Goodwill’s Evening of Treasures Gala Showcases Upcycled Designs From Rowing Blazers, Bibhu Mohapatra and More
Goodwill Industries of Greater New York and Northern New Jersey hosted its fourth annual Evening of Treasures event Thursday night located at Tapestry Inc.’s Hudson Yards headquarters, gathering executives and fashion designers to celebrate sustainable fashion.
Designer June Ambrose hosted the night, bringing together designers Jack Carlson of Rowing Blazers, Bibhu Mohapatra, Busayo Olupona, Zero Waste Daniel and Chris Echevarria of Blackstock & Weber to showcase their upcycled designs created with Goodwill merchandise. The designers’ looks are now up for auction to benefit Goodwill’s Mission Services.
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The evening also served as a fundraiser, generating more than $450,000 for the organization.
“This is an integration of seven pieces,” Olupona said about the colorful dress she designed for the gala. “I’m Nigerian American and I’m Yoruba by culture. In our culture we have a tradition where you take pieces from your ancestors and you integrate them into one garment, so I wanted this dress to capture the spirit of Goodwill’s stores and all of the lives that are changed in the stores through the garments.”
Carlson showcased two upcycled looks, which he designed with CFDA scholar and Parsons student Léo Guarin-Peters. The looks stayed true to Rowing Blazers’ preppy aesthetic and juxtaposed fabrics found at two Goodwill locations.
Echevarria worked with his model, FIT student Daniel Slade, to create his upcycled look. The duo used many different fabrics to create what the designer described as a “couture jersey.”
“When me and Slade started talking about the design for this, essentially we wanted to create something that pointed back to American sportswear as well as Japanese Americana. We have portions of different fabrics that point back to American menswear and we have everything from camo to denim to seersucker. This is something that I would wear either a bit more formal or a bit dressed down.”
Mohapatra stuck true to his couture roots for his upcycled look, leveraging several dresses, blouses and tunics for the dress.
“I was going to make separate pieces and then my team decided to make it Bibhu and one-of-a-kind couture,” he said. “It becomes an example to our very own clients that think that clothes have a life, but these clothes can be repurposed to create something unique for them.”
In addition to the upcycled fashion, Goodwill honored board member David Coquillette with the Visionary Leadership award. The organization also honored Google with the Corporate Leadership award.
Launch Gallery: Goodwill Night of Treasures Gala Arrivals in New York City
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