Late last month, happy meal boxes became dramatic floor-length trains at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens. Hamburger wrappers were reimagined as tulle for flowing dresses. Even fry cartons were transformed into bold, wearable pieces.
The showcase was part of the third “McDCouture” runway show, a collaboration with McDonald’s and the university’s fashion merchandising and design program, where 12 students spent the spring semester crafting garments from the fast-food chain’s materials.
“McDonald’s uses a lot of products and equipment and they just waste a lot,” said Taekwonda Pearman, a freshman fashion design and merchandising major at St. Thomas University. “So we’re taking it in and we’re revamping and just doing whatever we can to make it creative.”
Pearman said creativity has always been part of her life — she even designed her own prom dress in high school. She said the task of creating the garment was intimidating at first.
“I was looking at the examples that they had inside of the fashion lab, and I was just in awe of how they managed to put all those pieces together,” Pearman said. “Because you have burger wrappers, straws, cardboard boxes, you have a lot of materials and it’s very hard.”
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But she said the project has helped her become a stronger designer.
“I really learned your initial plan as a designer, it just never really goes so you’re just going to start doing freestyles,” she said. “Everything is probably not going to be what you thought it was, but everything just works out the way it’s supposed to in the end.”
South Florida McDonald’s franchise owner Bryan Bentancourt and his wife, Stefanie Cabrera Bentancourt, told WLRN the first McDCouture event was held in 2014 in Miami Beach. It was originally conceived as a grand opening for a new McDonald’s location on Lincoln Road, and invited students at the Miami International University of Art & Design to create the garments.
But that plan soon changed.
“Now what we didn’t realize was what came down the runway that first day,” said Bryan. “We thought, ‘we got to take this to another level.’ It can’t be just at our lobby, because these kids, they’re talented – they just need exposure.”
The following year, McDCouture made its debut at Funkshion Fashion Week on Nov. 5, where it gained recognition from Glamour and Cosmopolitan. And in 2017, the show appeared at Miami Swim Week featuring 20 swimsuits made with McDonald materials.
Stefanie emphasized the event’s “reuse-and-repurpose” mission.
“What just a little imagination can do with something that will be trash to anybody else, it’s really incredible,” she said.
She said many of the materials used were sourced directly from the restaurant, including discontinued items that would have otherwise been thrown away.
“They were able to use the sriracha sauce, which was something that had been discontinued, and make, like, a spiky dress out of it,” she said.
Rood Lindor, a senior fashion merchandising major, was born in Okai, Haiti, where he said he first became inspired by the creativity and craftsmanship of Haitian garments. He also emphasized the importance of recyclable materials.
“The fashion industry is one of the most wasteful industries professionally,” he said. “It’s good that we take care of our planet, and, you know, to be able to thrift, recycle, and, just to be able to use natural fabrics, natural products.”
According to the United Nations, 92 million tons of textile waste are produced globally each year.
After the March 26 show, McDonald’s store owners voted for their favorite design, with the winner receiving a $1,000 prize.
This year, that distinction went to Ignacio Lopez, a senior majoring in fashion merchandising. One of the first things he did after winning was call his parents in Spain.
“My mother is an artist, so she was, like, super happy,” he said. “Making my parents happy is probably my biggest goal here.”
