Umbrellas, the inside of a computer, bottle caps and grocery bags from all local stores. These aren’t traditional design materials when you think of haute couture, but they were some of the unconventional fabric choices for the Eco Runway competition on Friday night at The Bermuda High School.Eco Runway is a take-off of project Runway, the popular design reality competition hosted by Heidi Klum. In the BHS version, 36 students in nine teams took place in the six-week competition to design, execute and send two outfits down the runway; one avant garde and one ready-to-wear. The eco catch was that at least 50 percent of the materials used in each design were required to be made from recycled or found objects.Team ReNew, consisting of Sophia Schwertl and Charlotte Griffiths with models Aoife Rynne and Kenyu Hoshina, won the competition overall with their technologically-inspired designs.The CaTeMs, Connie Campbell and Megan Bower, with models Juliana Franco and Alecia Hollis, were awarded best avant garde design for their dress, the bottom half of which was made out of opened umbrellas for a very dramatic silhouette.Team Redesigned, Sabina Stan, Mia Fung, Kathleen McBeath, Kristin Dill and Courtney Browne (the latter two as models) were awarded best ready-to-wear design for their nautically-themed dress made mostly from old sails and plastic gloves from volunteering with Daily Bread.Teams were each assigned a mentor from the local fashion community, to provide advice and guidance throughout the competition. In addition, Bersalon donated two stylists who consulted with the teams and provided hair and make-up for the runway show and Trikeita LeShae worked with the teams at the dress rehearsal, prepping them for their walk down the runway.Combining issues of resource efficiency with fashion and design can only be done with creativity. Eco Runway accomplished this, while integrating teamwork and leadership, as well as innovative fundraising. In the process, teams were also engaged in a conversation of sustainable design and practice.This is the second year that The Bermuda High School has held this event; last year it was recognised by the Bermuda National Trust for combining an appreciation of environmentalism with a love for design. Funds raised from eco Runway will be used to support BHS’s Financial Aid Programme.“As a model who has participated in Eco Runway two years in a row, I am always astounded by the ingenuity of the designs at the end of the competition. My team changed their designs twice in the week prior to the runway show, after their initial idea didn’t work and managed to win best avant garde design,” said Juliana Franco.