Berkeley High School’s fifth annual sustainable fashion show dazzled and inspired the crowds on Friday, April 17, 2026. Models walked the runway in beautiful and unique student designs that showcased sustainable fashion methods like upcycling — making new clothes out of old clothing and materials — and crochet. “The energy, how people presented themselves was so cool … Each person was completely different,” Caden Kittredge, a BHS junior and audience member, said.
BHS’s Fashion Club had been working on the fashion show since the club fair in September. The show was a big production, featuring 21 designers and 42 models. As part of the sustainability aspect, “The fashion club encourages designers to repurpose used clothes and materials,” Juna French, a BHS senior and vice president of the Fashion Club, said. Designs by BHS senior Ailsa Collier featured pieces upcycled from childhood clothing, evoking a feeling of whimsy and nostalgia.
Kittredge explained that he enjoyed the diversity of the designs and the stylistic leaps designers took. The pieces varied greatly in color and aesthetic, every designer bringing unique perspective and ideas to the show. One highlight was a design by BHS freshman Penelope Burgess. “The whole design was based off of my love for bugs, especially beetles. I love the look of the stag beetle and its dramatic mandibles, so that’s where I drew my (inspiration) from,” Burgess said. The piece featured a clay headpiece shaped like the mandibles of the beetle and layers of dark-colored dresses and skirts.
The event also featured several student small businesses. Students sold a variety of things, including prints, clothing, and pottery. “At the small businesses, a lot of the student booths (were) centered around or (had) aspects of sustainability. There were students reselling pre-loved / vintage clothing to attendees; there were students selling their handmade work from secondhand materials,” Lola Lelchuk, a BHS senior, president of the Fashion Club, and designer for the fashion show, said.
The show’s focus on sustainable fashion is incredibly important with the market so oversaturated with fast fashion. Fast fashion refers to the process in which companies quickly churn out low-quality clothing for low costs. Fast fashion is heavily criticized, but it still makes up a wide portion of the clothing market. “The fact that (the fashion show designs were) all sustainable was really great because fast fashion is really bad for the environment,” Sophia Long, a BHS freshman and audience member, said. Fast fashion harms the environment because “a lot of fast fashion clothes end up in the landfill because they’re not good quality; they wear out faster, so people get rid of them, contributing to environmental waste,” French explained. The fast fashion industry is also very exploitative of its workers.
BHS’ sustainable fashion show provides amazing opportunities to student designers and audience members to see so many interesting, unique student designs. “Through the show, we want to show the attendees the possibilities of fashion with a sustainable lens … We want to display how creative, diverse, and exciting fashion can be while still being sustainably made,” Lelchuk said. It’s also incredibly beneficial for the designers. “(The show) connects so many students with different points of views in an event that celebrates them and their creativity,” Lelchuk said. The annual BHS sutainable fashion show proves to be an inspiring and enriching experience for everyone involved.