QUEEN'S gambit

Miss Universe R’BONNEY GABRIEL tells us about the multitudes that made her a sustainable fashion designer.

- TICIA ALMAZAN

On the evening R’Bonney Gabriel was crowned Miss Universe 2022, every item on her webstore was tagged with two words: Sold Out.

Her namesake fashion label wasn’t exactly under the radar, but the influx of orders was still a feat for the beauty queen and eco-conscious designer, who has been sewing clothes since she was 15.

The first dress she made was a strapless polka dot red dress, she recalls, and she used to source “unique pieces that didn’t fit right” during thrift and vintage shopping sprees with her mom, who would alter these ill-fitting garbs on a sewing machine. Without realizing it, R’Bonney’s mother had introduced her daughter to upcycling.

MIXED BAG 

As a teen in high school, upcycling was just one of many interests that R’Bonney honed; she also played volleyball, joined the marching band and yearbook club, played the oboe, and went long boarding. Her love for clothes would eventually lead her to take a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Fashion Design, with a Minor in Fibers, at the University of Northern Texas. Growing up in Houston, she describes the fashion scene as “small but alive,” saying, “there were talented creatives everywhere, but you needed to know where to find them.”