Who is Padina Bondar-Gibbs? 'OMG Fashun' designer and activist transforms plastic waste into high-end textiles
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: Padina Bondar-Gibbs of 'OMG Fashun' is an Iranian/Canadian designer, artist, and advocate who utilizes her work to investigate minority perspectives and promote sustainability, ethics, and inclusion. Padina challenges the way we consume our resources by combining traditional techniques with alternative materials and technology, hoping to spark change with the very fibers from which her creations are formed.
She completed the MFA Textiles program at Parsons School of Design, where she combined old and modern technology and creativity to turn non-biodegradable waste into new materials. She is the 2021 winner of the Geoffrey Beene Design Masters Scholar Award and is mentored by Dany Garcia through CFDA.
"I crave innovation that goes beyond the runways and catalogs; ignite change in the industry, starting with the very fibers that make my pieces to the social impact my creations have on an audience," says Padina. "My values have led me to focus on two main areas in my career: sustainable textile development and ethical progress in the industry."
The designer's typical week includes diving waist-deep in recycle bins, felting human hair into the fabric, begging neighbors for textile waste, sterilizing tampon applicators, making wheelchair ramps, and obtaining lighting, cables, anatomy books, and rubbish bags.
When asked how she stays original, she explained that fashion's waste, exploitation, and pollution inspire her creativity. She recognizes that it is one of the most effective starting points for social innovation in a changing society.
Her desire to challenge the fashion business to build a better society stems from the industry's present issues, which she hopes to accomplish through materiality and design innovations.
The designer believes that the existing industry prioritizes disposability and cost over sustainability and human rights. The first step in reshaping the future of fashion is to decrease waste generated during the manufacturing and disposal of materials.
She argued that investing in new technologies and inventions that question the textile industry's conventions is an effective starting point for social innovation in an ever-changing environment.
"Change in a system begins with a change in perspective; we need to alter the way we consume our resources on a physical and cultural level." In her own words, "Fashion has always had the power to lead by example, with the ability to influence the development of cultures and trends worldwide."
"If we raise our standard as designers in the fashion industry, consumers will do the same, and other industries will soon follow suit."
As a textile designer, she focuses on sustainability, creating fabrics and decorations from recycled and reimagined plastic waste. She finds promise in items that are headed for landfills and transforms them in ways that challenge the fashion industry to rethink its disposable, "fast fashion" ethos.
Padina explains, "Conceptually, I want to add sentimental value to my creation by incorporating narratives in my designs. Physically, I want to promote and practice production that can reduce waste, pollution, and exploitation of workers."
Her art has always exhibited a steady aesthetic progression. As her company evolved with a sustainable focus, she felt constrained by the so-called sustainable resources accessible to her. Padina intends to continue working as a fashion designer while developing sustainable materials for herself and her peers.
Her objective is to contribute to a better world while challenging the industry's detrimental conventions via intersectionality, diversity, and sustainability.
'OMG Fashun's Padina Bondar-Gibbs began sewing and sketching patterns in primary school
Padina realized she aspired to be a fashion designer from a very young age. The designer recalls learning to sew and sketch patterns in primary school.
She studied Fine Arts before enrolling in Ryerson University's Fashion Design Department, and she then completed her studies at Parsons' MFA textiles program. Padina began her profession processing bespoke orders for wedding dresses, daywear, lingerie, and accessories.
In addition to her distinctive textile profession, she is a lecturer at Parsons School of Design, where she assists students in creating their own fashion lines.
Padina also obtained a Diploma in Fine Arts and painting from Arts Unionville.
Padina started her work as a fashion expert for Deborah Milner before joining WORE.DESIGN in 2015. Almost 5 years later, Padina became a fashion stylist for Mahsa Navi, where she still works now, according to LinkedIn.
She also works as a fashion designer for Peter Gray Hair, having joined the company in 2015. Padina took over as Creative Director of Padina Bondar Designs in 2014.
'OMG Fashun's Padina Bondar-Gibbs focuses on cause-driven designs
Padina's work has evolved over time, from aesthetic-driven weddings to cause-driven designs. She is also recognized for training refugees, dressing drag queens, developing wearable technologies, and designing bodies for people with disabilities.
While designing and manufacturing clothing is her love, she is presently spending her resources on materiality, hoping to develop textiles that match her aesthetics and values. The designer has always placed workmanship and quality over commercial appeal; striking a balance between the two has been a struggle, which she has solved by creating couture, Avant-Garde, one-of-a-kind, or wearable art items.
Padina makes designs in partnership with individuals who inspire the themes, as social and ethical problems are central to the brand. The clothing is shown inclusively, with no limitations on the model's gender, size, age, or physical ability.
It's no surprise that her hard work and devotion to her brand, which allows her to express her inner beliefs, have led her to establish a non-profit organization that gives resources through training, commissions, and networking. She has proudly collaborated with refugees, drag queens, handicapped models, and artists of various skills.
Padina's most renowned collections, among many others, include xx and xx enshroud, which were heavily motivated by her desire to bring constrained storylines to the center. xx documented biological stages in female sexuality, whereas xx-enshroud highlighted gender-based human rights violations throughout the world. "The collections displayed the uncomfortable topics beautifully and elegantly that made it impossible to look away, as people often do when confronted with these topics," she said.
"I have always felt empowered as a fashion designer, using my work to express myself that is beyond the limits of words," Padina said in a statement. She draws inspiration for her creative work from her ethnic richness and Middle Eastern origin, both physically and conceptually.
"Regardless of my Canadian upbringing, I try my best to remain connected to my Iranian roots, looking at the history, culture, art and traditions for creative inspiration. I combine cultures in the same way that I combine techniques, mixing the new with the old to create something unique," Padina explains.
What to expect from Padina Bondar-Gibbs in 'OMG Fashun'?
Padina is an award-winning, widely exhibited designer and passionate trash diver noted for her technical prowess and unique themes. She is a hybrid creator on a quest to clean up the globe with style and panache.
Born in Iran, raised in Toronto, and currently residing in New York, her global perspective and inspirations yield radical new ideas and creations. Many years ago, Padina and her now husband, Ryan took a class together in high school, which is how they first met.
She specializes in bespoke weddings, lingerie, and eveningwear. However, her main focus is avant-garde and wearable art projects, in which she experiments with new materials and production processes while also incorporating her Iranian cultural heritage into the designs and messages of her creations.
She aspires to push boundaries, make the familiar unusual, and highlight and elevate disadvantaged narratives.
Padina will shortly appear in the second episode of 'OMG Fashun', with the theme "Beware of the Plastics!" Julia Fox, the host, is on a quest to save the earth from quick fashion while also slaying the sustainable runway.
Padina and her fellow designers, Breanna Billiter and Brittany Schall, will have to bring it all when producing an outstanding outfit from the most unexpected materials and competing against one another to reach the final.
Two consecutive half-hour episodes of 'OMG Fashun' will premiere on E! Monday, May 6 at 9 pm ET/PT. Weekly premieres of consecutive episodes are scheduled