to represent like power as well as red like evil.

And I relate to this look because I'm not always like just oh just a little girl who doesn't really do much.

I feel confident in myself.

And so I really wanted to represent this in the outfit.

- I love the skirt.

It's very Romanesque, if you will.

So like a warrior, you're ready to go put up a fight.

- Yes ma'am.

- Not, you're not gonna mess around.

Okay.

Let's get some judge feedback.

I would love to hear what y'all have to say.

Audrey, we'll start with you.

- I really like the colors.

I am a graduate of Texas Tech University, so red and black dear to my heart.

But I really liked that contrast of how you're saying the power color for red, and then black to be more of a warrior type strong.

I really liked the color choices.

- Daniel Esquivel.

- I love it.

And thank you for explaining to me earlier, what this, the name of this, you know, and it makes sense.

What I love is, I love everything about it from head to toe.

I'm all about the sculptural shoulders, the shoulder pieces of the two heads.

It makes sense now what it is.

I'm just a big fan of this because it's you know, everything, like you said about this character, this goddess, this Greek goddess it was.

I just think it's really, really cool.

Another thing is like, I loved how you walked down the runway in character.

Very strong warriesque or warrioresque.

Excuse my language.

But I love how you just, even, you could feel it when you walked down the runway.

I really dig the skirt, the Roman style skirt.

I think it's cool.

I think the skirt could be worn separately, like with a black turtleneck, you know, and I see how, you know, your inspiration from what your design is, and that I like to look at things and see how it can be worn on the street.

And it's giving me, you know, high street punk style too also, which I love.

I learned about that years ago, where you take something and then it's high street, and that skirt could be totally done with a leather jacket or a white blouse and a leather jacket.

I see a lot of things.

And actually I think the heads are really cool.

I actually would wear them.

I would actually wear the red heads, one on each shoulder.

I'm all about that too.

I love it.

- Daniel Zies.

- So, loved the sculptural part of it.

I also enjoy the different types of material that you used.

So you have like the garbage bag on top, which is kind of very soft and flowy versus the skirt, which is very rigid.

I like how that all kind of plays together with each other.

It's a great job.

- It's a very bold and again, powerful work.

Great job.

Let's get one last look.

(upbeat music) Of course we have another model and designer all in one, and one of our youngest contestants Madisson Carrasco, she is 11 years old and put together this entire look.

I love it.

Okay.

Madison, tell me about each of the pieces that you used, the materials you used for your design.

- Well, for the top, I used cotton and lights.

And then for the bottom, I had to use trash bags.

And the for slightly a bit of the top, I used duct tape to make it hold.

- Hold it all together.

Great job.

What was your inspiration?

I think weather, you know you've got stormy clouds, maybe some stars, or lightening.

- Yeah, that was my inspiration.

But the meaning behind the dress is abuse.

Because I had recently read a book about like how this person went through abuse, and how they cope with it and all that.

So the black part of the dress represents like the thunderstorm, the person having to go through it.

And then the top represents like them like kind of released from it.

So like this, cause this is like different color from this.

So this is like them in a better place.

And this represents like them not really in a good place from like constant abuse from their family or from drug abuse or like just the abuse overall.

- Sure.

Being in a dark place.

And there's always light at the end.

I love that.

It's so creative.

Fabulous job.

Okay, let's get judge input.

We'll start with Audrey.

- I really like the back of the dress.

I love how when you were, you almost seem to float to me just like a cloud, but when you turn the back kind of the train turned with you.

I really liked that.

And you just seem very mature for your age, with your inspiration.

So that was great for you to share with us.

Thank you.

- The story.

I love the stories behind each of the designs.

Daniel, let's get your input.

- Just because of your age, it's very, you're really way ahead of your time to me.

Because if you're perceiving things like this already, can you imagine what you're going to be doing next year, and the next year, and the next year.

Don't give up.

I am moved by this because I see the clouds, the lightness, then you see the darkness.

There's so much going on emotionally with this and you know, because of your age, dig the Doc Martens.

Yeah.

And then I love the blue that you did with your accessories.

That it's like almost like raindrops, almost tears to me.

And I love how you have actually the softness of the clouds and then the starkness, the hardness of the black.

You're way ahead of your time.

And I don't think you just, you don't know it yet, but it'll hit you.

I see it already in you.

And I see the creativity.

If you're doing this, like I said again, what's next.

And I'm looking forward to seeing that.

I will keep, I keep up with all of this with Randy.

So very, very proud of you, and do not take no for an answer.

- That's exactly right.

Okay, Daniel's Zies.

- So I love that you thought about every component of that outfit.

Like you were just explaining about, and also do like the contrast that you've done for like the top of the cotton and then the plastic, that was really smart.

- Very smart design and wonderful meaning behind it.

Good job.

Okay, let's get one last look at Madisson Carrasco's great design.

Of course we have another designer and model and that is Ivanna Hernandez, 13 years old.

One of our youngest contestants, and put together a beautiful piece.

First, tell me all of the materials that you used for this look.

- Well we used a newspaper, and a trash bag, and we stapled it together with tape.

And then we have CD's, and the water bottle caps, and cardboard of course.

- It's about the accessories, honey.

What was your inspiration?

How did you come up with this idea?

You had a lot of newspapers just laying around and thought hey, you know what, I could create something out of that.

Very creative.

How did you think of to break up the CD's, and then.

- My teacher helped me out.

- Your teacher helped you?

- Mm-hm.

- That's awesome.

Well, it is, you did a fabulous job.

Let's get some input from some of our judges.

We'll start with Daniel's Zies.

- Great job.

Love it.

I love your shape that your skirt actually makes with those newspapers.

It's not just like a plain skirt shape.

You got this nice kind of round shape with it.

And then all the folding that you did to achieve that shape.

And then I want to add too, is your purse usable?

- Could you use it?

- I think so.

- Yeah.

That's awesome.

- Very cool.

- Very cool.

- You did a great job.

Okay, Daniel Esquivel.

- Oh, divine.

I love a ball gown skirt, and I love a newspaper ball gown skirt.

It's very cool.

Your thought process being aged 13, and you're already doing something like this.

So the thing is, what's next with you?

What do you want to do when you're, I don't want to say when you grow up, 'cause you're already growing up.

What do you want to do in life?

- Be a teacher.

Be a teacher.

- Be a teacher.

What kind of teacher?

- Math teacher.

- Math.

- Mm-hm.

- Love it.

And my favorite, favorite part of this is the clip that you put in your hair.

- Thank you.

- That's genius.

It's thinking outside of the box literally, but I think it's a very cool vibe that you have there going, of course with a CD bustier.

That's cool.

Love the newspaper crossbody.

Is it just newspaper?

Or does it have a, is it a box you covered.

- Cardboard.

- what is the strap?

What is that?

- Oh it's just glue.

- Water bottle caps.

- Water bottle caps.

- Glued together.

- Okay.

Very clever.

Very clever.

Very cool.

I'm looking to see what you do next, you know, and don't take no for an answer when it comes to doing things in life, because it's obvious that you have a vision.

- Yeah, yeah, keep that up.

All right.

Audrey.

- I really just love the shape of the skirt, the gown part.

It's just awesome.

And I'm a nineties kid.

So the CD's speak to my heart very much.

So I really like how you incorporated that.

I don't think most people your age know what CDs are.

So that was really cool.

Keep up the good work.

- Thank you.

- You know I've got to ask tough questions here.

Have you ever listened to a CD before this?

You have?

She has.

We're doing something right.

Yay!

- I'm from the age of the cassettes and 8-tracks.

So.

- My very first thing I owned from my favorite artist was a cassette.

I remember.

- She doesn't know what that 8-tracks about.

I bet if we gave her some, she would create something really.

- She would create something out of it.

So creative.

Well, congratulations.

This is beautiful.

Let's go ahead and take one more look at the style created by Yvonne Hernandez.

Maria Tercero, fabulous job.

- Thank you.

- Tell me about the materials that you use to make that.

- Ah, yeah, I use that table, disposable tablecloths, and also the bags, the plastic bag that they gave us at the grocery stores when we went to shopping.

And I used it to do the flowers, and also the table cloths to do the whole dress.

- So we were talking a little bit before this, and you said that you cut it up and you made, you made your own yarn in a sense.

Yes.

How many hours?

How long did it take you to make that dress?

- I started making it three months ago, and yes.

And I worked four hours, four or five hours a day.

And it's the first one that I make like that.

So it was a little bit hard because I love to crochet, but it's different when you're working with something that technically you never wore before.

So yeah, I'm happy.

Think I did a good job on working on it.

- I think it was better than good.

- I thought I wasn't going to do good, so.

- Really?

- Yes, because I mean you know, it's plastic.

- Well, it is beautiful.

You did a fabulous job.

Let's get some input from the judges.

We'll start with Daniel Zies.. - It was very cool.

I love that I think you used like a traditional style of dress too, and then using these unconventional materials to do so.

That was awesome.

And I'm like, and I can't imagine the amount of hours it took to do all the stringing, all that stuff.

And then actually going back and crocheting those intricate pieces that you did.

So congratulations.

That's great.

- Thank you.

I appreciate it.

- You used to drive to Dallas to put together some of it.

- Yes.

- Four or five hours on the road.

- That's the reason how I can tell you that just to go one time around, it took me four hours.

- Wow.

- That amount of time.

- So yes, it was a lot of time.

- Daniel Esquivel.

- Wow.

- Thank you.

I don't have any words, but I do have it's wearable art.

And also to the beauty of what you're doing with the culture, and that you created, as Daniel said, the textile to make this, I actually could see a group of folkloric dancers, even performing in this.

I could see it.

I visualize it.

I think it would be beautiful to see, you know, it used with by Folkloric group, a dance company, you know, just even if it's just one person, you know, dancing Folkloric, whatever region, I think it is a beautiful, beautiful thing.

Also too, I feel highly, highly strong, that work of art that you just did should be traveled and be appreciated, like at places to show what we get rid of.

You know, have it be a grocery store or somewhere showing you know that, how much we know goes away that we don't use with plastic after it's discarded.

I think that's very, very important, but it's also very, very beautifully, and very well, handcraft.

From here to here, it looks like fabric.

It looks like, like broadcloth, beautifying bra.

It does not look like plastic.

So congratulations.

And hopefully some Folkloric troop would reach out to her, you know, and say, you know what let's tape make a tape, a video of a Folkloric dancer dancing in the skirt.

It would be beautiful.

- Thank you.

- Okay, we've heard from the judges.

Let's get one last look 'cause honestly we can't get enough of the beautiful design by Maria Tecera.

(upbeat music) One of my favorite parts about the recycled fashion show is when our designers are the models.

you're wearing your art.

And that is the case for Liliana Blanco.

Tell me about your design and all the materials that you used.

- Okay.

On the skirt, I used the Capri Sun pouches, and on the top I used the soda tabs from the cans.

I'll also uses a little bit of the bottle caps for the flowers, and most of the materials from the Capri Sun pouches.

And I added some on my shoe too.

- So cute.

- But I did a little spray paint that way the colors kind of combined.

- They all go together.

What made you think of using Capri Suns?

- Well I have two little boys that drink a lot of Capri Sun.

I probably use a box a day, and just realizing how much of that goes into the trash, I just thought of it.

I saw the event flyer, and I said maybe I could do something with this instead of just throwing it in the trash.

So this has been a collection of like past three months.

- Okay, we got the idea, the inside or the guests behind the fashion.

Let's get some judges takes on it.

We'll start with you Audrey.

- Yes.

The first word that came to my mind was just fun.

It made me think of like a really cool eighties prom dress for some reason, but I really like it.

And I like the story about your sons giving you some inspiration of materials to use.

Good job.

- Absolutely.

Okay.

Daniel Esquivel.

- Love, love, love, love, love.

That's what I wrote down on all of this.

This makes me happy.

And me being a sportswear designer, I instantly can see all of these broken down, and worn separately.

I can see you wearing one of these pieces, like the skirt to an event with just a silk camisole.

And, but it's just amazing.

I'm buying the headband for me before I leave.

Yeah.

I just think it's really, really cool.

And it's just very happy.

And this, you know what went through, what we've gone through, you know last year.

Things like this make me happy, and this is very happy.

- It is happy.

And don't you just love when you see these pieces walk down and you're like, I can actually incorporate that into real life.

It's not just something fun that you would see just on the runway.

You can wear it, with the ready to wear, if you will.

- Ready to wear.

Ready to wear.

And like I said, I could see you wearing like that skirt to an event with just a silk camisole.

- Absolutely.

Daniel Zies.

- Sure.

I love the texture of the skirt.

So was that a happy accident or was it intentionally having all these points?

- It was an accident.

I actually intended it to be flat, but this curled whenever I cut it.

And so I just kind of formed the way it is.

So it worked out though.

I actually liked it better.

- I do too.

- I love it.

- You made it work.

All right.

Okay.

Let's get one last look at this fun design.

We're gonna call it the fun, the fun look by Liliana Blanco.

(upbeat music) This is Alivia Benavides.

Great job with your dress.

Talk to me about the materials.

There's a lot there.

- We use a lot of plastic straws, plastic like eggs, and then we used a lot of like containers like Tai, shampoo bottles, toothbrushes, and stuff like that.

- I saw what looked like an old gift card.

- Yes.

We use lots of gift cards, and like old credit cards.

It was a lot just plastic stuff that was just junk.

- Or what thought of as junk, repurposed into something really great.

What was your inspiration to come up with the final piece?

- Just a lot of plastics always wasted, and we wanted to use it for something, because a lot of it's also getting wasted in the ocean.

It's really heavy.

It weighs like 30 pounds.

- Wow.

Wow.

- It took us like 40 hours to make.

- 40 Hours.

That's an entire work week for all of us in the workforce.

Great job.

You did so good.

Well, let's get some feedback from all of our judges.

We'll start with Daniel Zies.

- That dress made me very happy.

I just love the colors and what you, how you arranged it.

And actually kind of reminds me of one of my favorite artists, Louise Nevelson, who did a lot of assemblages like that.

I did have a question though.

How long did it take you to collect those like each color, I guess, for each bank.

'Cause he had to specifically match all those plastics.

- Well, we used a lot of like, you know the plastic bottles, and we go through a lot of like detergent and shampoos and stuff.

Because I come from a big family.

So it didn't take long.

- And to organize in each color.

I mean, it's just very specific on how you organized each one.

Didn't take long though you said.

Like you said, you come from a big family.

How many siblings do you have?

- I have nine.

- Nine.

Okay, so there's 10 of y'all.

- Uh-huh.

- 10 kids.

I imagine it does not take that long to collect all the things.

Daniel Esquivel.

- Very thought provoking.

I love the whole idea.

And like I agree with a hundred percent with Daniel, that it, you look at it and just makes a really cool statement.

I thoroughly believe that this dress should be put on a display.

Like somewhere to remind people of what we discard, and you know the cause and effect.

That, you know, that was just a very strong statement.

Like I said, it should be put on display, like in a grocery store or somewhere where we see things that are being wasted.

Because it really makes you think.

But it is beautiful though.

- Thank you.

- Yeah, there was really cool.

- Well, and you don't realize.

- I loved the butterflies.

I saw those.

Because you know, butterflies are happy.

- I think they were like those little old garden things that you like put in a pot.

- Yes.

Loved it.

- Wow, that is so neat.

And you don't realize how much plastic that we go through.

Absolutely.

I think it is something to.

- That needs to be on display in this lobby or somewhere.

It just needs to be seen because it does make a very powerful statement.

- Certainly does, we'll have to- - For the environment.

- find a place for it.

Audrey.

- I liked the use of colors, and the rainbow with the butterflies.

Yes It makes you so happy.

But I also liked how the dress was very formal, but it was juxtaposed with all of the different plastics, and it was kind of those were messy, but you organized it with the color, but then when she walked away with the train, it was just gorgeous.

- Thank you.

- Okay.

Let's get one last look at this awesome design by Alivia Benavides.

(upbeat music) This is Tonya Criswell.

My goodness.

Okay.

So we were talking before this.

This is really like the 25th wedding anniversary dress.

There is a story behind it.

Share that.

- Yes ma'am.

This is the dress and that's made of all of, almost all of the items that we used at a 25th wedding anniversary.

The tablecloth that was used is actually the whole entire dress.

The lining is made of tablecloth.

There it's eight paper foil tablecloths that were made, that were used in the making of the dress.

So the entire thing is except a zipper.

We have a zipper in it as well.

And the bottom of the dress is made of cake tents that have been cut and sliced.

And there's actually 120 cake tents that go around the perimeter of the dress.

There's cupcake holders that are the flowery effect on the dress.

And the design on the side is the table decoration.

The belt that she is wearing is actually on the vase of the silverware holder that was used at the anniversary party.

- What was your inspiration behind it?

Obviously you know taking, reusing, repurposing things from this anniversary party.

How did you take that to make that dress?

I mean, it is gorgeous.

- We have, my mother and I have created dresses and outfits and Halloween costumes and pageant clothes for my daughter.

For almost 13 years.

And that's just what we do.

We come up with different designs and different ideas that a lot of people would not come up with.

My mother's very creative as well.

And so we like working together to help my daughter to have some fun outfits.

- I love that.

And just what a fun activity to share with your mom.

And you doing that with your daughter.

I know they all are creating really sweet memories at the same time.

- And even though my daughter is the model, she actually did help us a little bit helping fix some of the top and things.

- Yeah, you were saying earlier, your mom taught you how to sew and you're passing that along to your daughter as well.

- Yes, our craftiness is going down from generation to generation.

- I love that.

Well congratulations.

That is a beautiful design job.

Well done.

Okay, let's get some input from our judges.

We'll start this way.

Daniel Zies.

Let's get your input.

- Sure.

This is beautiful.

It just reminds me a lot of like the fiesta gowns that you would see in San Antonio.

And just that come down the runway.

And I'm sure it took a lot of hours to do each one of those little curls down to the bottom of that dress.

That was really fabulous.

- Thank you.

- Many hours do you think you put into this dress.

- Weeks.

We don't know exactly how many hours, per sec.

We did know how many tablecloths and all the patterns, but I don't know how many actual hours, but it's been several weeks that we've been prepping.

- And the dress is so clean too.

- Thank you.

- It is.

Daniel Esquivel.

- Speechless.

It is a beautiful work of art.

I especially enjoy the shoulder placement, the corsage on the shoulder.

It's just beautiful.

And it's obvious what your skill set is, and it's beautiful.

I mean, I don't have any other words to say about it.

It's just, it was a pleasure just to see it out.

I can't wait to look at it up close.

Wow.

- Thank you.

- This is wow factor.

- There was certainly a wow factor.

Audrey.

- Yes.

I think it's interesting that what the event that the repurposed materials came from was the 25th anniversary.

Because to me, I got really futuristic vibes from it, and like space kind of that aspect of it.

So I really liked that idea, putting it with the gown.

It was awesome.

- Thank you.

- Well, it really seems that every single piece of the dress was intentional.

You know, you see a lot of designs and things that are put there with intention.

I can only imagine that was the thought behind it.

- And even her bracelets are made of straws.

Down to the last detail.

- Wow.

- Even the hair piece is made from, the bow that's in her hair is actually made from a gift that was at the party.

- That is just beautiful.

Let's get one more look at the beautiful design by Tonya Criswell and her 25th wedding anniversary dress.

(upbeat music) Christie, walk me through your design.

What materials did you use?

- The materials I used were, the top part is made from feathers from an old feather boa from Halloween.

On the front, there's developed film, it's the negatives, and that's from Steve's class of OC.

It's whenever I was learning how to use the camera and that came up blurry.

So I never did do anything with them.

And then underneath the top part of the dress is an old haircut cape from whenever we were doing the haircuts in the garage.

I wanted to use something from the pandemic, but something that was, I figured masks were going to be used a lot.

So I wanted to do something uncommon.

And then I used shotgun shells for the flowers on the dress.

They're cut and then painted black, and on the sides of the dress there's unexposed film, and that was 'cause we had used it in school, and I never did end up rolling it up, but I found one old film canister.

And then I found out you can't use that film after like so long.

So all the ones that I had in my closet still was bad.

So I wanted to use that.

And then the rest of the skirt is made out of old receipts from it only took like a month to collect like enough to make a skirt.

And the middle part of the skirt is the check from the Keep Odessa Beautiful fashion show last year, whenever I had competed in 2009.

It was the third place one, and I wanted to do like every second.

Oh and there was another part of the dress, the very top part in the back.

'Cause it was going to be the fashion show last year here.

But then because of the pandemic, it was canceled or it was rescheduled, and I was later canceled.

And so I was making a dress.

I never did get to use it.

It was gonna have flower pedals on it, and it wouldn't have worked out 'cause they were gonna come out crispy.

And so I had recycled that.

So it was like recycling on top of recycling.

- Which is whole idea behind the Recycle fashion show.

Reusing, repurposing, different things.

Was that really your, what was your inspiration behind this design?

This isn't your first rodeo with the Recycle fashion show.

- I just wanted to use as many things as I could.

I wanted to use things that would be uncommon that maybe nobody else would use.

Things that you don't think about that you throw away.

Like we go shooting clays often, and they're like all over the ground.

So I wanted to just use as many things as I could that we created.

- I love that you've got a very creative mind.

Well, congratulations.

- Thank you.

- It's a beautiful, a beautiful dress.

Christie Ryan, everyone.

(upbeat music) Well, of course we have another designer and model, and Britney Carrasco and her fabulous design.

Tell me about all the materials that you used.

- Yeah.

So this is a tablecloth.

We kind of just hoard things in our house, and we're like we might as well do something with it.

- Sure.

- And then these are flowers my mom received since she's been with my dad.

So since 2015, and they've been just, she just likes to collect them, and we'd like to make use of it.

So these are all her flowers from like years ago.

These are more recent 'cause she does get some every Sunday.

- Okay.

Oh every Sunday your mom gets flowers.

That is so sweet.

I love that.

So all of the florals that we see here were gifts to your mother?

- Yes.

- I love that.

Okay.

What was your inspiration?

What made you think to use the flowers?

- Well, there are several things.

The colors inspired by the Statue of Liberty, and how it was given to us.

And when we were migrating over here.

So we thought that it was about embracing migration, and just how nature kind of reflects that as well.

Like right now, the birds, the butterflies and all that.

And we thought having the plastic and the flowers that are very much alive, but not alive, but they were at one point.

It kind of contrasts.

So we thought that was fun.

- I love that.

I love the thought that goes into each of these pieces, including a lot of thought went into it, a lot of intention.

Okay.

I would love to get some of the judges feedback to see what they think.

We'll start down here.

Daniel's Zies.

- So I love the earrings.

I felt like that's definitely a moment.

And I like how you were posing with them, and using that as definitely as part of your outfit.

So that's very nice.

- Thank you.

- Daniel Esquivel.

- Wow, this I'm a fan of dried flowers.

So this is really to my heart.

I get a little emotional.

I love the draping that you did on the dress.

I mean, 'cause when I look at something like this, I can totally look at it all and see the thought process, but hearing forward.

But like I said, I get a little choked up about dried flowers.

You got me a little emotional here, but also to what I love the carefreeness of the combat boots with the flowers wrapped on it.

But this really, really has a special place in my heart already because it, because of what, you know, the idea, the thought process that you did, and the definitely the dried flowers.

Love it.

- It tells a story.

- It tells a story.

And like I said, it's already got me like this.

Fantastic.

- Great job.

Okay, Audrey.

- Yes.

I really like the shape of the dress.

Like Daniel was saying.

I love the color.

Turquoise is my favorite, so.

And then I think the earrings kind of give me a look of like a native look, kind of native American in a way.

So I guess that kind of connects to your connection with the Statue of Liberty, I think in the nature aspect of it.

So I really enjoyed it.

- It really is a beautiful job.

Congratulations.

Okay.

Let's get one last look at Britney Carrasco's design.

(upbeat music) - So I uses cardboard, newspaper, and I did use again the tablecloth for the dress.

I crocheted the blouse, and then I did it a little bit different than the other one, so that you can see that we can do different things with the same material.

- It's beautiful.

And even just the movement of this one even.

Just gorgeous.

Let's get judge feedback.

Audrey, we'll start with you.

- I really loved the collar.

I think it adds, it took the piece up another level because it had, you know, something different than just the dress, but I really loved it in general.

- Thank you.

- It's beautiful.

Daniel Esquivel.

- Stunning work of art.

I see that top done.

I visually actually instantly when I saw the top, I can see it paired with a black tulle skirt with you know just to wear out, to be worn out.

That top was beautifully done.

Your craftsmanship is off the hook.

- Thank you so much.

- Well again, another beautiful look by Maria Tecera.

Let's do one more look at her piece.

(upbeat music) This is Karlee Benavides.

Talk to me about the materials that you used.

- So when I was little, my grandpa would like periodically give me comic books and stuff.

So a lot of them from the eighties and all that.

He would give me the comic books, and I would collect them like growing up.

And so instead of throwing them away, I decided to put them on a dress, because you know it's hard to let go.

You don't exactly have to let go, 'cause comic books are not just for children, but it was a way of like, for me to grow up, if that makes any sense.

Like to put them onto something, to make something great out of something that I used to love when I was a child.

I still do love them though.

- Well, and make it into something, your new love, and something to remember them by.

I mean, what a awesome design.

How did you come up with the two pieces?

- Well, the two pieces I'd actually just drawn because I was gonna come up with the recycle dress.

So I just sketched it out in my book.

I usually always sketch them out.

I sketched it out in my book, and all I needed was a material to stick on there.

And then that's when I thought of, well, I need to get rid of these books and the paper, it's a waste to throw them away.

It's sad to throw them away.

That was my childhood.

I don't want wanna, I don't want to throw that away.

So I thought, why not make it a new art form.

Because it's already an art form.

It's very, very detailed.

Comics books are beautiful.

- Well, and it is a beautiful design, and all the detail that went into that.

All very intentional.

Awesome job.

Let's get some feedback from our judges.

Audrey.

We'll start with you.

- I really like how you juxtaposed like comic books and the masculine nature of that, but with very feminine and flirty design of the pieces.

So I really, really enjoyed that.

- Thank you.

- It has a very like Harley Quinn vibe going on with it.

I love it.

Daniel Esquivel.

- I was just don't take my glasses off anymore.

I'm from the eighties.

Well, before that so.

Mic drop.

I don't have glasses drop.

Wow.

Very moving the homage to your grandpa, 'cause I'm probably your grandpa's age.

But the cool thing is, is that, that you took that and made it into that.

And when you look at it, it's like wow, that you, you know, you took each thing and it's well thought out and curated into like the way you just didn't cut it.

It was thought out.

I have nothing else to say, but what, how old are you again?

18.

- 18.

What are your plans for the future?

I'm curious when I see something like that, I want to know what you want to do with your life.

- Do you know what you want?

- Yeah, what?

- I'm still a little conflicted because I like, like you can tell, I really love art, but I also really love science.

So I'm trying to find a career where I can have both.

I can balance both art and science.

- Please go forward with it.

- Working towards that career.

- Please go forward.

- 'Cause I do not want to let art go, but and science can be a demanding career path, but I really don't want to let art go.

So I'm gonna find something to find the balance between the two.

- Yeah, I'm just like I said, speechless, you know, taking that like that, and then making something from nothing.

And it's beautifully done.

- Thank you.

- 'Cause like right now I want the jacket.

Randy wants the jacket.

I'll take the skirt if I have to.

I'll buy the skirt from you.

But on a serious note, it is a beautiful piece.

It is a beautiful piece.

I could see a whole collection done like that.

You know, you see where designers actually use printed on fabric, you know, comic books and they're just little squares, but you actually took and made a story from the comic book story.

That's the cool thing.

And that's was attention getting to me, and just very, very, very beyond cool.

- Thank you.

- It is cool.

Daniel Zies.

- Just like that memory piece, like you're saying, you're invoking all these memories of the past.

I really loved that about it, but also love that you were able to make a paper garment, like from the 1960s when they did those paper dresses.

Like making kind of an updated version of that.

So that was really great.

- Thank you.

- I love that.

And then just the structure of it.

A great job.

- Thank you.

- Let's get one last look at the, do you have a name for this piece?

- Boom power recycling.

- I love that.

Okay.

Let's get one last look at that design by Karlee Benavides.

(upbeat music) - Well, the judges have a very difficult task ahead of them and we're gonna give them a little break, and we're gonna give you a little break.

And when we come back, we'll hear from the judges about who did the best.

- The people, they kinda scratch their head like why do you even care, right.

Why are you conserving these spots?

- The Playa is an anchor in the middle of that wide open prairie for people, for for birds.

- Oh my goodness, there's all this life all of a sudden out here.

- It has become a special place to meet because of the variety of things that I see here.

- [Narrator] On Call the Midwife.

- Hello, I'm Jennifer Lee.

- [Narrator] The cast and creators of Call The Midwife look back at the last 10 years.

- Mark my words, the joy of midwifery, never dims.

- [Narrator] Call The Midwife.

(suspenseful music) (mellow music) - Well, the whole reason that we are here tonight and have this wonderful opportunity after all it is the Keep Odessa Beautiful Recycle Fashion Show.

We have Claudia Ortega.

She is the director for Keep Odessa Beautiful.

Claudia, we made it.

We finally put the event on.

There was a lot of top and go.

It's been a crazy year for everybody, almost two years.

- It has.

- We finally made it congratulations.

- Thank you.

- I mean, of course a beautiful event.

You know, the past year really has changed the way that nonprofits operate and really do their work.

The important work that all of our nonprofits do.

Talk about how the past year has been for Keep Odessa Beautiful.

- As you said, very challenging.

But I am blessed.

Actually, the whole team is blessed that we were able to use this challenges that came with the pandemic as an opportunity you know, an opportunity to get more creative, and find that this is actually a blessing for us.

Because this challenge created an opportunity to do things differently.

- Absolutely.

And a wonderful opportunity and great relationship.

We always love Base and PBS.

You know really this is why they are here, is to have these kinds of opportunities.

Talk about the recycle fashion show.

My goodness, this is the sixth.

We've done this for so many years.

- That's right.

- Talk about how it has changed.

- And yes, you're right.

It's been, this event started seven years ago, actually.

And we started at Odessa College, with one of our board members.

They came with the idea.

She came to us with this idea of bringing this to the fair.

To the Ector County.

You remember that.

- Yes.

- That's where the events started for the first time, seven years ago, and look at where it's, exactly.

That's what I was talking to the whole team.

I was like wow, just to see and to hear our participants, and the judges, you guys.

I mean, it's amazing to see what it has come to.

Like I said, a challenge created an opportunity for more blessings - Yes.

Well, no and the whole point of the recycle fashion show.

Yeah well and Keep Odessa Beautiful, y'all's purpose is to reuse, recycle, repurpose.

And we've seen the creativity that goes into all of these looks, and creating something beautiful.

- Exactly.

- Out of something that people most often just throw away, and they've recycled it in the best way possible.

- And I'm glad you said that because that's one of the things that we, this whole event started with that to raise awareness of the importance of waste reduction.

And what a better way to do it then through fashion, in a fun and creative way.

So yes, this is how it started.

And to hear, like I said, the designers, the models.

To hear everybody talk about what they use, and how they repurpose.

So it's a good feeling to see that, the hard work of the Keep Odessa Beautiful.

Everybody that comes together to make this happen.

It's, the rewards are there.

Because they talk about making sure that you're, all this plastic where it ends up.

You know, when you don't do something with it where it's gonna end up.

So that's a good thing.

- Well it also shows how much we use.

It's a very visual reminder of all the things that we use in our everyday life.

You know, Claudio fantastic event.

We do not envy the judges in the job they have.

- That's what we were talking about.

No, thank you.

Because they were all very incredible.

They're amazing.

So, no, we don't, we don't envy that.

- We're here with UTPB student Marianna, you had a class assignment this last year to create some recycle fashion.

Can you tell us a little bit about that?

- Yeah.

So this assignment was basically an open wide assignment, which was create any sort of dress or apparel that is made out of recyclable or 90% recyclable materials.

So that was pretty much an overall wide, you can do anything you can and go.

- You don't get many assignments like that in class, do you?

- No.

- It's usually pretty structured.

You have to use this medium, and you have to have it done by this date.

And so you actually started working on this before the pandemic, is that correct?

- Yes, that is correct.

- So all of these fashions that we're seeing around us are two years old.

So tell me what that was like when you found out that we weren't gonna have a recycle fashion show in 2020?

Were you disappointed or were you happy that you had another year to work on it?

- Yeah, so me being the person that's like okay, let's do this last minute.

It was like amazing because I'm gonna have the most amount of time to do this.

And it gave me time to search resources, ideas, and all that kind of stuff.

- Wow.

So the dress that is behind us, that's the green bubble wrap.

That is your dress.

So what was the inspiration for that?

- So coming from south America, it's a country that there's very much recyclable resources, and much of the houses, they're made out of kind of like either wood or for earthquakes.

So when I saw the green bubble wrap and zip ties, 'cause that's all that's used on that.

It's just bubble wrap and zip ties.

I was like thinking about whenever my mother had a house, and they were, you know like not, they didn't have much money, and they always said we were so happy that we never realized we were poor.

So that reminded me of the green kind of like mesh to protect a sun and all that kind of stuff.

- That is amazing.

So you're studying art at UTPB.

Does that mean you're going to pursue art as a vocation after you graduate?

- Yes.

That is my main goal to pursue the most I can in the many areas that UTB offers, which is not only like an open wide 3d design, also like 2d design and all that stuff.

So that's amazing to know, like I'm gonna do this in the long run, and I can experience and experiment as many things as possible.

- Well we thank you, and all of the UTPB students who created these designs, and we're so happy to showcase them here tonight.

So thank you.

- Thank you so much.

- Okay.

It is the grand finale, Randy.

The moment we've all been waiting for.

Let's talk finalists.

- Let's do it.

- Okay.

We'll start with the 18 and under a category.

In third place, we have Ivana Hernandez with her beautiful newspaper gown.

In second place, we've got Madisson Carrasco with her trash bag, with lights dress.

It was representing abuse and getting out of a bad situation.

Beautiful dress.

And then in first place, and this one was very memorable.

I'll be probably having dreams about this one, The OCTECHS Energy and Environment Club with the heads, the red heads.

- Well, congratulations to all of those 18 and under category.

Now let's talk about the 18 and over category.

- This one was tough.

- This one was really, really tough.

Third place, Karlee Benavides with her comic book dress.

Karlee, call me I need a comic book jacket.

In second place.

We had Tanya Criswell with her silver ball gown, and in first place, Maria Tercero with her crocheted blue dress.

Congratulations to all of the winners, and all of the participants because everyone was a winner tonight.

- Absolutely.

And we could not let the night go by without having a little bit more of a conversation with a dear friend of the Keep Odessa Beautiful Recycle Fashion Show, Daniel Esquivel.

It means so much to us that you take the time to come to Odessa and spend time with us.

Tell us how you got involved with the recycle fashion show.

- It was just really interesting, you know, upon making a connection with Randy here.

And the cool thing is, is our relationship started a couple of years back, and then approached me to come do this.

And it was really, really cool the first time.

And then it's like seeing what each year, what the kids do each year and what they bring.

And this year was over the top.

So each year gets better and better, but I'm so happy.

My heart is here in Odessa, and I'm looking forward to doing other events with y'all.

And you know, the cool thing is also is that it's very heartwarming here, of course meeting you.

And I'm meeting all the people that I've worked with here on this event each time, and knowing that it's helping, helping your community.

That's what it's all about.

- Well I really thank you for your friendship, Daniel, but you are a friend to the entire community.

To Odessa, to Midland, to Base and PBS.

And we couldn't have done this and grown it the way we do without your help and input.

So we just want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for doing this for us year after year.

- My heart is here in Odessa.

- Well we will keep it and take care of you.

- Looking forward to other events coming up.

- Well, I have to say what a fabulous night Randy.

- It was amazing.

And it was just so much more amazing because we had you here with us.

- Well we had you here with us Randy.

It is not an event without us.

Am I right?

- You're right.

I'm gonna go ahead and take the Liberty of saying that.

We are the most fun.

We bring the fun and fashion.

- We do.

We do.

And I just got to say, if this outfit had been in competition, you would have won.

- Oh, well thank you.

Okay, this is a Daniel Esquivel original.. - Daniel Esquivel original.

He is so nice.

And he spoils me.

- And it's almost expected.

- It is.

- At this point.

Well everyone, I hope that you all have had an equally fabulous time as we have had tonight.

We had fabulous looks, it's been a great time.

We had awesome judges.

- Yes.

- All of the designers.

I mean, and we did it.

Doesn't it feel good to have events again.

- It really, really does.

I cannot say enough about the effort that Base in PBS went through to get us on the air.

And we want to take the production crew, and Base and PBS for helping us make this happen.

- It was a wonderful night.

Thank you to Keep Odessa Beautiful, and all of our participants that took the creative time, extra time to be more creative, and to put together some fabulous looks.

Everybody, that is our show.

We hope you have a wonderful night, and we'll see you next year.

- Goodnight.

(upbeat music)