Padina Bondar-Gibbs is an Iranian/Canadian designer, artist, and advocate who uses her work as a platform to explore marginalized narratives while advocating sustainability, ethics, and inclusivity. Combining traditional techniques with alternative materials and technology, Bondar-Gibbs challenges the way we consume our resources, aspiring to ignite change with the very fibers that her pieces are made from. She is currently finishing the MFA Textiles program at Parsons School of design, using old and new technology and creativity to transform non-biodegradable refuse into new materials. And she is the 2021 recipient of the Geoffrey Beene Design Masters Scholar Award, receiving mentorship from Dany Garcia through CFDA. For Giving Tuesday, we sat down with Bondar-Gibbs to discuss how the Scholar Awards means to her, this year’s biggest challenges, and circularity.

Padina, how does it feel to be the 2021 Geffrey Beene Design Masters Scholar Award recipient?

Surreal. Being a CFDA Scholar has given me the opportunity to invest in new tools, focus entirely on my education with no other obligations, network with notable figures, present my work with a new level of confidence, and dream bigger than I ever have before!

How has the CFDA Scholarship Fund application process helped you as a designer, artist, and advocate? And were there any memorable moments that stand out?

The process gave me opportunity to analyze my portfolio and do an in-depth evaluation of the stance I’m taking as a designer. Additionally, handling my recycled materials every day can make me forget the unique story behind my mission, and presenting my work to my mentors and peers and getting constructive feedback on what was the most impactful way to tell my story allowed me to vocalize it in a new way. One thing I remember was being on FaceTime with my family in Canada, reminiscing about how I would talk and dream of such moments as a teenager while waiting on my laptop before my virtual interview.

So that’s what you guys do while in the Zoom waiting room. Who or what inspires you when creating any design?

I am inspired by emergence in nature and society when properties or behaviors emerge only as individual or disparate parts interact in a broader context. I try to explore the small parts that create something big. Whether that is the fibers that create a textile, jobs that create an industry or notions that create a movement. Understanding these systems makes me think about my place and role in a bigger picture, finding inspiration in the small things that that will play a big role in my personal and professional future. My current professional path began with one plastic bottle that I decided to save, recycle, and redefine into textiles that formed garments and eventually a whole collection. This quickly led to a career reframing in a new city where I now have the resources and the support I need to challenge these issues on a much greater scale.

What are the greatest challenges you have had to overcome throughout the pandemic?

Learning to create and make within the limits of my small apartment with no access to professional tools and equipment, then having to figure out how to share my work through digital platforms without losing any impact. This challenge forced me to manually approach certain techniques that helped me understand the fundamentals of my work as a textile maker.

Another challenge was working alone without other creatives around me. While this was an opportunity for self-awareness and reflection, it made me appreciate the advantages of working in a “team heavy” industry.

The final challenge was the uncertainty of my professional future. As a mature student, seeing the world around me change so fast made me question my priorities, interests, and plans. All of this while navigating an international move through the complexity of quarantine, disrupted services, and closed borders.

What are some of the biggest constraints you’ve faced in your projects?  

Trying to categorize myself as a designer, creating for the world, or as an artist creating for myself. This has always been a huge challenge due to the personal to my work and the issues it tackles. The literal constraints of working with discarded or recycled materials definitely plays a part as well, because instead of just buying what I need from a store I’m often working to ensure everything is safe and hygienic as I sort recycling or go dumpster diving.

How has receiving a CFDA scholarship helped you to alleviate those constraints? 

Receiving the CFDA scholarship made me realize that my mission is worth sharing, and my ideas are worth investing in. It assured me that I am on the right path, alleviating many stresses that were holding me back. In the few months since, I have grown exponentially as a maker, achieving major breakthroughs in my work that have the potential to introduce new, viable methods of recycling plastic waste. Shifting my concern from how to process a single recycled textile, to now looking at the boarder context of my work and how it scales is a crucial benefit that the CFDA scholarship has granted.

What message do you hope to spread through your work?

That everybody has the potential to contribute to our world, on a cultural or physical level, regardless of their skills, background, ability or resources. For me, that happens to mean challenging the way we approach waste, using my skills as a fashion designer and textile maker. While the two seem disparate, fashion is a universal platform that anyone can relate to, creating the perfect opportunity to tell a story I am passionate about. A story of hidden potential in the things we easily discard and dispose of.

Fill in the blank. “Design has the power to ________.”

“…change the world by reframing the way we create and consume.”

Contribute to the future of American Fashion by donating to the CFDA Scholarship Fund here.