reciclaGEM was born behind the scenes of a charity fashion event at the Waldorf-Astoria within the bedrock of a conversation on Arizona’s racist-laden immigration laws and the proper usage of the term “America.” Feeling proud and well-read, I entered the conversation with passion and force, believing that my views were educated, compassionate, impassioned, and humane. Nevertheless, my partner in conversation, a cosmetics company executive originally from Mexico who singlehandedly learned the English language and mastered her undergraduate and corporate ladders, stopped me in mid-sentence and changed the course of my life.
I have always felt myself to be a revolutionary of sorts, disrupting views of how an American, and particularly an American of mixed African ancestry, should look, sound, speak and identify. Nonetheless, I had fallen trap to the confines of my education- both institutional and self-bred. America is not the United States. America is every nation, island and continental, between Canada and Argentina. America is a multi-lingual, multi-cultural, and multinational bi-continental and Island region with a distinct aesthetic flavor.
reciclaGEM is a fashion movement that seeks to rediscover this aesthetic flavor. We seek to recreate powerful and functional thrift couture strictly from clothing donations that have been and will continue to be collected through a series of travels throughout the nations of the Americas. With the economies of the American states going through an incredible transformational period, Americans across the borders are being forced to rediscover the occasionally hidden blessings or “gems” within their limited resources. reciclaGEM, which means “recycling” in Portuguese, is a line and a movement that seeks to showcase the hidden gems of our nation. “America” as a term has not been represented well in the global sphere. And thus the documented travels of reciclaGEM will showcase the innovative Americans across the borders who are making the most of their resources and being the cosmpolitan, eco-conscious, and conscientious individuals that they truly are.
While pursuing these efforts, I met several innovative vegan hip hop artists, including Amanda Velez, also known as A-Sharp, founder and producer of VEGan Jam, a seasonal event that marries hip hop music and veganism all in one place. As a fellow vegan, it has been a tremendous honor working with her in building the presence of vegans in the Americas within the fashion and entertainment industries, industries that, like “America,” have had their share of bad press in the realm of the eco-conscious and conscientious.
Thus reciclaGEM was launched during the third installment of VEGan Jam. Together, both reciclaGEM and VEGan Jam will continue to reach out to communities through the Americas, bringing fashion, performance, and conscientious living to every nation’s doorstep as a movement to unearth the hidden gems of such living that are in our midst.
Dear World, “America, the Beautiful” hasn’t arrived. Though sometimes hidden, it has always been here.
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recyclaGEM, A Line by the VEGan* Stylist
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