Circularity — a simple but powerful concept predicated on three guiding principles: smart design, reuse, and repair — is a core value at Barnard. With campus-wide compost bins, the spring and fall Give and Go Green sale, and the Barnard Circular Campus initiative, the College drives efforts to reduce waste and achieve net-zero emissions by 2040.
Naturally, Alexandra Churchland ’28 found a community on campus that shares her passion for fashion and sustainability. The prospective environmental policy major and French minor designed clothing for Columbia Climate School’s Forward Food and Fashion event, the annual EcoReps’ EcoChic fashion show at Columbia SIPA — where she won first place — and the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan. There, Climate School Distinguished Visiting Fellow Catherine McKenna wore Churchland’s quilted multicolor jacket.
“Seeing my piece in Baku made me feel confident in choosing Barnard,” said Churchland. “It pushed me to invest in a future on that path, even though I am not a traditional fashion student.”
Churchland — who spent the first years of her life on Long Island, where her mother worked as a scientist at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory — draws inspiration from her pursuits as a student and her upbringing across New York and Los Angeles. Her designs weave together sustainably sourced materials as canvases for literary, surrealist, cultural, and other forms of expression.
Churchland’s early exposure to art and Broadway shows fueled a desire to become an actress. When her mother landed a job at a laboratory in Los Angeles, Churchland’s new hometown deepened her passion for artistic expression. She immersed herself in independent filmmaking by exploring acting, producing, designing, and directing until eventually finding her niche in costuming.
Equally influenced by the conversations about climate change that she grew up around, Churchland felt a sense of responsibility to champion their efforts in her own creative way.
“I found myself becoming increasingly anxious about the environment,” she said. “When I saw others dedicate themselves to solving scary issues like climate change, I wanted to as well.”
Learn more about Churchland’s commitment to sustainable practices and experience as a designer in the “5 Questions With …” interview below.
How do you hope to impact the fashion industry as an emerging fashion designer who leans into sustainable alternatives?
My goal is to make sustainable fashion the norm; I plan to experiment with new materials, technologies, and traditional practices to uncover the most effective, cost-effective, and beautiful methods of creating sustainable clothing. I want to lead the fashion industry toward sustainability.
Currently, I am interested in social sustainability through uplifting garment workers’ rights and labor unions in areas where factories are located. In my current work [at Barnard and beyond], I’m centering high-quality upcycling by using existing clothing to create functional and desirable garments that consumers would choose over new pieces.
How did you get involved in COP29, and what was it like to see your design worn by Catherine McKenna there?
I got involved through the Food Fashion Forward event hosted by Barnard and the Columbia Climate School. I found the event in Barnard’s newsletter before I had even arrived on campus and asked the only person I knew who was into fashion — Annie Dong ’28 — to apply with me. The garment Annie helped me create for the event was dyed using food waste, while its main structure was made by quilting different old textiles together, giving them a new life. The quilting took many, many hours, but having my garment worn by Catherine McKenna at COP29 made all the time worthwhile.
How has Barnard’s sustainability curriculum deepened your understanding of climate issues and fashion design?
The course “Sustainable Fashion Startup Strategy,” at the Columbia School of Professional Studies, taught me about greenwashing, the complexities of the supply chain and global trade, the importance of durability and quality in sustainability, and different methods of recycling. I have also learned to think critically about the sustainability claims made by businesses.
This knowledge has impacted where I source materials and what I sew. I used to buy high-quality materials from any fabric store, but I learned that even “pure” materials can be made in factories that are not socially sustainable or can be made using immense amounts of natural resources. Instead, I purchase deadstock materials — textiles that were purchased by designers for collections that didn’t get used.
I am now more careful about cutting materials to generate less waste. When fabric scraps are too small for garments, I turn them into other items, such as mini wallets or stuffed animals. In the collection I presented at the EcoChic show, I paired each look with a rat-shaped bag made from leftover materials. The bags were used to enhance the storytelling of the collection and to give purpose to scraps.
As you reflect on your first year at Barnard, which classes or faculty have made the biggest impact on you?
My most impactful course thus far has been “Surrealism,” taught by professor Caroline Weber. The course is taught in French — a language native to many fashion leaders. It covers the literary and artistic themes and methods of the surrealists. So far, the course has inspired me to generate ideas for my future collections through an uninhibited surrealist lens.
Barnard courses have strengthened my creative references and improved my designs by expanding my knowledge of literature and art. I am excited to explore further the political and environmental sciences and continue my studies of foreign languages and literature to best prepare myself for the fashion industry.
Additionally, all of the clubs, preprofessional organizations, and events, such as Columbia’s Fashion Society — within which I serve as an events fellow — Columbia EcoReps, Barnard’s Hoot Magazine, and the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network, have helped me to deepen my understanding of fashion as an industry, network with fellow students, alumni and esteemed guests, and perform hands-on work in event planning, outreach, and creative directing.
How do you plan to celebrate Earth Month this year?
I learned in Columbia’s “Sustainable Fashion Startup Strategy” class that one of the best ways to be sustainable is to continue the life of a garment you already own. As a result, during Earth Month, I plan to spruce up old pieces of clothing, by tailoring or embellishing, so that they are ready for a new season of use, rather than buying new pieces.
—TARA TERRANOVA ’25
