The Circular Fashion Expo began with one goal: to spotlight sustainability and artistic expression on campus. What started as a small runway show has evolved into a full-scale community event, drawing hundreds of attendees each semester.
CFE launched in Spring 2022 through a collaboration within The Fashion Network. Since then, it’s grown into a separate RSO with its own leadership board and programming.
William Hohe, senior in FAA and co-founder of CFE, recalls being approached by student Josh James with the concept.
“It was born out of, just this really big desire of circularity, which is so part of it, but part of that circularity is the people and the reception of ideas,” Hohe said.
“CFE 1,” the first edition of the expo, was hosted at the Siebel Center for Design in Spring 2022.
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By its second installment in October 2022, the event was packed. Soon, more students wanted to join and get involved. One of these students was Mia Bartletti, junior in FAA, who first attended “CFE 2” as a freshman and donated to its clothing swap.
By “CFE 3,” she was already on the runway. Since then, Bartletti has remained deeply involved in the event, taking on roles in styling, sound direction and now serving as senior lead organizer.
“Once you get involved in one way, I feel like you kind of stay involved in some sort of way,” Bartletti said.
Sasha Hirschberg, senior in ACES and current publicity and outreach director, also traces her beginnings with CFE back to its earliest days.
She’s brought her vision to CFE: Fashion Week, where people post their outfits on Instagram based on a daily theme, increasing the visibility of the expo.
“It was a way to try to get people that are more shy of being in front of the camera, but who still want to participate in the fashion club, to get their participation in,” Hirschberg said.
The turning point for the expo came after “CFE 4,” when the team realized the event had outgrown TFN.
“We were like, it needs to be two (organizations), because it’s just too much work for one body of people,” Hohe said. “It’s just kind of exploded into this crazy event that we’re now on our seventh iteration, which is insane.”
The scope of the event has expanded, going from just a runway to a full show, complete with choreography, vendor booths and live music.
“CFE started as something more of just a typical runway, but now it’s kind of developed into a performance, almost, which is really cool,” Bartletti said.
For Hohe, the evolution of CFE is personal. They emphasized the importance of having helped curate this artistic space and the legacy of protecting creative spaces for the community.
“People associate me with the event a lot, which is really kind,” Hohe said. “But I never think of it as my event. It’s our event.”
Talking about the future of the event, Hirschberg hopes the design competition becomes a more central part of the show.
As a graduating senior, however, her main wish is for the expo to be more widely recognized as a source of talent.
“I’m hoping that in the following years, an event like this will attract professionals that are in the industry, that are looking to scout some new people,” Hirschberg said. “I saw an influencer do some runway with eBay, and they’re like, ‘Oh my god, this is the first sustainable fashion runway ever.’ Like, we had been doing that for three years.”
Now heading into its seventh edition, CFE remains rooted in circular fashion and radical self-expression.
“CFE kind of was created based on the circularity, and we’ve really worked on upholding that,” Bartletti said. “Like, yes, it’s a fashion, and yes, it’s arts, but, the circular aspect comes up over and over again.”
What’s more, Hohe, Bartletti and Hirschberg said that CFE has evolved from a simple event into a strong community.
“(CFE) forms connections that will be lifelong,” Hohe said. “I know I met some of my closest friends here, and that’s what I want, for the community to still be thriving, and for people to still have a place to express and to, more importantly, express with one another.”
