Currently, the US generates 25 Billion pounds of textile waste every year; only fourteen percent gets recycled through donations and recycling, amounting to an average of seventy pounds per person.
Fashion Evolved is a yearly exhibit that raises awareness of the fashion industry’s profound environmental impact on our planet. Each year Fashion evolved is themed to challenge conventional designers to bring attention to different issues affecting our environment. Previous year’s themes include “Fashion Evolved: Couture”, “Fashion Evolved: A World of Plastics”, and “Fashion Evolved: Art of Sail”.
Designers such as Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, Angel Sanchez, Oscar Carvallo, Nicola Felizola, Shantall Lacayo, Adrienne Bon Haes, Viviana Gabeiras, among other names, have participated in our first three Fashion Evolved editions.
The fourth edition of “Fashion Evolved: Uniforms Unraveled” featured donated uniforms from global beauty brand Esteé Lauder, upcycled by Miami International University of Art and Design’s fashion design graduates into unique creations. The exhibit offers an opportunity to raise awareness of the fashion industry’s global impact by designing showpieces made from unwanted materials.
Pictured from left to right: Upcycle Project's founder Gabriella Smith, Miami International University of Art and Design graduates Natasha Tabunova, Chevia Roach-Segall, Vania Zelaya, Dana El-Ghoul Heredia, and the university's fashion department chair Oscar Lopez.
The creative use of textile waste serves as a catalyst to question the current fashion model and its impact on people and the planet, opening the conversation toward solutions to help move fashion forward into a responsible, sustainable, and ethical industry.
The exhibit took place during Miami Art Week 2021 at Bay Store, a sustainable art gallery in Miami Design District, powered by partner brands Topo Chico, Esteé Lauder, Miami International University of Art and Design, and Studio Quinaz.
See in the gallery below all the Upcycled designs exhibited at Fashion Evolved.
Design created by Miami International University's fashion graduate Dana El Ghoul Heredia.
Design created by Miami International University's fashion graduate by Anastasio Giannoutsos.
Design created by Miami International University's fashion graduate Natasha Tabunova.
Design created by Miami International University's fashion graduate Vania Zelaya.
Design created by Miami International University's fashion graduate Chevia Roach-Segall.
James Quinaz from Quinaz Studio/Bay Store, Diana Aranda from Topo Chico, Gabriella Smith, and David
Thank you Topo Chico for partnering with Upcycle Project!
