SILVERTHORNE – High Country Conservation Center director Carly Wier doesn’t accept the term “nonrecyclable” easily. So when bike tires were dropped off before the center had the resources to recycle them, her mind went to work … and the result was fashion.Wier, along with several other designers, created outfits with materials destined for the trash or recycling bin for the Recycled Fashion Show, a highlight of the Earth Day Action Fair Saturday.”I was thinking, what sort of dress would have a long hoop skirt at the bottom,” Wier said of her process after realizing a hoop skirt would fit nicely on a bike tire. The title of the piece, “Bike to Work,” came together when Wier worked into the outfit nylons with runs in them she had been saving.

Another of her fashions is made of black trash bags and grocery store plastic bags. Wier described the style as reminiscent of a 1980s prom dress. And since the bags are made of recycled plastic, the outfit has another layer of meaning.”It helps close the loop and support recycling locally to be making stuff out of recycled products,” Wier said.During the fashion show, an announcer will talk about what each model is wearing, along with a message about sustainability from the director.Lake County High School student Ilea Dempsey has been working on her design with a friend since before Christmas break – and the Earth Day fair won’t be the last place she’ll wear it. After modeling in Silverthorne, she’ll wear it in Leadville for her senior prom.

“I have an obsession with pop tops,” said Dempsey, whose dress is made of the soda can tabs and string. The senior was pulling together the final touches on her dress this week.Another outfit to be modeled Saturday is titled, “Vote for Reuse,” and is made from Amendment 37 campaign signs. It is designed with a cheerleader theme with a short skirt and little vest. Wier said she’d been thinking of the outfit ever since she saw the turquoise and blue colors of the signs campaigning for renewable energy in Colorado.Beth Orstad, who works part-time at the High Country Conservation Center and in the winter works at the Keystone ticket office, first thought up her Earth-friendly design for a Halloween costume. She said one of the ticket offices was still using the old school, sticky back tickets, but were discontinuing use at the end of the season.”I don’t want to waste stuff, so I started peeling (stickers) off and sticking them together in narrow strips,” Orstad said. Soon, a vest and skirt were born and lanyards added to the style.

“It looks fancy and it was easy,” she said.The Recycled Fashion Show begins at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Silverthorne Pavilion. The Earth Day Action Fair will have workshops and demonstrations throughout the day, which show little things people can do in their everyday lives to “walk a little lighter on the earth,” according to Wier. The Green Scene Awards will be presented at noon.Leslie Brefeld can be reached at (970) 668-3998, ext. 13622, or lbrefeld@summitdaily.com.