Sustainable Fashion Exhibition Highlights
Rethink The Runway’s Origin Story from SF Climate Week 2024
During SF Climate Week 2024, a sold-out Sustainable Fashion Exhibition brought together over 350 attendees at Hibernia San Francisco to celebrate innovation in sustainable fashion. This landmark event — featuring thought-provoking panel discussions, brand activations, and inspiring runway shows — became the origin story for our Rethink the Runway movement. Now, the initiative continues to build momentum by championing the crucial intersections between fashion and climate action through ongoing community collaborations and events throughout the Bay Area.
📹 Sustainable Fashion Exhibition during SFCW 2024. Video by Warren DiFranco.
Wine, runway shows, and thoughtful discussions: the first sustainable fashion event of SF Climate Week history
When 350+ industry innovators, designers, and fashion-forward thinkers packed into the historic Hibernia building last fall, they weren't just attending another event —they were witnessing the Bay Area reclaiming its place in fashion's future. The sold-out Sustainable Fashion Exhibition made history as SF Climate Week's first-ever fashion-focused gathering, planting the seed for serious sustainable fashion discussions within climate conversations in the Bay Area.
Ticket holders were greeted with a showcase of sustainable fashion solutions that are already in the works: 3D-printed shoes designed for more efficient product lifecycle processing, digital product passports tracking garment journeys, and luxurious leather made from invasive species. As attendees sipped J. Lohr's sustainable wines and sampled vegetarian delights from iconic restaurant Greens and Mediterranean platters from La Mediterranee at Noe St., conversations sparked between entrepreneurs, designers, and fashion enthusiasts about what's possible when creativity meets climate consciousness.
Let's be honest: sustainable fashion events can sometimes feel like browsing through endless racks of bamboo basics and "conscious collections" that are 5% recycled plastic and 95% marketing. But this spectacle? Chef's kiss. It delivered a perfect cocktail of education, inspiration, and celebration — showcasing true innovation rather than incremental greenwashing.
The Power Players Behind the Magic
First, a round of applause for our event orchestrators: Casey Hogue of Serotonin Creative Consultancy led the charge, with Mira Musank of Fafafoom Studio, Melissa Dulanto of San Francisco Fashion, Janina Angel Bath of Empress Vintage, and DJ Bisi Obateru bringing their collective genius to co-produce an evening that felt less like a climate lecture and more like fashion's eclectic and elegant night out.
The brand pavilion showcased true disruptors that invite conversations: INVERSA Leathers (yes, they're making beautiful leather from invasive species), Deploy London's sustainability-led designs, HILOS' 3D-printed footwear prototypes, PlsReturnIt's tags embedded with robust traceability solutions, and Lunaescent's skincare applications. Meanwhile, talented students from Paul Mitchell East Bay School - led by Katya Rich - ensured our models looked flawless from head to toe.
The Evening Unfolds: Wine, Wisdom & Wow Moments
The event kicked off with exclusive experiences for VIP ticket holders, who enjoyed a private tour of the historic Hibernia SF venue and a special visit to the Holy Stitch! Factory Fellowship facility across the street. As general admission began, DJ Bisi set the mood with beats as fresh as the ideas in the room. Attendees sipped J. Lohr sustainable wines poured by Cynthia Lohr herself while nibbling on vegetarian delights from iconic San Francisco institution Greens and delicious Mediterranean bites from La Mediterranee — the perfect appetizer before feasting on knowledge and inspirations, twice over!
Following welcome remarks by Tyrone Jue, Director of SF Environment Department, Casey Hogue set the stage for the evening program, “There are over 8 billions of people on Earth, most of us wear clothes every day. This is a problem.” With that thought-provoking statement, the main program began.
Panel 1: Innovative Materials and Sustainable Brands
Samata Pattinson of Black Pearl guided our first mind-expanding conversation with some serious industry heavy-hitters:
Eric Liedtke (UNLESS Collective) shared how he left his executive role at adidas to create plant-based products designed to literally disappear at end-of-life.
Bernice Pan (Deploy London) outlined her pioneering approach to establishing a womenswear label with garments rooted in 360° Sustainability Ethos.
Elias Stahl (HILOS) described the future of sustainable fashion production through innovative 3D printing and strategic brand partnerships.
Heather Podoll (Fibershed) connected the dots between soil health and what we wear — because regenerative fashion is a collective effort that starts in the dirt.
Runway #1: Sustainable and Spectacular
With the help of Miss San Francisco Bailey Farren as runway MC, Melissa Dulanto of San Francisco Fashion transformed sustainability from concept to catwalk with a runway show featuring:
Deploy London: Elegant pieces for modern business women and leaders that champion sustainability mindset to the core.
Herderin: Heritage techniques meeting modern aesthetics, made from Fibershed regionally grown natural fibers, with the goal of adding longevity to our wardrobe.
purpul x Stella Harry Lee: Gender-inclusive designs made using repurposed fabrics, this collection is a special collaboration between purpul and textile designer Stella Harry Lee.
Eternal Blue: Ocean-inspired jewelry pieces showcasing craftsmanship and innovation.
Panel 2: What Happens After "The End"
Our own Mira Musank of Fafafoom Studio led the second panel exploring fashion's least glamorous but perhaps most important frontier — what happens when we're done with our clothes:
Sarika Bajaj (Refiberd) broke down how their AI-powered textile sorting system achieves fiber identification with remarkable precision: within 1-2% error margin.
Annie Gullingsrud (Trashie) highlighted the success of their textile collection program (Take Bag Bags) and how they're making responsible disposal accessible to the general public.
Kevin Sullivan (Tereform) explained their breakthrough innovations in recycling blended materials – historically one of the most notorious challenges in fiber-to-fiber recycling.
Nate Pelczar (California Product Stewardship Council) bringing the policy perspective in textile stewardship (SB-707) and reminding us that systems change requires both innovation AND regulation.
Following the panel, an enthusiastic Q&A session demonstrated the audience's deep engagement, with participants asking critical questions and six lucky attendees receiving a Trashie Take Back Bag as a reward for their contribution.
Runway #2: Vintage, Upcycled, and Utterly Unique
The grand finale came courtesy of Janina Bain of Empress Vintage, showcasing fashion that proves sustainability is also about celebrating what already exists:
Certitude by K: Upcycled clothes featuring unique Batik designs, combining traditional Sri Lankan wax-resist techniques and a commitment to ethical fashion production.
DNA Threds: Pioneer of “trashion” activism, transforming discarded materials into avant-garde, theatrical pieces that turn heads and spark conversations.
Fafafoom Studio: Locally sourced textile waste carefully repurposed and upcycled into one-of-a-kind pieces, defying their designed fate in landfills.
Empress Vintage: Highly curated selection of vintage luxury, proving that sometimes the most sustainable garment is one that's already been loved for decades.
Fashion's Climate Champions: Just Getting Started
As the evening wound down, the buzz was palpable. Business cards exchanged, Instagram handles followed, and partnerships formed on the spot. It became crystal clear that the Sustainable Fashion Exhibition wasn't just an event — it was the beginning of something bigger.
The event offered a vibrant preview of fashion's most exciting frontier in the Bay Area: where innovation meets responsibility, creativity meets purpose, and style meets substance. This was the origin story of Rethink the Runway movement. Not too long after, during Climatebase Fellowship Cohort 6, Mira Musank decided to take the reins and continue the momentum forward.
The objective? Unite changemakers — from innovators and brands to emerging designers and community organizations — to advance circular and regenerative fashion. The mission is to bring sustainable fashion practices into climate conversations, spotlight leading innovations and brands that develop more circular solutions, and uplift local community efforts and young designers.
Support Our mission
As a volunteer-driven organization, we depend on community support to sustain our movement. If you believe in our mission, please consider making a tax-deductible donation.
Rethink the Runway is an initiative of Climate Creative, eligible for tax-exempt status through its fiscal sponsorship with Social Good Fund, a 501(c)3 nonprofit.
Recognizing the importance of continuity in strengthening public engagement in sustainable fashion discussions, Rethink the Runway team co-creates events with community partners or amplifies existing community events for better visibility.
Interested to co-create events with us?
Click here to fill out our partnership intake form!
Mira is not alone in this endeavor. During the cohort, she recruited like-minded individuals who were equally passionate about advancing discussions of sustainable fashion in the Bay Area. Now, one year after the Sustainable Fashion Exhibition, the team continues growing, poised to showcase a series of events that champion the multitude of intersections between fashion and environmental consciousness.
So stay tuned for what’s next - we can’t wait to show you what’s coming in 2025. The revolution will be well-dressed, indeed.
Join us,
The Rethink the Runway Team
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