Love for Upcycling Unveils The Golden Root Collection at CARIFESTA XV Barbados, in Partnership with CURU

Sustainability takes the spotlight at CARIFESTA XV with the debut of The Golden Root Collection from Love for Upcycling, a bold showcase of fashion dyed entirely with turmeric—the golden root revered for its healing properties and radiant hue. The collection will be featured in the Sustainable Fashion Show at CARIFESTA Village and further explored when Love for Upcycling founder José Alexzander speaks at the Sustainability in Fashion workshop at Copacabana.

Rooted in community and environmental stewardship, Love for Upcycling transforms discarded textiles into garments that glow with intention and purpose. Inspired by the golden tones of Barbados—the sun, the sand, and the flag itself—each piece embodies resilience, joy, and renewal. Through plant-based dyeing and circular design, The Golden Root Collection demonstrates how waste can be reimagined as beauty, turning sustainability into wearable light.

Adding dimension to this vision, the collection is presented in collaboration with CURU, the Panamanian sustainable accessories brand founded by designer Yami Campos. Models will showcase CURU’s handcrafted pieces alongside Alexzander’s turmeric-dyed silhouettes, creating a powerful cross-Caribbean partnership that celebrates cultural pride, ethical artistry, and regenerative design.

“This is fashion that heals,” says José Alexzander, founder of Love for Upcycling. “It’s about seeing waste not as an end, but as a beginning. Each garment carries a story of transformation—rooted in nature, elevated by design.”

With its fusion of tradition, innovation, and cultural storytelling, The Golden Root Collection invites CARIFESTA audiences to rethink what luxury means, shifting the conversation toward regeneration, sustainability, and unity through style.