Toronto Fashion Week: Baby Steinberg Salvage

There is plenty of trashy fashion out there.  How often have you seen very chic fashion made of trash?  Baby Steinberg presented one of my favorite shows during LG Fashion Week with an inventive collection from salvaged materials. 

There were dresses made from pleated coffee filters, braided garbage bags and crocheted cell phone chargers.  Found keys jingled with knitted VHS film.  Discarded take-out bags made a dramatic outfit with feathers and seeds.  Window screen puffed out into a dramatic cocktail dress.  

Baby Steinberg is not a mass-market designer.  She made her reputation creating one-of-a-kind garments for performers and socialites.  She also creates jewelry

A concept like this usually looks like a gimmicky art project.  What made the difference in making this look like a sophisticated runway was the treatment of the materials.  The coffee filters were pleated into delicate shapes to mimic organza flowers popularized by designers like Monique Lhuillier.  The garbage bags were twisted and crocheted into contouring forms like a metallic yarn.  

Photos by Ritika Wahal