A BRACKNELL beauty queen has taken to the catwalk for a Miss England eco-fashion contest wearing bizarre recycled outfits - made from face masks, bin bags and even chocolate wrappers.
Alina Green from Priestwood was among 40 beauty queens who ditched their glitzy ball gowns for dresses made from sustainable materials as part of a qualifying round for this year's final.
The Miss England contestant made her dress from sustainable materials including bamboo silk as it doesn't use much water or land to grow.
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The current Miss Dorset said: "I wanted to highlight the effect fast fashion has on our planet and our people.
"My dress is upcycled and restyled from my previous entry in 2019. I used eco-friendly dyes to remove chemicals from the process. I used bamboo silk as it doesn't use much water or land to grow and eco threads the flower print is used by hand bashing real flowers onto the fabric. I wanted to create a classy dress that was completely sustainable a dress you are able to wear year after year making it a truly sustainable piece."
Alina has just graduated from AUB University Bournemouth in Fashion and Design and based her final collection on sustainability as it is her passion.
As a fashion designer, she has dedicated her studies to being more sustainable within the designs and process and hopes to continue this within her career.
The girls were all competing at the Sanctuary Workshops in Leicester to qualify for the national Miss England final, which be held in Coventry on August 27.
The eco round was started by organiser Angie Beasley in 2007 to give contestants the opportunity to dress for less and think about recycling instead of just buying new and off the peg.
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Angie said this years brief was to make something stylish and creative using recycled materials and portray an ethical message in association with Plastfree a British Menstrual Hygiene brand.
She added: "One average one sanitary pad contains the equivalent of five plastic carrier bags, something I had no idea about myself until I was introduced to Plastfree Pads the partner in this round in Miss England.
“Think about how many pads the average woman goes through in a lifetime. The Miss England finalists are spreading this message to create more awareness”.
The longest serving Miss England in the history of the contest NHS Doctor Bhasha Mukherjee became an ambassador for Plastfree during her two year reign .
The winner of Miss England will go forward to the 70th Miss World later this year in Puerto Rico.
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