upcycled gear runway show

Celebrating the transformation from the Ryerson Rams to the TMU Bold through sustainable design.

Collaborating with Athletics & Recreation, 27 one-of-a-kind looks were created using Ryerson and Rams-branded materials by twenty TMU Fashion Design alumni and students. Designers were paired with TMU student-athletes, who served as sources of inspiration and modeled the looks throughout the project.

overview

The runway show emerged as part of the broader TMU Branded Materials Transition Project and functioned as both a celebration of varsity athletics and a creative strategy for redirecting obsolete branded materials away from landfill. It brought together design, institutional transition, sustainability, and public engagement through a large-scale collaborative event.

approach

The project worked under the directive “no new materials,” which shaped every aspect of the show and exhibit. Alongside Tricia Crivellaro Grenier and a team of TMU fashion students, you designed, documented, prototyped, and produced volunteer uniforms, accessories, graphic communication materials, sneaker covers, and exhibit components using scavenged resources from across the university campus.

significance

The runway show demonstrated how institutionally obsolete branded textiles could become a site of creative transformation, student collaboration, and public storytelling. Rather than simply disposing of retired university materials, the project reframed them as resources for design experimentation, athlete-centered collaboration, and broader conversations about textile waste, reuse, and circularity.