MUNCIE, Ind. -- One person's trash may be another person's fashion statement.

Students in Ball State's apparel design program have taken the recycling trend a step further by creating their own brand of art with recycled clothing and other materials.

"We are all artists in apparel design," said Fernando Garza, Muncie senior. "We choose fabric as our medium."

Wilma Ridgeway, assistant professor of family and consumer sciences, created a Creative Couture Recycle Project seminar to create environmental awareness. Students scoured local thrift stores seeking second-hand clothing to reconfigure.

The results, displayed recently in the Applied Technology Building, were outfits employing such materials as newspapers and paper clips and old umbrellas. Included was a vest made of milk carton caps.

"I was able to get 200 caps from the recycling center," said Tammy Kramer, Albany senior. "I ended up with all the right colors."

Valerie Birk, graduate assistant from Muncie, said one challenge to inventiveness came when students were given plastics bags, tape and pins -and told to create.

"We have a wonderful support team that helps us develop our creativity," she said.

Apparel design is a relatively new area for Ball State's Department of Family and Consumer Sciences, having produced 10 graduates last year. It is among several program options within the department.

"We have a very creative, talented group of students," Ridgeway said. "You can't grade their creativity. Each is different in their own area."

Students are currently completing their final projects and Ridgeway hopes to enter the best works in national competition.

"We're not a design school, but I know our students can do as well as any others anywhere," she said.