As a headlining event for DC Climate Week 2025, Spring Return: Second Bloom redefined what it means to merge sustainability, storytelling, and style. Produced by BlackOak’s very own Malayna Nesbitt, who served as both Creative Director and Show Producer, this groundbreaking fashion show celebrated the beauty and resilience of Black creativity in the face of environmental injustice.
Through 12 upcycled, one-of-a-kind looks spread across three themed segments—Revival, Reclamation, and Resilience, the show honored the cyclical nature of spring, resistance, and rebirth. Models graced the runway in garments constructed from repurposed materials, natural fibers, and salvaged objects, transforming “waste” into wearable declarations of purpose, power, and possibility.
The event was more than a fashion show, it was a live, immersive narrative of Black futurity and ecological imagination. Featuring an all-Black cast of designers, models and stylists, Second Bloom centered joy, care, and community as core tenets of climate resilience.
From the curated soundtrack and lighting design to the symbolic runway transitions, every detail reflected Malayna’s creative vision rooted in environmental justice, circular design, and cultural memory.
REGISTER HERE
