Local fashion designer takes trash onto the runway

‘Chicken wire, old nail polish, a very well-read book…now where did that tissue paper and ribbon go?’ Sound like a demented birthday present? Could be. An inventory of your garbage? Maybe. However, in this case, it’s the mental checklist for one of Rachel Mace’s creative fashion design jam sessions, where she rethinks waste with amazing artistry, giving things once used a very well-deserved stylish second chance. “I get my inspiration everywhere…mainly from materials. Maybe somebody walks by and they’re carrying a large clear bag and I think ‘Cellophane! What could I do with cellophane?” said Mace, creator of her own label called Totally Trashed Fashion. “It’s a puzzle. I see the pieces and then I just try to put them all together.” Still fairly new to the world of fashion design, Mace has quickly become a rising star on the trashion (trash+fashion) scene, getting her start a little over a year ago when she ended up with a bunch of excess garbage bags she didn’t know what to do with. Mace was a model with View Talent Agency and wanted something unique to wear for one of her modeling shoots. No stranger to sustainable living, she thought, “Why not use what I have to make something new?” Pretty soon she was wrapping, twisting and pinching the garbage bags onto her form, ultimately creating an extremely photographable shirt and skirt that garnered a lot of attention. Ronnie Ryno, another local alternative fashion designer and creator of the runway show, “Runway Renegades,” saw Mace’s dress and asked her to be a part of the 2011 show. “I spent three months designing 10 pieces, it was pretty crazy, but really well-received,” said Mace. “It was great corresponding with people, someone would say ‘Hey I have this fishing net’ or ‘I have this old broken whatever…can you use it?’ People like to recycle when they can; it makes them feel good.” Local retailers have contacted her as well such as Auntie’s, which was going to throw out a load of overly-used books, and the now defunct Spokane Metro, which had excess magazines to unload. “I don’t feel bad tearing apart books if I saved them from going in the Dumpster,” said Mace. Other materials used in her designs have included pop tabs, bubble wrap, plastic bags, wrapping paper, old jewelry, masking and electrical tape, and grocery bags. Having just returned from the “Sugar Does Portland” invite-only alternative fashion show in Portland, Ore., for which Mace showcased seven of her designs, she says the pieces she’s created for the show are “1 million times better” and “much more wearable” than when she started. “My skill set is completely different now…I’m currently working with a lot of paper,” said Mace. She’s already starting on her next line of six to seven dresses, some of which may be showcased in the next Runway Renegades show in August. Mace says the line is inspired by a girl she once knew who had an eating disorder. “I’d like to start looking into how I could auction the dresses off after their completion to raise money to support local resources that help those struggling with eating disorders,” said Mace in a recent Facebook post. “I’ve never been more excited about, or invested in, a line before. I am setting a new bar for myself. I want these pieces to not just tell a story, but spark emotion, and make people seriously wonder how this beauty can come from trash.” Originally planning on attending medical school, 21-year-old Mace now isn’t sure which turn her path will take in the future. “I don’t know if I can imagine medicine not being a part of my life,” says Mace. “A little over a year ago, this wasn’t even on my radar and now it’s become pretty huge.” Although as far as generating money, Mace currently relies on her part-to full-time job at Chocolate Apothecary. Right now her fashion design career is all about a publicity exchange between herself and the local artistic collective of jewelry designers, models, hair and make-up artists and photographers. “It’s all about boosting each other and publicity,” says Mace. “I’m essentially like a mini-agent for the models in that I book the hair, the make-up, and the photography.” However the financial aspect may soon change as Mace has recently been asked to create two specialty commissions—one for a local model’s shoot and one for a child’s dress made out of newsprint for a magazine in Michigan. She’s also looking forward to extending her skill set even more by learning how to sew (her current garments are constructed mainly using adhesive), trying new materials such as picture slide casings, mirrors and different kinds of wire, and working with green companies to recycle their products into essentially a fashionable walking advertisement for the company. Raised in a sustainable household, Mace says recycling is just what she knows, and that she was always taught to be conscious of her choices and how they would impact the world around her. “It’s weird…it’s such a hip thing now to be green but I’ve never know any different…it’s just how I was raised,” said Mace.