Isabel Varela began her career as a fashion designer in her mid-twenties, intent on becoming a global sensation, when reality caused her dreams to come crashing down. Varela was drowning in $100K debt due to her crippling fashion addiction: a rock-bottom moment that forced her to reimagine her place in the world. Today, she is a sustainably-minded designer, artist, advocate, keynote speaker, and life coach, utilizing her platform to help others hang up their addiction and tap into the only solution to self-destructive behavior – self-love. As a multidisciplinary artist, she aims to build a like-minded community to share her experiences with, educate, and help restructure how society interacts with the fashion world one mindful step at a time.
Clothes: Minded and Repurposed are a follow-up to her debut solo art exhibit, Clothes: Minded, which ran in 2018 at the Caelum Gallery in NYC. The event featured Varela’s work alongside like-minded sustainable artists, working together to captivate the reality of wasteful fashion and what we as a community can do to help improve things. Clothes: Minded and Repurposed will build on her 2018 concept, highlighting fashion industry malpractices and taking things a step further by sharing various initiatives people can take to voice their support for a cleaner, more caring, and more responsible future. The exhibit will feature mixed media pieces centered on these concepts, including three 10-foot sculptures, one 10-foot x 10-foot sculpture, three 60 x 60-inch mixed media works, and three 40 x 40-inch mixed media paintings.
“The art that I create is not just for viewing. It is for the audience to participate in and to be part of the artwork, allowing everyone who enters the doors to leave feeling empowered with a new sustainable activity to implement into their lifestyle,” Varela said.
“All of my work is created through upcycled textile fabrics, acrylic paints, and various objects such as foam core and plastics. I create large-scale artwork to amplify the amount of textile waste that goes to our landfills, and utilize vibrant colors to represent the destruction of the fashion industry, including land degradation, toxic chemicals entering waterways, ocean pollution, erosion, and fires.”
Varela’s main inspiration for the exhibit is her personal experience. She takes this space and opportunity to turn her pain, shame, and guilt into a powerful learning tool for others to help them transform and heal – which, in turn, heals our planet.
Event Schedule:
- Opening Reception – August 11, 2022 : 5:30pm to 8:00pm
- Fashion Addict Documentary Screening and Q&A with Isabel Varela / Presentation by Founder of Paz Lifestyle, Isabella Montoya – August 20, 2022: 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm
- Conscious Consumerism Pop Up with Paz Lifestyle – August 20 to August 27 (Thursday through Saturday 12 pm to 8 pm, Sunday 12 pm to 6 pm)
- Layah of Layah Designs Fashion Workshop – August 27, 2022: 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm
- Presentation and Q&A with FABSCRAP Founder Jessica Schrieber – September 1, 2022: 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm
- ThinkTank with Extinction Rebellion – September 8, 2022 : 6:00pm to 8:00pm
- Get Your Clothing Altered with Alternew + Mending Circle with Reclypt – September 10, 2022: 12:00 pm to 8:00 pm.
- Repurpose Your Life Retreat – September 17, 2022 : 11:30am to 5:00pm
- Closing Ceremony & Climate Week, Hosted by Isabel Varela and Founder and Designer of Anne James New York, Anne Whiting – September 22, 2022: 5:00pm to 8:00 pm
