On September 10, 2026, during New York Fashion Week, Sutton Stracke—star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and founder of circular fashion house Sutton Brands—hosted the 5th Annual Women Pioneers of Circular Fashion at the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance. The event honored Susan Rockefeller, Julia O'Mara, and Kristy Caylor for their contributions to advancing a circular economy in fashion. This annual celebration underscores the growing influence of circular fashion, a model that aims to keep clothing in use and out of landfills, and highlights the role of women entrepreneurs in driving sustainable change within the industry.
The honorees represent diverse approaches to circularity. Susan Rockefeller, an entrepreneur, conservationist, and founder of Musings Magazine, uses storytelling to advocate for more thoughtful consumption. Julia O'Mara, co-founder and COO of Pickle, is transforming fashion ownership through shared closets. Kristy Caylor, founder and CEO of Trashie, has made clothing take-back more accessible, encouraging consumers to return unwanted garments into circulation. Their recognition signals that circular fashion is moving from niche to mainstream, with practical solutions being scaled by dedicated leaders.
The evening also featured a preview of Sutton Brands' Green Label and circular-fashion retail experience, a live performance by the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance, and an intimate gathering of fashion, entertainment, and sustainability leaders. The event was filmed for Bravo's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, bringing circular fashion to a broad television audience. This exposure matters because it normalizes sustainable practices and showcases how fashion can be both glamorous and responsible.
Simultaneously, the celebration marked the opening of the Name'Em City Pop-Up Tour, a five-city retail experience bringing Sutton Brands' circular-fashion concept to New York, Nashville, Dallas, Charleston, and Chicago through spring 2027. By creating physical retail touchpoints, Sutton Brands is making circular fashion tangible for consumers, bridging the gap between online awareness and in-person engagement. The tour reflects a strategic expansion of the company's mission to connect designers, consumers, and the reverse-logistics infrastructure needed to keep garments in use.
"Every year we set aside one evening in New York for the women actually doing this work," said Sutton Brown, Founder of Sutton Brands. "Susan, Julia, and Kristy have each solved a different piece of the same problem — how you get clothing moving again instead of sitting unworn. This industry has no shortage of conversation. These three have volume." The quote emphasizes that action, not just dialogue, is essential to shifting the fashion industry's linear model.
Sutton Brands' sustainability philosophy emphasizes longevity, reuse, repurposing, and more conscious consumption. Through curated collections, retail experiences, and take-back partnerships, the company offers an alternative to traditional fashion. As circular fashion gains momentum, events like this and initiatives like the pop-up tour are crucial for demonstrating that sustainable fashion can be commercially viable and culturally influential. For more details on Sutton Brands' approach, visit Sutton Brands Sustainability or SuttonBrands.com.
