On September 10, 2026, during New York Fashion Week, Sutton Stracke, star of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and founder of the 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 has become a notable platform for recognizing women who are driving change through entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable practices, and its fifth iteration underscores that circular fashion is moving from niche concept to mainstream priority.
The honorees represent different facets of the circular movement. Susan Rockefeller, an entrepreneur, conservationist, and founder of Musings Magazine, uses storytelling to encourage thoughtful consumption. Julia O'Mara, co-founder and COO of Pickle, is redefining fashion ownership through shared closets. Kristy Caylor, founder and CEO of Trashie, has made clothing take-back more accessible, creating systems that move unwanted garments back into circulation. Their work addresses a critical problem: how to keep clothing in use and out of landfills. By honoring these women, Stracke amplifies solutions that can scale across the industry.
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, giving the circular fashion message a national television audience. This exposure matters because it brings sustainable fashion into popular culture, potentially influencing consumer behavior far beyond the fashion elite.
Stracke's commitment extends beyond a single event. Through Sutton Brands, she focuses on keeping beautiful clothing in circulation via curated collections, retail experiences, and take-back partnerships that connect designers, consumers, and reverse-logistics infrastructure. The September 10 celebration also marked the opening of the Name'Em City Pop-Up Tour, a five-city retail experience bringing the circular-fashion concept to New York, Nashville, Dallas, Charleston, and Chicago through spring 2027. This tour will test the concept in diverse markets, providing valuable data on consumer adoption and scaling potential.
"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." Her words highlight a shift from talk to action, emphasizing tangible solutions over rhetoric.
The implications of this announcement are significant. As the fashion industry faces increasing pressure to reduce waste, circular models offer a viable path forward. By celebrating pioneers and launching a multi-city tour, Sutton Brands is not only raising awareness but also building infrastructure for a circular economy. The involvement of celebrities and influencers at the event further signals that sustainability is becoming a status symbol, which could accelerate adoption. For more on Sutton Brands' approach, visit Sutton Brands Sustainability and SuttonBrands.com.
Previous honorees include Rachel Kibbe, Sarah Barnes, and Dana Thomas, indicating a sustained effort to recognize leadership in this space. The event was presented in partnership with The Return, GURUS, Graham 100, Sutton, Est. 1971, S&M Wine Co., J.T. Meleck Distillers, and Berkeley College, showing broad support from both fashion and beyond. As circular fashion gains momentum, initiatives like this could reshape how clothing is produced, consumed, and reused, ultimately reducing the industry's environmental footprint.
