What a Waist

Annie Block, Mark McMenamin, and Meghan Edwards -- Interior Design, 10/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

Clothes made from discarded metal and plastic are probably not the most comfortable to wear, but these dresses definitely take repurposing to a new, rather chic level. A sculptor, John Petrey, turns bottle caps, marquee letters, tin ceiling tiles, and broken yardsticks into "outfits" that pay facetious tribute to the innocent mind-set of the 1950's and '60's. See a dozen at the Lois Lambert Gallery in Los Angeles, starting November 14—right around the time when like-minded pieces by Maison Martin Margiela will be available at yoox.com. Handmade from discarded items such as vinyl records and disco-ball mirror squares, the 100 one-offs will be sold to benefit the Rosa Spier House, a nonprofit artists' retirement community in the Netherlands.

From top: Made of bottle caps and vintage aluminum signage, John Petrey's "Ethel" comes to the Lois Lambert Gallery in Los Angeles. A dress in crepe de chine and vinyl records, from Maison Martin Margiela's Artisanal collection.