On Saturday September 9, I attended the Opera Recycles runway presentation by Opera Carolina. The show was part of Couture Fashion Week New York’s 26th season and held in the Broadway Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Times Square Manhattan.

I was excited to see this presentation, as the concept is completely innovative. The company developed the clothing line as the result of a new recycling initiative designed to convert printed marketing material into one-of-a-kind, eco-friendly fashion pieces. The opening dress was embellished with colorful paper hearts across the chest which was accented with larger white paper hearts that dangled beautifully from the bottom of the mostly deep brown garment.

Keeping with the opera theme, several models emerged wearing floor-length ball gowns and ornate headpieces, some of which featured color-blocking, geometric patterns and ruffles.

One of my favorite pieces was a floor-length, all-black, skin-tight mermaid-style gown which  was stylized with red materials that floated diagonally across the front. To see more pieces from the collection, look through the gallery below.