Trashion Revolution: ICONS ~ 10.10.26
About this Event
*Please read the following before continuing:
Once our tickets are SOLD OUT, the only way to see the show is to become a Show Sponsor (see below).
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We have a limited number of complimentary and Pay-What-You-Can tickets for students, people in low-income brackets and anyone experiencing financial challenges. These may be requested by emailing [email protected]. Anyone who wants to attend our show is welcome, irrespective of ability to pay.
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Our Accessible Seating section is reserved ONLY for those who require space for wheelchairs or walkers, need an ASL Interpreter or are vision-impaired. If you have special needs for accessibility, we will do our absolute best to accomodate you. We are happy to provide an ASL Interpreter, but requests must be made two weeks before the show (by September 26th, 2026).
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We are no longer offering GA / Standing Room Only as of our 2026 ICONS show. All tickets are seats in rows 1-4.
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Refunds will be granted in cases such as medical emergencies, and on a case-by-case basis for other circumstances.
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Welcome to Trashion Revolution: ICONS!
Trashion Revolution, created in 2023, is fashion-for-a-cause: Triveni Institute's annual fundraiser. Triveni Institute is a 501(c)3 - EIN: 81-5394872 - and all proceeds from this show go towards our programming. Your ticket purchases and donations fund our GEM (Grassroots Engagement Movement) Program, the Triveni Microgrant Program, our Youth Engagement / Internship Program, and of course the show itself. Take a look at our Show Sponsor Packet to find out more about our organization.
Four Ways to Support Our Cause and Our Community:
- Buy tickets to Trashion Revolution: ICONS!
- Become a Show Sponsor. Tiers are $500, $1000, $2500, $5000, $7500 and $10,000. You can find out all about the benefits of sponsorship in our Show Sponsor Packet. Show Sponsorships are tax-deductible.
- Become a sponsor through our MADS (Model and Designer Sponsorship) Program. Take a look at our MADS Packet for more information (you can also find the MADS information in the larger Show Sponsor Packet). A $250, $500 or $1000 donation directly covers the honorariums we pay each of our models and designers for their time, talent and skill. MADS Sponsorships are tax-deductible. *All designers are receiving a $500 - $1000 honorarium, and all models are receiving a $150 - $250 honorarium for our 2026 show.
- Make a donation at our show! This is Triveni Institute's Annual Fundraiser, which supports not only our show but year-round programs designed to create impact such as the GEM Program (Grassroots Engagement Movement), the Triveni Microgrant Program and our Youth Engagement / Internship Program. Without you, we can't increase our impact through our work.
Doors Open: 5:30pm
Cocktail reception 5:30pm - 7pm for all guests (General Admission has access to a cash bar and Premium Experience / PX guests have access to a private bar and complimentary cocktails (2 drinks for Bronze and Silver Sponsors and open bar for Gold Sponsors and above). Vegetarian appetizers are provided to all PX guests.
Show: 7:00pm
Post-Show Reception: 8:30pm
Immediately following the show guests will have a chance to meet the models and designers, see their designs up close and talk to them about their work from 8:30pm - 10pm. A Macy's cash bar will be available, and Premium Experience guests (Gold Sponsors and above) have access to a private open bar.
What is Trashion Revolution all about?
The fourth-annual Trashion Revolution is a "fashion show with a purpose" designed to start conversations about the climate crisis, intersectional issues and - most importantly - solutions - all while inspiring action. It is produced by a young, Chicago-based nonprofit called Triveni Institute that was founded in late 2021.
Trashion Revolution was born in 2023, and due to the success of our show we must say farewell to Macy's and move to a larger venue in 2027. This year's show - Trashion Revolution: ICONS - is a celebration of the most iconic designs and models to walk our runway over the last three years, plus never-before-seen designs for 2026. Join us Saturday, October 10th in the Narcissus Room at the iconic former Marshall Field & Company historical landmark, now Macy's on State in the heart of Chicago's Loop.
All designs are created from post-consumer or post-industrial repurposed/upcycled single-use plastic trash.
Why is Trashion Revolution important?
Simply put, humanity is destroying the one and only planet known to support life. The Fermi Paradox hypothesizes that one reason we have no indication of life outside of Earth is that "advanced civilizations self-destruct." Fermi posits that intelligent civilizations destroy themselves through war, resource depletion, or other means before they become capable of interstellar travel or communication.
If this is the path of self-destruction that we are on, is the answer to attempt to colonize Mars before we destroy the habitability of Earth? Or should we do everything we possibly can to try and create the individual and political will to change course right here, right NOW, on this tiny blue planet we call Earth?
This show is about starting those conversations, and doing it in a way that feels grounded in possibility and purpose, not fear and despair.
The iconic photo "Earthrise" taken by astronaut William Anders on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission, was the first photo taken of Earth from outer space.
What do intersectional issues - such as gender - have to do with climate?
No major problem exists in a vacuum, and neither do the solutions. Have you ever noticed that we gender the planet as female? We refer to nature as "Mother Earth": a feminine entity to be dominated and exploited by "mankind." Does it make it easier to take from the planet and exploit it if we feel that it is female? Is it possible to be masculine and also protective and nurturing of our Earth? What kinds of subconscious attitudes does gendering the planet as "Mother Earth" perpetuate?
We challenge this gendered, binary language rooted in outdated gender roles and the exploitation it justifies within patriarchal systems.
The iconic "Father Earth," created in 2025 by Alan Emerson Hicks and modeled by Deontae Curry, invites us to consider why we gender the planet and what effect it may have on our attitudes towards protecting it. "Father Earth" was presented for the first time at Trashion Revolution: Modern Mythology (2025).
What is Triveni Institute?
Trashion Revolution: ICONS is a community activation event and annual fundraiser for 501(c)3 Triveni Institute (EIN 81-4394872), using fashion and art as mediums to raise awareness of our climate, waste and plastic pollution crises. Triveni Institute is about challenging the status quo and creating new systems that promote justice socially and environmentally. Triveni means "three," and the three areas Triveni works within are 1) Storytelling & the Arts (producing shows such as Trashion Revolution and ShadowBall) 2) Systems and Policy Change (our GEM Program) and 3) Youth Engagement (our Triveni Microgrant Program and Internship Program).
We use a cross-community scope of action to bring together the worlds of fashion, politics, nonprofits, for-profit companies, the LGBTQ+ community and people of diverse socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Our events offer a way to discuss difficult topics and inspire action in a fun atmosphere that provides much-needed levity. Although Trashion Revolution is our marquee annual event, we also produce boutique events such as ShadowBall, created to discuss the connection between mental health and environmental health.
What can we expect from this year's show?
For Trashion Revolution: ICONS, 12 designers are creating "trash art" looks made from single-use and/or disposable post-consumer plastic, and 35 models will walk the runway who represent age diversity, body diversity, racial diversity, gender diversity and experience diversity. We are thrilled to welcome back MWRD Commissioner Precious Brady-Davis as our host for the fourth year, DJ Phreaky Bionic as our House DJ for the fourth year, and House Photographer Darrell White and House Videographer Kanthan Dot, both returning for their fourth years as well.
In our 2026 model cast we are also proud to present seven SIMs (Special Invitation Models): these people are pillars in the community who represent aspirational leadership in community organizing, nonprofits, green business, civic engagement and grassroots activism. This year we welcome the following leaders to our runway:
- Manuela Zoninsein CEO of Kadeya
- IL State Representative Kimberly duBuclet
- Ken Mejia-Beal LGBTQ Hall of Fame Inductee and Community Organizer
- Dr. Afrika Porter Entrepreneur, Community Organizer
- Ella Jasso TGNC Surgical Health Navigator at Howard Brown
- Maliyah Londyn Model, Actress and LGBTQ Activist
- Iyana Simba City Government Affairs Director with the Illinois Environmental Council
The climate crisis is a global problem that requires all of humanity to participate in the solutions, so we aspire to create a cross-section of all of humanity walking our runway. Representation matters.
Lastly, Trashion Revolution was a competition in 2023, 2024, and 2025. After three years of discovering talent and cultivating a vision for the "Met Gala of the Climate Crisis," we are moving beyond a competition at the show to the competition being getting into the show. A closed jury process selected the designers for "ICONS," and a jury will continue to select designers for all our future shows. There will no longer be a judge panel for Trashion Revolution, but we will be introducing "People's Choice Awards" in 2026: the audience will vote for their favorite designs via the platform Mentimeter, and winners will be announced in real time.
Pay equity is a foundational value of ours, so we raise funds to pay all of our models and designers an honorarium for their important skill and creative vision. Your ticket purchases and donations contribute directly to the disruption of an economic system that has conditioned us to believe that only extraction, production, consumption and waste have value - while protecting life on this planet does not. We need an evolution towards ethical capitalism to effectively address our most challenging environmental and social problems.
Join us on October 10th and be ready to be inspired.
For sponsorship opportunities please email [email protected].
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 268.61
