From rubbish to runway

Bolivian designer turns waste into high fashion.

LA PAZ: Crafted from old newspapers, plastic bags, discarded CDs and soda bottle caps, Bolivian designer Marion Macedo’s quirky fashion creations have added an eclectic dimension to the catwalks of Europe, South America and Asia.

Each dress is a unique, eco-friendly work that takes about a week to make by hand and comes with a $250 price tag. Macedo does most of the work herself, using giant needles for the crochet work.“Not only do we recycle paper, but we also use vegetable dyes, cocoa bean shells and we even make our own natural adhesives,” Macedo said, adding that her goal was to be as “ecologically pure as possible”.

Since starting out in 2005, the fashionista has been invited to present her work at several international venues, including the 2006 Amsterdam Fashion Week, the 2008 Paris Chocolate Festival — which featured French singer Anne-Laure Girbal wearing one of her eco-dresses — fashion shows in Tokyo in 2007 and 2010, and in Madrid in 2010.

Macedo was trained as a wallpaper designer and became a clothing designer almost by accident when her husband did a photo shoot with a subject wearing a suit crudely made from newspaper.

Describing herself as an amateur designer, Macedo has in the past bought her own materials and recycled household waste, including CDs discarded by her photographer husband.

Her seventh fashion show, entitled ‘Recycle Yourself’, this month in La Paz was the first for which she had the backing of corporate sponsors, and she jumped on the opportunity to use material from their products for her creations. But not everyone is impressed. “Many of her outfits looked more like craft day at the local preschool than fashion,” said Krista Westervelt, a fashion columnist, commenting on a 2010 show.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 3^rd, 2011.