Bellingham fashion show makes trash look good

For anyone who has wondered what satin and empty pill packets have in common, Rebecca Maxim has the answer: they can both be used to make a seriously beautiful wedding gown.

Maxim, an HIV nurse from Seattle, was one of dozens of designers who created inspired ensembles out of recycled goods for the annual Trash Fashion Show, held Saturday, April 23, at Western Washington University.

"You take the ordinary things you see in life and transform them into something out of the ordinary," said Maxim, who collected the pill packets and paper pill cups to create a monumental gown. "Then you wrap it around a body and turn it into fashion."