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Young At Art Museum’s 18th Annual Recycled Fashion Show: Reef Restyled dazzled the full theater on Saturday, April 26, from 5-8 PM at ArtServe!
As YAA celebrates more than 35 years of sparking teen creativity, this year’s event highlighted eco-inspired designs crafted by talented local designers from Broward high schools and PACE Center for Girls. Guests enjoyed an evening of stunning sustainable couture, art experiences, and delicious refreshments with an open bar.
Proceeds from the event will directly benefit YAA’s Museum Programming and Community Initiatives, supporting low-income families and empowering at-risk teen girls.
This was an unforgettable night of fashion, art, and philanthropy—a true celebration of creativity and environmental consciousness!
We can’t wait for you to join us at the next Recycled Fashion Show in April 2026! More details to come!
1st Place
Faida
2nd Place
Bianca
3rd Place
FIF Scholarship Winner
Juliana
People's Choice
Paola
Program
5:00pm
Enjoy Refreshments and ArtServe Exhibit Sneak Peek
5:40pm
Seating will Open
5:50pm
The Runway Show Starts
Behind the Garments that Walked the Runway:
Garment #1
Designer: Paola
Age: 14
School: Western High School
Model: Anjali
Environmental Issue: Threats to Coral Reefs due to overfishing and damage from fishing nets
Material: Plastic bottle, fruit nets/plastic mesh bags, and reused clear plastic tablecloth for the base.
Favorite Part: Making the corals and painting them
Garment #2
Designer: Andrea, Jasmine, Joylah, Victoria, and Emma
Age: 15, 15, 16, 15, 14
School: PACE Center for Girls, Broward
Model: Jasmine
Environmental Issue: Overfishing, she represents it by wearing a scale dress and loofa net around her neck and the scales represent fish.
Material: Mylar balloons
Favorite Part: The scales
Garment #3
Designer: Bianca
Age: 17
School: The College Academy at Broward College
Model: Merlissa
Environmental Issue: The Crown of Thorns Starfish is an Invasive Species
Material: Cardboard
Favorite Part: Figuring out how to make my stiff material defy everything it's known for. That meant making it easy to move in, make it smooth not rigid, and best of all make it look stunning!
Garment #4
Designer: Loani and Haria
Age: 14, 13
School: PACE Center for Girls, Broward
Model: Gwynne
Environmental Issue: Coral Species Dying, the top of the dress represents healthy coral and then it slowly dying.
Material: Plastic flowers and foil
Favorite Part: The flowers
Garment #5
Designer: Zion
Age: 18
School: Charles W. Flanagan
Model: Danny
Environmental Issue: Habitat Destruction and Ecosystem Degradation
Material: Installation foam
Favorite Part: My favorite part about designing my garment was being able to bring a bold, creative vision to life using unconventional materials. I really enjoyed experimenting with the form and structure that the installation foam allowed—it pushed me to think outside the box and challenge my own design boundaries.
Garment #6
Designer: Makayla, Eleana, Genesis, and Aylin
Age: 14, 14, 13, 14
School: PACE Center for Girls, Broward
Model: Makayla
Environmental Issue: Climate change, hurricanes. The top parts of the dress are the ocean, the plastic represents the ocean and the inside of the dress is the hurricane.
Material: Plastic
Favorite Part: Painting the plastic
Garment #7
Designer: Camila
Age: 17
School: International School of Broward
Model: Shaelle
Environmental Issue: The need to recycle more waste and keep our clean waterways clean
Material: Plastic bottle caps
Favorite Part: Making the garment out of four different dresses
Garment #8
Designer: Odari
Age: 16
School: South Plantation
Model: Ashon
Environmental Issue: Pollution in the reefs
Material: Paper bags
Favorite Part: The bag and the experience of using my creativity and being able to put it on a canvas/person
Garment #9
Designer: Fernanda
Age: 14
School: Keys Gate Charter School
Model: Angelica
Environmental Issue: Coral bleaching
Material: Aluminum soda tabs
Favorite Part: Finishing the garment because I got to see how my hard Work paid off
Garment #10
Designer: Dee Dee
Age: 16
School: AEF
Model: Deedee
Environmental Issue: Coral Bleaching/Global Warming
Material: Bubble Wrap
Favorite Part: Designing the dress
Garment #11
Designer: Leanna
Age: 17
School: Millennium 6-12 Collegiate Academy
Model: Catherine
Environmental Issue: Using a plastic bottle ocean outfit, I want to convey their harm and prevalence – a stark visual of overwhelming pollution.
Material: Plastic water bottles
Favorite Part: Making the corset of my dress
Garment #12
Designer: Faida
Age: 17
School: Dillard Center for the Arts
Model: Vintage
Environmental Issue: Entanglements caused by marine debris that negatively impact sea life within coral reefs.
Material: Plastic bags
Favorite Part: The experimentation! I love trusting the process when I deviate a little from my plan.
Garment #13
Designer: Eylin, Lua, Sharah and Isabella
Age: 14, 16, 18, 15
School: PACE Center for Girls, Broward
Model: Eylin
Environmental Issue: Trawling, the capture of a large range of fish and other life, even possibly protected species. The dress and bow represents the trawling nets that collect marine life.
Material: Netting of all kinds
Favorite Part: Picking out colors
Garment #14
Designer: Mackenzie
Age: 15
School: Cypress Bay High school
Model: Ivy
Environmental Issue: Dying coral reef due to a lack of oxygen
Material: Dunkin Donut cups
Favorite Part: Spray painting
Garment #15
Designer: Sadhika, Shivika, Kimora and Veronika
Age: 16, 16, 17, 16
School: Millennium 6-12 Collegiate Academy
Model: Daniela
Environmental Issue: Overfishing
Material: Chip bags
Favorite Part: Our favorite part about designing the dress was making the sequins and trying on the hoopskirt that we made.
Garment #16
Designer: Juliana
Age: 14
School: Keys Gate Charter High School
Model: Ashley
Environmental Issue: Coral Bleaching
Material: Dryer Sheets
Favorite Part: Watching my sketch becoming a real dress
Garment #17
Designer: Emily
Age: 18
School: Homeschool
Model: Bryanna
Environmental Issue: The suffocation of the reefs due to food packaging waste
Material: Food packaging
Favorite Part: Seeing a vision come to life though things made purely by your own hands is amazing, and certainly my favorite part of designing!
Chernéy Amhara is an Emmy® award-winning journalist and weekend morning anchor at NBC6 in South Florida, where she also reports during the week. Before joining NBC6 in 2022, she anchored and reported for WISN-12 News in Milwaukee, covering major national stories such as the Milwaukee Bucks Championship, the Waukesha Parade Tragedy, and unrest in Kenosha. She has also reported in Las Vegas, earning an Emmy® for her coverage of gang culture and reporting on events like the Las Vegas mass shooting. A California State University, Northridge graduate with a focus in Spanish-language journalism, Amhara began her career in Charlottesville and Los Angeles. Born in Jamaica and raised in California, she embraces her Caribbean roots and love for travel, often sharing her culinary adventures on her Instagram page @ChefNCher.
A lifelong Florida native, Sue Aguilera is an artist and educator passionate about inspiring young creatives. She earned her BFA in Visual Arts from the International Fine Arts College in Miami and has taught at various institutions, including Young At Art Museum, where she was a Lead Studio Art Teacher. Skilled in multiple disciplines—drawing, painting, set design, sculpture, and photography—Sue has spent over two decades shaping the next generation of artists. As an elementary art teacher at Discovery Elementary and a cornerstone of the YAA Institute, she fosters fearless creativity and artistic exploration.
Colombian-born designer Sebastian Grey, winner of Project Runway Season 17, merges innovation and tradition in his fashion brand, Jhoan Sebastian Grey. With a background in his family’s leather business and training from the Academy of Professional Drawing in Cali, he crafts intricate yet minimal designs from his Fort Lauderdale studio. His 2020 NYFW collection, Lineage, celebrated Colombian artistry through sustainable techniques like Knit Leather and 3D Knitwear. Dedicated to ethical fashion, Grey emphasizes natural fibers, zero-waste methods, and community empowerment. A luxury brand management master’s graduate from Istituto Marangoni Miami, he continues pushing creative boundaries through collaborations and education.
Gianna Arrubla is the founder of Republic of G, a digital sewing pattern company dedicated to creating long-lasting, stylish pieces designed specifically for petite women. A proud alumna of the Fashion Institute of Florida, she began her sewing journey in 2020 and quickly turned her passion into a mission. Through her work, Gianna empowers women to sew their own wardrobes with patterns that finally fit and flatter petite frames – an often-overlooked group in the fashion industry.
Madison Barnett is an aspiring costume and set designer from Fort Lauderdale, currently in her third year at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. While most of Madison’s work is for stage and film, she also views art to build community. As a board member of her family’s nonprofit, the Christopher M. Barnett Family Foundation, she does exactly that. While in New York, she volunteers weekly at the Staten Island-based nonprofit, Eden II, teaching arts and crafts to children on the spectrum. Madison is autistic herself, so this intersection of advocacy is especially close to her heart. She is thrilled to be working with Young At Art on their annual fashion show, and can’t wait to see what’s on the runway.
Simona Julieta Firpo is a Decoden artist, cosplayer, and small business owner of Kawaii Decoden Cases LLC, where they have been crafting whimsical, candy-like phone cases since 2017. Born in Argentina, they earned a degree in Art from Florida International University and previously served as the Lead Artist at the Young At Art Museum. Now, they share their creativity with a global audience through livestreams on TikTok, Twitch, and YouTube, where they engage with their vibrant online community. When not covered in glitter and Deco cream, they enjoy bringing cosplay to life in their free time.
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