During New York Fashion Week on September 10, 2026, Sutton Stracke, star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and founder of 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 moving the fashion industry toward a more circular economy. This annual celebration, now in its fifth year, signals that circular fashion is transitioning from a niche concept to a mainstream movement with tangible business implications.
The honorees represent different facets of the circular fashion ecosystem. Susan Rockefeller, an entrepreneur, conservationist, and founder of Musings Magazine, has used storytelling to advocate for a more thoughtful relationship with what we make and consume. Julia O'Mara, co-founder and COO of Pickle, is transforming fashion ownership through a shared approach to closets and clothing. Kristy Caylor, founder and CEO of Trashie, has made clothing take-back more accessible by creating systems that encourage consumers to return unwanted clothing into circulation. Their work addresses distinct pieces of the same problem: how to keep garments in use and out of landfills.
The event also 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. This tour expands the reach of circular fashion retail, offering consumers direct access to curated collections and take-back partnerships. By connecting designers, consumers, and reverse-logistics infrastructure, Sutton Brands aims to demonstrate that beautiful clothing can stay in circulation. The company's sustainability philosophy emphasizes longevity, reuse, repurposing, and more conscious consumption, offering an alternative to the traditional linear fashion model. For more details, see Sutton Brands Sustainability.
The implications of this event extend beyond a single evening. As the fashion industry faces increasing pressure to reduce waste and environmental impact, initiatives like Women Pioneers of Circular Fashion highlight the entrepreneurs and innovators driving change. The presence of entertainment and fashion personalities, including Erika Jayne, Tracy Tutor, and designer Brian Atwood, underscores the growing visibility of circular fashion. The event was filmed for Bravo's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, further amplifying its message to a broad audience. Partnerships with organizations such as The Return, GURUS, and Graham 100 also indicate cross-sector collaboration to advance sustainability.
Sutton Brands, co-founded by Sutton Brown (formerly known as Sutton Stracke), is a circular fashion house built on the belief that beautiful clothing should stay in circulation. Through curated collections, retail experiences, and take-back partnerships, the company works to connect designers, consumers, and the infrastructure necessary to keep garments in use. As the Name'Em City Pop-Up Tour brings this vision to five cities, it offers a scalable model for circular retail. The success of such ventures could influence how other brands approach sustainability, potentially accelerating the industry's shift away from disposable fashion. Learn more at SuttonBrands.com.
