From Fashion Model to Social Entrepreneur with Zoë Melo

In this episode, Zoë Melo shares her journey from modeling to social entrepreneurship. She talks about how the fashion industry has changed since her modeling days in the 80s and 90s, reflects that it’s an industry built on exclusivity, and shares her vision for making fashion and design more accessible through sustainable community events held in public spaces. She remarks that couture and high fashion can only be afforded by the 1%, and how those models of fashion production are not the solution to the environmental and societal problems created by the fashion industry, particularly in this time of fast fashion overconsumption.  Zoë also shows some of the upcycled designs she’s helped bring to fruition, so make sure to check out the video on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/swapsociety Throughout her career, Zoë has collaborated with renowned artists, designers, photographers, and art directors in fashion, art, and product design all around the world. Zoë’s brand TOUCH is a social enterprise that uses design as a tool for social and environmental change. Her brand Neighbors by Design is a community-centered platform that uses design as a tool to bring neighbors together and in the process create products made out of waste materials from the neighborhood.  For show notes visit: https://www.swapsociety.co/pages/podcast