Tea bags and chocolate wrappers: Students’ sustainable fashion takes Revelstoke stage – Revelstoke Review
Begbie View Elementary School students and other Revelstoke community members showcase their homemade, garbage-sourced attire at the annual Trashion Show presented by Birch & Lace Salon at the Roxy Theatre on Wednesday, April 22. (Evert Lindquist/Revelstoke Review)
Some 20 pairs and solo exhibitionists crossed the Roxy Theatre stage last Wednesday sporting wearable waste while camera shutters snapped and oohs and aahs arose from the crowd.
April 22 marked the return of Revelstoke's sustainability-driven Trashion Show, which has run the last decade under the auspices of Birch & Lace Salon and holds a special place for local hair stylists.
The event encourages community members of all ages to innovate their own apparel using material already disposed or destined for landfill. This year, several Begbie View Elementary School students joined in for the first time after pulling together used bottle caps, garbage bags, hula hoops and socks for a creative collage of outfits.
READ: Reduce, reuse, restyle: Revelstoke students make sustainable Trashion Show outfits
Birch & Lace general manager Kate Paar, emceeing the 2026 Trashion Show, told attendees at the Roxy that she originally almost gave up work in the salon industry due to its impact on the environment. According to Ontario environmental organization Green Circle Salons, 28,500 kilograms of hair go to waste daily in Canada and the U.S. instead of being recycled for compost, gardening, art and other uses.
But founder and director Sara Sansom, who worked with the former North Columbia Environmental Society, offered Paar a job at Birch & Lace, which takes more sustainable approaches to salon operations. This includes shipping off leftover hair to be made into brooms for soaking up oil spills, or incinerating it for local energy uses by BC Hydro.
With the Trashion Show now some 10 years running for Revelstoke, Paar and others at Birch & Lace were stoked to see numerous middle and elementary schoolers from Begbie View take to the spotlight.
One contestant showed off her blue-purple jellyfish gown with streamers and a broken hula hoop. Another sported a dress made from used helium balloons, while seven-year-old William Gawler combined a garbage bag, used LUNA Fest top hat and his recycled homework to put on a black-and-white magician's outfit.
India Shearing, 12, stepped out with friend Bria Gauer for their exhibition inspired by cartoon characters from Dandy's World. One wore a thrifted cathode ray tube TV on her head, the other a green bucket (both with eyes stuck on). They also sourced old garden hose line, expired light bulbs and spray paint, scrap sewing fabric, a used bath mat, broken fan and metal gutter spout.
Saoirse McLafferty and Charlie Ferguson, meanwhile, utilized broken bike rims and smartphone accessories, shower curtain, stained sheets, bottle caps and torn necklaces for their Rainbow Raincloud entry. For one of them, at just nine years old, this was the fourth Trashion Show outfit they'd assembled.
READ: Student intertwines Revelstoke community with greener fashion skills
Older contestants Shelley Evans, Luisa Jansen and Alina Swanson presented their garb made from Vogue magazine cut-outs, paper bags, construction flooring and rope, to exhibit trendy looks and tropical vacation wear.
Last to enter the spotlight was the Roxy's own model, toting dozens of used popcorn bags and soda cups, topped off with a king's crown.
"It's very greasy," he admitted. "All the staff worked on this, but I was designated as the model."
It proved to be a hard selection of glittery and glamorous outfits to pick between for the all-star judge panel, which included Diane Bull of Style Trend Clothiers, Leah Allison of Big Eddy Glass Works, Kaitlin Fenton of Mountain Archives, and Nelson's Haute Trash! organizer Marilyn Hatfield.
Their decision-making followed elaborate criteria spanning environmental impact, technical design, creativity and wearability. After some thorough discussion and tough choices, they came to an agreement Revelstoke's first-place trashionists for 2026.
"This is, like, the hardest thing we've ever done," the judges remarked. "Great job, everyone."
Eleven-year-old Isla Floyer, whose red-blue Haute Chocolat dress containing hundreds of carefully unfolded Lindor wrappers brought her love for both crafting and chocolate into the spotlight, shared the top spot. She shared that she'd spent years collecting all these chocolates for this.
A golden dress built and stained from 500 used tea bags (courtesy of Cronometer) and hundreds more maple leaves, designed by local artist Jessica Duerks and named Tea-ah after the Theresa wearing it, won alongside Floyer.
READ: Plan to fund 75 climate-resilient trees takes root in Revelstoke
"You guys were so into it and I just want to thank you for working so hard," said Duerks, who got Begbie View students involved this year after finding success with her own trashion dresses at the 2025 Haute Trash! competition in Nelson.
Local discussion about sustainable fashion doesn't end here for Revelstoke.
Coming up May 30 and 31 is the Revelstoke Re-Fest, which targets reducing waste in the community by allowing locals to shop used items, swap goods, repair clothing and footwear, and live more resourcefully.
The event runs both days at the Revelstoke Community and Aquatic Centre from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., with more information available at re-fest.com.
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