Along San Francisco’s Embarcadero, auction cries were heard in the confines of the streamlined Gap building as models strut down the runway - but it wasn’t clothing by the Gap, Old Navy or Banana Republic. It was clothes made by Bay Area fashion designers out of clothes.

Yes, you heard that right - the Discarded to Divine was a fashion event where clothes were made out of clothes. Students from FIDM, California College of the Arts, UC Davis as well as independent designers teamed up with the St. Vincent de Paul Society SF for a auction (both live and silent) to benefit the Vincentian Help Desk, a place where volunteers give free clothing and food to low-income and homeless people.

So this was the Project Runway-esque mission the designers had to tackle: make clothes out of donated garments that were unusable. And here are some of the results:

Suzanne Curletto from FIDM constructed this “Bubblegum Ball” evening dress that was up for auction. The dress was made out of a vintage dress and was voted as one of the best garments at a recent exhibit at the de Young. The dress is youthful, beautifully constructed and plays with the volume concept of “tight-on-top-full-on-bottom” in a very confident manner.

This black and white evening dress was fashioned out of men’s pants by Eva Garcia from the California College of the Arts. Flowy, elegant and sophisticated, you would never think that this was made out of some old pants. Here’s a full picture of the gown:

In addition to these garments, there were numerous pieces of clothing and accessories to bid on off the runway.

As I browsed through the garments snacking on some cheese and crackers (I was unbelievably STARVED) there were coats made out of ties, jackets made out of curtains, and a full bodied gown made out of a tent - yes, you heard right - a tent.

In addition to a fabulous shawl, Emilia McFarland from UC Davis made this brilliant Vivienne Westwood-inspired dress for the silent auction:

As a former histologist, McFarland took a leap of faith after her husband passed and entered the world of fashion design without any knowledge of sewing. Her gamble certainly paid off. With an old world charm that echoes the corseted beauties Nicole Kidman wore in the movie “Far and Away,” this dress proves that McFarland is more pro than amateur.

One of the most admirable pieces on the entire floor was created by FIDM student Steven Allen Neff:

After discussing the art of fashion with an overzealous man who was praising Neff’s creation with his sunglasses on indoors, Neff was very humble about his popular design (it had to be the hottest item on the floor - the indoor-sunglasses man won it for his wife for $400).

Originally from Napa, Neff said that he made the beautifully streamlined jacket out of six pairs of jeans. Intrinsically quilted with different hues of blue, the jacket was simple, conceptual and wearable.

As people came up to him to praise him for his work, I realized the popularity of his piece was due to the fact that it was very “in-vogue.” It was what was happening now in fashion: military inspired cuts and themes. It was forward in its fashion vision, but not over the top. Plus, based on what he was wearing (a military style sweatshirt with a shirt and tie underneath, with a pair of slim blue jeans), the jacket reflected a part of him - I should’ve gotten a picture of him.

When asked what he ultimately wanted to do with his fashion career, Neff simply stated that he wanted to make clothing for women and men and he wanted to “build a brand” much like Diesel has. It certainly would work for him.

Although a bit worn out from the work day, I was re-energized by the excitement of the auction and how things were auctioned for more that $1,000 (going to charity of course). Plus, I always love to see the vision of fresh talent from aspiring designers.

Isn’t it great when fashion defies the laws of being such a “shallow” industry?