From old jeans, to thrifted ties and discarded fabrics, Santa Clara University students spent months turning second hand materials into runway-ready fashion. The University’s annual EcoFashion Show challenges student designers to create original looks using secondhand and upcycled materials. The event, now in its fourth year in its current form, aims to highlight the environmental and social impacts of the fashion industry. For senior Anna Truong ’26, this year’s show carried extra weight. “I started thinking about it in summer,” she said. “I wanted to make my last year count.” Truong, who began sewing during quarantine by making a bucket hat out of an old T-shirt, has spent the last three years refining her craft. This year she pushed herself, creating three collections. “Princess Treatment” featured two ballgown style princess dresses. “tie dance,” was curated using old ties, and “37th St Denim” got its title from the 37 pairs of jeans used to create the three denim patchwork looks. “I’m a little crazy and a little ambitious,” she said, laughing. Her designs relied heavily on materials from Bucky’s Closet, a campus resource providing free second hand clothing. Truong cut hundreds of hearts and squares, reassembling pieces into detailed, labor intensive garments. “I couldn’t have done it alone,” she said. “I had to give a shoutout to my team.” Looking back, Truong sees the show as a reflection of her growth over the past four years. “I’ve grown a lot,” she said. “This is a part of who I am now.” As she prepares to graduate, Truong plans to continue pursuing fashion, building her portfolio and exploring opportunities in the fashion industry. “I don’t think I’ll stop creating,” she said. For others, like Crowe, the journey is just beginning. After her first experience at the show, she’s already thinking about next year.” “I’ll do it again,” she said. “Now I feel more comfortable.” 📝: Isabella Alvarez 📷: @elainez_ly

Located in Santa Clara University’s Benson Parlors B and C, the Healing Arts Exhibit offers students a quiet space to engage with anonymous artwork centered on harm, healing and resilience. Hosted by the Santa Clara University Wellness Center during Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the exhibit features painted T-shirts, masks, poetry and canvases created by survivors and allies. Organizers emphasize anonymity to allow contributors to share openly while protecting their identities. Assistant Director for Student Survivor Advocacy and Campus Support Ashleigh Pezzoni said the exhibit’s location and design aim to be trauma-informed. In past years, displays in more public outdoor areas could feel overwhelming for some students. “We wanted students to be able to opt into the space in ways that feel right for them,” Pezzoni said. The exhibit includes T-shirts from the Clothesline Project, a movement that began in the 1990s to raise awareness of violence and support survivors. Messages on the shirts reflect themes of grief, anger and healing, while also emphasizing that harm can affect people of all genders, not just women as Pezzoni emphasized. New this year are painted masks, which Pezzoni said represent the complex and at times fractured identities survivors may navigate after experiencing harm. “Oftentimes, people are moving through the world wearing different masks,” she said. Pezzoni hopes visitors leave with a deeper understanding of survivors’ experiences. “I want people to recognize the courage it takes to share any of this,” Pezzoni said. “And to know they’re not alone.” 📝: Dylan Ryu 📷: Dylan Ryu