Discarded to Divine Sneak Preview

In 2005, Sally Rose of St. Vincent de Paul Society, overwhelmed by a heap of discarded and unusable clothing, envisioned a means by which they could be put to use. She asked various designers to recreate works of art from this supposed garbage that would later be auctioned off to aid the homeless. This annual event is now known as Discarded to Divine and has since been a charity event for the homeless, impoverished, and women and children who have suffered from domestic violence.

Here are three designs that were on display.

This year, De Young Museum hosted the Discarded to Divine preview party and displayed the designers’ pieces for all of the public to view. From the moment we walked into the entrance of the museum, we saw groups of people carefully looking at each design and deciding which piece to nominate for an award given at the end to the people’s favorite. Artists stood by their designs and were willing to discuss their creative process in constructing wearable clothes from reusable materials.

These designs were also a part of the preview.

Our personal favorite piece of the preview party was an aqua green dress with fish scale Fiji water bottle labels cascading down the bottom of the dress. Designed by Jay Nicolas Sario, this dress was definitely an eye-catcher that generated quite the crowd.

Fiji water labels take on a whole new use on a fish scale dress. Photography by the authors.

The preview party offered an open bar and live music to entertain the public as they walked around the museum. In addition, Discarded to Divine catered to the children who attended by providing arts and craft stations. It was truly an enjoyable evening for all ages that functioned as a benevolent cause at the same time. Guests had the opportunity to meet the designers as well as other attendees who shared a similar interest in these pieces of art. Discarded to Divine re-established the age-old adage that one person's trash is another person's treasure.

Grace Choi & Veronica Lee
BARE Reporters