(gentle upbeat music) - Recycled Runway is a way for us to introduce young people to sewing and design.

We see TV, we see the runway, but we don't understand the work that goes into it.

So it's a way for young people to get introduced to the field without spending a whole, whole lot of money and wasting a whole lot of time.

So Bib & Tucker is a sew-op, a play on co-op, and we are a group of people who, first and foremost, absolutely love to sew and we love, love, love to sew.

And when we first started Recycled Runway, it was a fundraiser for Bib & Tucker.

It was our yearly fundraiser.

For the program, the way that it is now, we focus on middle school and high school students.

They don't have to have any sewing experience, but they do have to have an idea, they have to have a design.

And then we take their design and help them make it manifest.

We spend eight weeks in workshops.

Once a week, they'll come.

We have them meet designers who actually take their time out to work with them.

So they'll learn about how to draw a design, they'll learn about the creative process.

We have someone that talks to them about the story that they want to tell on the runway.

And then they also have seamstresses with them at all times that we are running our workshops.

So if they need to get on the sewing machine and they don't know how to sew, that's their opportunity to learn how to run that sewing machine.

If they learn hand sewing skills, it's a lot of different things that we teach them, but it's based on what they need and what their idea is.

- My name is Kelsei Manley and I'm in the seventh grade.

I just really wanted to do it because I like to upcycle clothes and just kinda bring old clothes into life and just kind of revamp.

This year, I wanted to do a mix of, like, Coachella, like, 2017 with bling, and just kind of add a little me to it 'cause I like a lot of sparkly things.

So that's kind of what I did this year.

Like with the rhinestone top and the blinged out jean jacket.

I just, you know, Kelsei-rized it.

I didn't know how to sew when I started Recycled Runway and now I know how to sew a lot more and now I can sew at home because they gave me a lot of tips and tricks that I can work on at home, so I can get better at sewing.

Recycled Runway has helped me build up my confidence a lot and do things that are out of my comfort zone.

- My name is Goo Holmes and I'm 15 years old and I'm a local queer artist and designer.

I've been with Recycled Runway for three years as a designer.

This year my design, so I had an old white prom dress, and I cut it down the middle and I fastened it together.

So on the runway, I could pull it open for a big reveal.

And I also used fabric from local queer artist, Doug Bloss.

But I wanted to have the big reveal as a metaphor for the queer experience of coming into yourself and figuring out who you are, like a metamorphosis.

From my first year, I've really noticed, like, more focusing on my identity and things, issues that I'm passionate about.

In recent years, I've really loved getting to model my own look in front of people, but also I like giving youth a platform to talk about what's important to them because a lot of the times, young voices, I feel, are kind of overlooked.

So I feel like it's really important to give, to allow young people to speak their mind.

A big part of my inspiration is queerness and the queer community.

I've really wanted to move the focus away from myself and more to all queer people.

(upbeat music) - So the grand finale is the actual runway, where they get out there and face all those people to show off all the hard work that they put into their design.

Thank God I don't have to wear the outfit and go down the runway 'cause I would probably faint.

I don't know how they, I'm like, y'all got some serious courage, 'cause mm mm.

- It was very kind of nerve wracking.

There is a lot of people in there and you're walking by yourself and you know, it's like, "I hope I don't trip."

That's what's going through your head, you know?

- But that made it all the more empowering to get out there and be confident.

- It felt really good because you could hear people cheering and friends and family in the audience.

So it was really exciting.

- So them being willing to stand down and say, "This is what I did, this is who I am," it's very encouraging - It feels really empowering when you're there and people are cheering for you and everyone's all super supportive and it's wonderful.

(upbeat music)