"Are you in, or are you out?" Lately, my withdrawals from not being able to watch my favorite TV show, "Project Runway," has kept me out! (Yes, I have another confession, in addition to my fashion addiction; I've got a huge problem with reality TV.) So when my two habits collide, it's pure bliss. Fortunately, I was able to get a dose of my fashion passions last Saturday at the Live Green Eco-Festival Recycled Fashion Show.

This inspiring runway show featured innovative clothing made from recycled materials, sustainable fabrics and repurposed fashion in an eclectic production. It was very reminiscent of many "Project Runway" challenges.

"Designers, your first challenge is to create an article of clothing without any sewing."

This was an actual assignment given to students at SLCC's Fashion Institute. If you're a Project Runway fan, you'll remember rock and roll, leather lover, Stella. She was almost "out" when she designed a trash bag dress the judges called "butt ugly." In contrast, Liz Erickson, a student designer, is definitely "in." Inspired Natalie Portman's Rodarte red carpet dress, she wove black and white trash bags over a poster board base creating a gorgeous dress. Not only is it perfect for an elegant night on the town, but is easy clean-up, no need to worry about spills!

Fellow SLCC designer Kristen Fuller fashioned a fun flapper dress from plastic drinking straws tied together with dental floss. Who knew straws could be so sexy? Hannah Besler's inspiration for her ensemble was Audrey Hepburn in "My Fair Lady," constructed from 250 coffee filters. It was positively "loverly."

"Designers, your next challenge is to create an iconic denim look using recycled jeans."

Eugene Tachini's "in" look was a long, flowing patchwork skirt. The SLCC faculty member believes "recycling and repurposing materials as a force of designing fashion...can be beautiful, cool, and neato-bandito."

While I'm anxiously awaiting the return of my beloved "Project Runway," I'll have to settle for Bravo's new program, "The Fashion Show." The premiere episode had a challenge requiring the designers to make a little black dress out of a big black T-shirt. Well, that's exactly what I have done! Except I took it one step further, my inspiration was giving new life to long forgotten T-shirts gathering dust in my closet. I wanted to take the ordinary and transform it into the unexpected and opposite of its traditional use, by converting old T-shirts into chic evening wear. By layering different colored shirts, I was able to reproduce the look of a contemporary high-fashion fabric.

The eco-friendly show also highlighted Shift, a unique line of clothing offering a range of dresses, tops, and vests newly constructed from vintage fabrics. Shift reclaims what has been set aside and uses it for their raw materials to create truly "green" fashion that is wearable and fresh, available at Lolabella and shiftingdesign.com.

Green is the word for The Green Element's T-shirts, hoodies and hats for the conscious consumer. They provide fashionable, high quality clothing using sustainable textiles at a reasonable price. See their full line at greenelementclothing.com. Also feeling green, Rachelle Wahlquist, another SLCC designer, reconstructed old sweaters into new and fresh styles. She wants "to make wearing green a positive and cute thing."

Like Heidi Klum says, "One day you're in and the next day you're out." Today, green is "in." It is the new black. Auf Wiedersehen!