On September 10, 2026, during New York Fashion Week, fashion entrepreneur and television personality Sutton Stracke convened leaders from fashion, entertainment, design, and sustainability for the 5th Annual Women Pioneers of Circular Fashion. Hosted by Stracke and her circular fashion house, Sutton Brands, at the Martha Graham Center for Contemporary Dance, the event honored Susan Rockefeller, entrepreneur and founder of Musings Magazine; Julia O'Mara, co-founder and COO of Pickle; and Kristy Caylor, founder and CEO of Trashie.
The annual celebration recognizes women who are advancing the fashion industry toward a circular economy through entrepreneurship, innovation, and sustainable practices. Now in its fifth year, the event underscores a broader shift in how clothing is valued, produced, and consumed. The evening 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 industry leaders. It was also filmed for Bravo's The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, bringing the message of circular fashion to a national television audience.
Stracke has made circular fashion an increasingly important part of her work beyond television. Through Sutton Brands, she focuses on keeping beautiful clothing in circulation through curated collections, retail experiences, and take-back partnerships that connect designers, consumers, and the infrastructure needed to keep garments in use and out of landfills. The September 10 celebration 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.
"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."
The 2026 honorees represent distinct approaches to circularity. Rockefeller has used storytelling and advocacy to encourage a more thoughtful relationship with what we make, consume, and value. O'Mara is helping transform the traditional concept of fashion ownership by creating a shared approach to closets and clothing. Caylor has helped make clothing take-back more accessible by creating systems designed to encourage consumers to move unwanted clothing out of their closets and back into circulation. Previous honorees include Rachel Kibbe, Sarah Barnes, and Dana Thomas.
The New York celebration welcomed entertainment and fashion personalities, including fellow RHOBH stars Erika Jayne and Tracy Tutor, designer Brian Atwood, The Real Housewives of London star Juliet Mayhew, model Lance Stefanakis, GURUS Fashion Director Nolé Marin, KJ Dillard, model Victoria Pousada Kriendler, and influencers Kay Dudley and Tay Dudley. The event was presented in partnership with The Return, GURUS, Graham 100—celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Martha Graham Dance Company—Sutton, Est. 1971, S&M Wine Co., J.T. Meleck Distillers, and Berkeley College.
Sutton Brands, co-founded by Sutton Brown, formerly known to television audiences 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 reverse-logistics infrastructure necessary to keep garments in use and out of landfill. Its sustainability philosophy emphasizes longevity, reuse, repurposing, and more conscious consumption, offering an alternative to the traditional linear fashion model. More information is available at Sutton Brands Sustainability and SuttonBrands.com.
