Goodwill will make its New York Fashion Week debut this weekend with a runway show built entirely from secondhand garments and materials reworked by designer Evan Hirsch.
The collection, titled “Found Opulence,” comprises 30 looks made from items sourced through Goodwill’s online auction site, ShopGoodwill.com, and from Goodwill stores in New York and New Jersey. Fifteen of the finished designs will be auctioned on ShopGoodwill.com after the show, with proceeds directed to Goodwill’s workforce development programs.
Hirsch, 28, who gained a large social media following after posting videos that show him transforming inexpensive thrift finds into embellished evening wear, described the project as a challenge to push the creative possibilities of pre-owned clothing. “They told me to go wild,” he told The Post during a preview at the Garment District factory where samples were made.
Highlights previewed for the show include a strapless sheath reimagined from a bedsheet and paired with an overskirt, a 1980s red satin prom dress refashioned into a 1950s-style cocktail frock accented with a gem-encrusted brooch, and a burnished-orange gown combined with embroidery and beading from a traditional Indian garment. Hirsch said the lineup will also feature a sequined cape designed to be tossed off midlook to reveal another outfit and a piece constructed entirely from vintage brooches.
Hirsch has been posting transformation videos since launching his independent label in 2022, and his social media presence helped draw Goodwill’s attention after a March clip in which he bought a $6 dress and spent hours hand-sewing beads onto it before returning it to the rack. That video drew millions of views and led to the partnership that produced the NYFW show.
Many of the show’s inputs were selected blind: Goodwill sent bulk lots and “blind boxes” from ShopGoodwill.com so Hirsch would not know what he would receive in advance. He said the approach increased the creative challenge of making cohesive runway garments from disparate, pre-owned materials.
Hirsch grew up on Long Island and first learned garment work in his school’s theater costume department. He studied fashion design at Drexel University and worked as a technical designer in children’s wear before launching his own label. He cites influences ranging from avant-garde designers who experiment with transforming garments to reality-competition shows that foreground dramatic reveals.
In addition to the runway presentation, Hirsch will serve as Goodwill’s “resident fashion expert” for the remainder of the year, the nonprofit said. The partnership is explicitly positioned as both a creative collaboration and an effort to promote sustainability and accessibility in fashion: Hirsch has said reworking thrifted clothes is “easier and more accessible” than many people assume.
According to Goodwill, proceeds from the auction of 15 show pieces will support its employment and training services, which help job seekers gain skills and secure work. The organization did not provide a projected total for the auction proceeds.
The show reflects a broader industry trend toward reusing and repurposing clothing, and it marks a new public-facing effort by a major thrift nonprofit to link resale programming with the visibility of a global fashion event. After Saturday’s show, Goodwill and Hirsch said they plan to continue the collaboration, with Hirsch participating in further projects intended to highlight creative reuse and the charity’s mission.
Organizers said the runway presentation was produced in cooperation with local garment makers in Manhattan’s Garment District and will be staged during the official NYFW calendar. The timing and format of the post-show auctions were announced in connection with the preview; bidders interested in the pieces will be able to participate through ShopGoodwill.com.
Hirsch said he hopes the project will change perceptions about sustainability in fashion by demonstrating that high-impact design can begin with low-cost, widely available materials. “When I first heard about sustainability, I was, like, ‘Leave me alone — it’s hard enough to run this business!’ But then when I actually started doing it, I was, like, this isn’t hard. This is fun,” he said in comments published with the preview.