Bulacan designer turns rubbish into fashion

John Paul Halili, who goes by the name Ricia Juanpaolo, makes gowns and costumes out of used bottle caps and shampoo sachets.

She cycles around her neighborhood, collecting neighbors' trash, which become the raw materials for her designs.

"The materials I use are trash that can no longer be used or sold—literally trash, like sachets of three-in-one coffees, detergent bars, fabric conditioners and so on. So, I collect them all once a month, and then I clean and wash them individually, I wipe them one by one, then I choose pieces that if brought together can create a nice pattern," Juanpaolo said at her makeshift studio in Calumpit, Bulacan.

The 35-year-old once lived on the streets of Manila with other homeless people after running away from her hometown.

She now works as an events planner at a catering services company and started making costumes as a hobby four years ago.

She said she was inspired after seeing a woman on the street who used a garbage bag to make a dress and a skirt for herself.

Juanpaolo has no formal training in drawing, sewing or pattern making. She said she relies on instinct when she makes her clothes with a pair of scissors and a stapler.

She said she hopes her work can inspire others to be more creative with recycling.

"There are a lot of people who cannot believe that you can do other things from the garbage I collect. I keep on trying to persevere because if I don't give up, I can let them see the possibilities," she said.

Juanpaolo said she has always wanted to wear gowns as a child, but never had the money to buy one.

She has over 50 designs so far, which are only for rent, fetching between $7 to $47 (from about P330 to P2,200).

She usually displays her collection to the public at a nearby school, using some of her relatives and friends as models.

"We are able to make her a good example to our students, because if she can make clothes out of garbage, we often ask our students what more can they do to make trash useful?" elementary schoolteacher Norita Cruz said.

Metro Manila, with almost 12 million inhabitants, produces about 8,700 tons of rubbish daily, a report by the National Solid Waste Management Commission in 2015 said. — Reuters