Laguna Beach

Coffee Filters to CDs: A Recycled Fashion Show Returns to Wow

The Festival Runway Fashion Show is back in Laguna Beach after two years away.

Festival Runway Fashion Show

What to Know

  • Festival Runway Fashion Show at the Festival of Arts Grounds in Laguna Beach
  • Sunday, Aug. 21 from noon to 3 p.m.
  • Weekend entry to the Festival of Arts is $15; fashion show seats are first come, first served; reserved seats are available for $30

Spying an ultra-chic, future-stylish get-up on some far-off fashion runway? You can admire the attire, and even long to own the outlandish look, but chances are obtaining the outfit any time soon will not be within the realm of the possible.

But there is a fashion show just ahead, in Laguna Beach, where much of the material used in the clothing is probably somewhere in your kitchen, bathroom, and even waste can right at this very moment.

It's the Festival Runway Fashion Show at the Festival of Arts, an over-the-top affair that prompts creative types to put together ensembles from the everyday items we typically chuck in the trash or recycle bins.

And we're talking all sorts of "recycled, reused, and reclaimed material": Think compact discs, coffee filters, plastic and paper bags, boxes, and almost anything that's sitting around your home at this very moment.

PVC piping has been used to make festive frocks in the past, and artfully cut-up window screens, too. And shiny cans of La Croix water? Those, too, have added an element of light-catching glitter to bygone gowns.

The celebrated event, which mashes up haute couture with common goods, took 2020 and 2021 off, it will be back to strut its eye-popping stuff on Sunday, Aug. 21.

"The Festival Runway Fashion Show is one of the most popular events of the summer and we are so excited to bring it back this year," said Sharbie Higuchi, Marketing and PR Director for the Festival of Arts.

"This event never disappoints, even after all these years, our Festival artists' creativity and originality keeps it fresh with many surprises!"

Cash prizes are up for grab in four intriguing categories, themes the artists keep in mind as they create their quirky fashions: Most Creative Concept, Most Innovative Use of Materials, Most Glamourous & Elegant" (and ready for the Met Gala), and a timely one: A category inspired by "Wonderful World," the 2022 theme of the Pageant of the Masters, which takes place next to the Festival of Arts.

Emmy-nominated film production designer Nelson Coates is the 2022 host, while the panel of judges will hail from the world of entertainment, fashion and design, and the nearby pageant.

Entering the Festival of Arts on a Sunday? It's $15. Do arrive on the early side for the fashion show, as seats by the runway are snapped up well before the fun and funky proceedings begin.

If you'd like to reserve a seat for $30, you can; here's more information on how to do so.

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