Meet staci bernstein | Founder Fashion REBELution

We had the good fortune of connecting with staci bernstein and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi staci, what’s something about your industry that outsiders are probably unaware of?
Many people don’t understand the immense amount of work and resources that go into making the clothes we discard at an average rate of 80 pounds per year. While most educated individuals have heard of fast fashion, they often don’t grasp the implications of having 56 new seasons of products hitting the market each year. They convince themselves it’s not a big deal, a form of denial fueled by our reliance on the fashion industry to boost our egos at a low cost.

This ignorance particularly affects women. Clothing construction is a complex engineering and mechanical process, but because it’s seen as “women’s work,” often done by brown-skinned women in distant places who are easily exploited, we are complacent with the status quo. As long as we get new clothes that make us feel good about ourselves, we turn a blind eye.
Another area of self-deception occurs when people are done with their clothes and want to get rid of them. It’s telling that at most clothing exchanges I’ve attended, the “go to the thrift store” pile is much larger than the take-home pile. It’s also revealing that when I search for videos about Poshmark, an online platform for reselling used clothes, they’re primarily about selling, not buying. People don’t want used clothes; they want to get rid of theirs while feeling virtuous about donating them to thrift stores. However, thrift stores can only sell about 20% of what they receive. The rest is shipped to countries with lax waste disposal regulations, often ending up burned, which is disastrous for polyester, acrylic, fleece, microfibers, and other man-made materials that are essentially plastic. It’s a huge mess. These discarded clothes also pile up on the shores of waterways and once-pristine beaches.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
College really stressed me out, but I found that when I got out into nature, it answered some deep need in me. Even raging thunderstorms brought awe and calm to me. To this day, I love a good hailstorm. I noticed how important the natural world is to me. Plus, every guy I had a crush on turned out to be an environmentalist of one kind or another. That was another clue to me about my own values.

My first career was in the arts, as an indie film and video producer, working primarily with nonprofit and arts organizations. I also did my own creative projects on the side, tackling environmental issues in different ways. I started a whole organization just to replace broadcast commercials with art—this was 40 years ago when broadcast TV was a thing.

My career in fashion began as a search for shorter, more manageable projects compared to my multi-year film productions. I started creating photo-ready, fanciful outfits that, while not wearable, held together for photoshoots. However, I struggled to find meaning in this. Even using repurposed materials, it felt wasteful. Determined to make a difference, I attended fashion design school, learning garment construction and functionality, and encountering the term “fast fashion.” Sustainability became a core goal, and I created “trash fashion” pieces to highlight the crisis, leveraging my film and video skills to produce shows promoting sustainable practices.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I opened a pop-up shop at the end of my driveway where I sold stenciled and reworked t-shirts. The response to my reworked clothes was unexpectedly enthusiastic, likely driven by the lack of store access. Buoyed by this success, I built an inventory for a craft fair booth. Post-COVID, this venture flopped. My unique pieces suited big-city arts scenes, not the small-town mom crowd I had moved to. Pivoting, I began teaching classes, hoping to inspire local teens about fashion. But as neither a teenager nor a parent, I lacked strong connections. So I pivoted again and initiated monthly mending workshops, which filled up quickly, but attendance was poor, leading me to implement a “no-show” fee, which reduced popularity. Disillusioned by this, I reevaluated again and came up with a new plan.

At the start of 2024, I revived the Fashion REBELution YouTube channel, initially started with other indie designers in the sustainability space during COVID. This platform now supports those kicking the fast fashion habit, offering sewing help, style advice, clothing care, and information to help people make wiser purchases they can keep for a lifetime. My focus is on making people stylish while saving money and resources, ultimately benefiting the planet. When I talk about people’s money and their personal health, I find it easier to engage them in environmental action.

In my journey as a fashion designer, I found my whimsical sensibility to be unique. Unlike many in the industry, my designs embrace humor, which is rare even in reworked fashion. The fashion world traditionally glorifies young, beautiful people, but there are many who don’t fit that mold and seek ways to celebrate aging and curvy bodies. I aim to be a role model, advocating not for the sale of new clothes but for reimagining the ones we have—restyling, altering, and caring for them in smarter ways. My goal is to help people escape the 56-season-a-year cycle and find lifelong joy in stylish clothes they love and maintain. I reject bland minimalist wardrobes, preferring expressive clothes that spark conversations essential for true reform.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I’d take them up into the mountains, probably to Estes Park for a day trip. I’d definitely take them to the Boulder library, show them the makerspace, walk along the river, and over to Pearl Street. We would visit all the cool secondhand shops, starting with Common Threads because I volunteer for the Trash the Runway program they put on, and I love all the great high-end finds in their shop. I’d take them to Denver, hopefully for an art walk or a trip to the Art Museum, which is endless. I’d also take them to any fashion shows I know about: Trash the Runway, Slay the Runway for queer youth, the Paper Fashion Show in Denver, the Trashion Show at Meow Wolf, Denver Fashion Week (which happens in the spring and fall), or any indie show. I might take them to the Dairy Arts Center, depending on what they have going on

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to give a shoutout to the indie designers who joined me in forming Fashion REBELution during Covid. Special thanks to the pros who shared their insights with us: Maria Venturini of Venturini Couture, Mercadey Atkins of Thunder Reign Designs, Ann Ratliff Willis, and Laurel Elizabeth Moore.
I’d also love to recognize a few mentors and key figures in the fashion reform space: Sharmon Lebby from Blessed Designs, @Slowfashionchallenge on Instagram, and Ashleigh Dawson from @Recycle2Riches also on Instagram.

Website: https://www.fashionrebelution.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fashionrebelution/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FashionREBELutionpage/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@fashionrebelution

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@fashionrebelution

Image Credits
No credits needed. Models all released photos to me and I was the photographer.