More than 42 Sedona companies and organizations rallied around sustainability and creativity on Saturday, Oct. 10, as Fashion Lab Sedona brought its annual sustainable fashion show to Brady Hall at Verde Valley School.
The event welcomed 200 attendees, with 100 designers, models, photographers, makeup artists and hairstylists bringing the production to life. The runway offered a glimpse of what happens when everyday materials meet extraordinary imagination.
Jesselynn Desmond, of Sedona, received the 2026 Sustainable Designer of the Year award for two striking reinventions. She transformed her only heirloom from her grandmother, a tablecloth, into a decadent, French couture-inspired design. For her second look, she turned 13 men’s diabetic socks into a second-skin, high-waisted bodycon skirt.
Desmond’s prize includes $1,000 in cash and $4,000 in credits for FABRIC, a Tempe fashion incubator that helps designers develop clothing lines through courses, mentorship and access to equipment for small-batch manufacturing.
FABRIC representatives were impressed with second-place winner Inok Alrutz and extended an additional $4,000 scholarship to her. Alrutz’s upcycling boutique and creative workshop in Flagstaff carries that spirit of resourcefulness beyond the runway. She plans to share her method for turning a men’s flannel shirt into a dress with other mothers across the country.
Third place went to Hollie Laban, a member of the Hopi and Tewa tribes. Her two runway pieces combined custom-printed Hopi fabric, flowers from her brother’s wedding and a curtain, weaving cultural expression and personal history into her designs.
Ten “Sensational Sedonan” celebrity models walked the runway in clothing from Betsy Klein’s West Sedona consignment and luxury boutique. The company also helped create the VIP lounge alongside a local pizzeria.
Phoenix Fashion Week founder Brian Hill attended and extended tickets to the Nov. 21 event to Desmond, adding another opportunity to her first-place recognition.
Nathan Quinn brought an international runway vision and Sedona brought the imagination, talent and heart to make it soar. Watching our neighbors step into that vision and dazzle us was pure joy.
Behind the glamour was a bigger community ambition. Fashion Lab is a Trojan horse for bringing people of different ages and backgrounds together through a shared passion. The fashion draws us in and then we discover what we can create together.
That collaboration began before the show, during the 48-hour create-a-thon.
“The magic of the 48-hour create-a-thon was watching people share ideas, solve problems and cheer each other on,” Mary Dancer said. “They arrived with old clothes and unexpected materials and left with runway designs and new friendships.”
On Saturday, Sedona put its ingenuity on the runway. Businesses, artists and neighbors pooled their talents to turn discarded materials and treasured keepsakes into showstoppers, proving that sustainable fashion can be as daring and dazzling as the community creating it.
Imagination is our most renewable resource. When we look at something old and imagine something entirely new, we do more than make an outfit. We create a culture of making, repairing and reinventing together.
That spirit is headed beyond Sedona. Fashion Lab is publishing its know-how, budgets, contracts and graphics to help towns and cities around the world host their own 48-Hour Sustainable Fashion Labs.
Visit FashionLabSedona.com for photos, videos and more.
By Zenka Caro
Zenka Caro is founder of Fashion Lab and Dream Machine.
