The Putnam Museum’s second annual Recycling Fashion Show, Garbage Glam, is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 5, at the Davenport museum.
The event was initially inspired by the JUNKraft: Global Crisis of Plastic Pollution exhibit which was on display last year at the museum. The exhibit showcased JUNK, a homemade raft which used 15,000 recycled plastic bottles for flotation. With no motor or support vessel, the two-man crew launched from Los Angeles and spent 13 weeks drifting to Hawaii. They planned to bring awareness to the more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic that are currently in the ocean.
This year’s Garbage Glam begins at 6 p.m. with appetizers from Miss Phay Café, a popular Southeast Asian Fusion restaurant in downtown Davenport. The event also will have a cash bar for beer, wine, and cocktails, and regular concession options. The fashion show begins at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased here.
In the spirit of waste and pollution awareness, the Putnam’s Recycling Fashion Show was born in 2023. Seven designers created garments from recycled materials, and their models strutted the pieces down a catwalk in the museum’s grand lobby. That same year, the fashion industry had a startling 97 million tons of waste. This included 18 million tons of leftover textiles, 2.5 million in chemical waste, and 3 million in packaging materials.
As a sustainability-focused museum, Putnam Museum is committed to educating the public
about the impact of modern culture and its place in the ecosystem. This year, the Garbage Glam garments are expected to feature everything from plastic bottles to grocery bags, with each piece required to have at least 70% recycled materials. The Putnam said they tell the story of the prolific nature of single-use plastics and their detrimental effect on the environment.
The designer entries for Garbage Glam have doubled since the initial year, with 14 models expected on the runway. They will be competing for the Best-In-Show prize, which will be judged on creativity, construction, and performance.
Along with the eye-catching recycled fashion, the event will be hosted by Miss Central Iowa Amber Martenson.
Tickets can be purchased ahead of time through the Putnam Museum’s website. The show day, Oct. 5, also is the final day for the Putnam’s “Throwback Pricing” in celebration of the building’s 60th anniversary. Museum admission is 25 cents for adults and 10 cents for youth.
