An Interview with: REGENERATE Fashion (Melissa O de León)
“Every business has a story—and every story adds to the fabric of Central Texas fashion. That’s why we’re excited to share the second feature in our Member Spotlight Series, where we sit down with incredible designers, stylists, and various entrepreneurs in our community. Consider this your front-row seat to the stories behind the scenes.”
For this feature we are honored to chat with CTFC Member Melissa O de León.
About Melissa:
Brand/Role: Melissa O de León, co-founder of REGENERATE Fashion, LLC https://regeneratefashion.com/
Based in: south Austin.
“I am a fashion and textile designer, and after several years working in product development for apparel manufacturers, I realized the need to implement sustainability practices into garment operations. That led me to pursue a Masters in Sustainability and eventually start our consulting business.”
The Brand Story:
Inspiration: “REGENERATE Fashion is an international consultancy focused on integrating sustainability in fashion, from corporate strategy to product design.
Through strategic consulting and capacity building for fashion companies and industry professionals our mission is to enact long lasting change in the industry by aligning our work with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.”
Mission/Vision: “Our end goal is to transform the way fashion is designed, produced and consumed, from being less harmful to being regenerative across the value chain.”
Ideal Customer: “Fashion brands, retailers, and manufacturers looking to improve their sustainable practices. We have worked with companies from all sizes, from SMEs to global denim producers.”
Sustainable Design strategies for denim products, including circularity, recyclability, and longevity.
Creative Process:
Approach: Every consulting project is different (You can find some examples here) and thus we have developed our own methodology to approach each of our client’s needs:
Discover: This is the exploratory phase, where we understand the needs, challenges and current wins. For some projects this is the phase where we apply a proprietary ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) questionnaire.
Design: Here we design the strategy, concept, or product or collection. We provide the client with different options and co-create the best solutions.
Disrupt: Final stage is the implementation. Some clients decide to implement the strategies on their own, at their own pace, while some others request our support during implementation, for example: Work with their designers to ensure the sustainable design strategies are being implemented, work with their marketing teams to review any communication campaigns, etc.
What inspires your work? : “Just my hope that sustainability becomes the norm and not the ‘add-on’. That everyone, from brands to consumers, to the regular person understands that every item has an environmental and social impact, and our choices could reduce the negative impacts and even do some good.”
Go-to tools, materials, resources?: “Since we started, we have been following the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and it is a framework we always share with our clients. Also, shameless plug, the Sustainable Fashion Cards (pictured below)! A tool that REGENERATE developed that offers sustainable strategies from materials, design, and business models.”
Click the image to learn more/purchase the Sustainable Fashion Cards
Behind the Scenes:
A Day in the Life: “As a small consultancy, some months we are fully booked with projects, while others are really slow (I in fact also have a full time job because bills have to be paid hehe). The good thing is that my co-founder and I also have a group of other consultants that work with us on a project-basis, so when my availability is limited, the consultants come on board.”
Facing & Overcoming Challenges: “The main challenge was really valuing our work. When we started we were undercharging for very large projects because we were afraid companies wouldn’t hire us. Now we are confident of the value we bring and work with clients that understand the value.”
Local Love:
What do you love about being part of the Central Texas fashion community/CTFC Community?: “Learning what the local fashion community is doing! Also the great resources you provide to members: like the workshops, scholarships, and sharing open roles within the community!”
Favorite local inspo: “Austin Creative Reuse and Slow Fashion Fest!”
Learn more about REGENERATE Fashion by following along on Instagram at @regeneratefashion or visiting their website: https://regeneratefashion.com/
We’re proud to spotlight the incredible talent shaping our region through fashion. Stay tuned for more stories like this in our Member Spotlight Series—brought to you by Central Texas Fashion Coalition, where community and creativity come together.
the lovely Melissa! <3