R’Bonney Nola:
Sustainable Fashion that Does Good and Looks Good
Photo Credits:
Paul Vincent Paredes II
Lauren Rushing
Priscilla Dasilva
Alexis Merino
“There is a special feeling I get when completing a garment I’ve dreamt up. The process of transforming a simple piece of fabric into something much more captivating is quite amazing.” – R’Bonney Gabriel
R’Bonney Gabriel, fashion designer; model; and former Miss Texas, Miss U.S.A., and Miss Universe believes in seizing the moment, and the opportunity, and making the most of both. As one of her R’Bonney Nola t-shirts says: “If not now, then when?”
R’Bonney Nola is Gabriel’s clothing label. Using sustainable design methods and repurposed natural fabrics, Gabriel creates unique garments for anyone who desires artistic expression in their wardrobe. The independent brand radiates and promotes individuality and self-confidence.
Each item is handmade with the utmost attention to detail using experimental textures, embroidery work, and distinctive handwork. And, because R’Bonney Nola is committed to sustainability, the clothing is mindfully created so that there is little textile waste. It is the label’s belief that the less waste there is, and the more recycled fabrics there are in the production of its apparel, the friendlier its products are to the planet.
Recently, CKW LUXE publisher and founder, Connie Kwan-Wong, hosted afternoon tea at her home with Gabriel as the special guest. While enjoying the event, Connie and her guests were treated to an exclusive showing of Gabriel’s latest collection. Connie was also able to talk to Gabriel about R’Bonney Nola, its beginnings, and her aspirations for its future.
CKW LUXE: Was there a particular moment when you decided you wanted to become a fashion designer, and did you know from the start you would be designing clothes in a sustainable manner?
R’Bonney Gabriel: From a young age. I first sewed my own dress at 15, and I learned so much in that process that I fell in love with creating something for myself. Ever since then, I was hooked on fashion designing and sewing, so I just started sewing more dresses. I fell in love with learning the construction and the details and just the whole process of bringing a vision to life. So it was pretty early on that I knew, “Hey, I’ve found my passion, I’ve found something that I really love, and I want to grow up and be a fashion designer one day.” That’s what I thought.
But it wasn’t until at the age of 22 or 23, when I was in college studying fashion design, that I realized I wanted to be a sustainable fashion designer. I realized the fashion industry is not very responsible when it comes to the process of producing garments. There’s a whole lot of textile waste that is made when garments are produced, and there is a lot of over-consumption, I believe. The fashion industry is the second largest polluting industry in the world in terms of all the textile waste, and I realized I didn’t want to be part of that problem. I realized fashion should be pushed in a more responsible and ethical way when we’re talking about production. I believe garment workers overseas should by working in fair conditions, and I believe that fashion in clothing should be produced to last. Clothes seem to be made of a quality that is not as good as it used to be, and it is not lasting as long. So, all these issues I found in the fashion industry. I wanted to be the fashion designer that was pushing it in a more responsible and ethical way.
CKW: Our readers would be fascinated to know where you get your ideas for your designs from.
RBG: I get a lot of my ideas from my travels. I travel a lot for work, and I am constantly curious about the world and culture. There’s a lot of textiles that I will come across and see something, kind of under a microscopic perspective, that will give me inspiration for a texture, for a shape, or even a technique. I also find lots of inspiration from a fabric or material itself. When I find a fabric, that is when the ideas just start running wild: “What can I actually do with this fabric and how can I create it?”
CKW: Do you design your clothes with a particular demographic in mind or are they meant to be worn by all women?
RBG: I would want all women to want to wear my clothing, but I think we all have our own unique style. I will say, though, my ideal demographic is a woman who wears clothes to feel confident. She puts clothes on to feel powerful, ready to take on the day, ready to go out at night and feel beautiful. That is my main mission with my clothing when a woman puts it on. Also, my customer is usually more sustainably conscious, so they are making choices or buying fashion that is more responsible, as I mentioned earlier. It’s fashion that is just more intentional. My women, and my ideal customers, are women who just love to have fun with fashion, love to dress up, love to get a little bit more glamorous, maybe are a little bit more feminine but have an edgy side, and are definitely unique. They are not women who are just following a trend, but have their own voice and their own heartbeat.
CKW: You were Miss Texas, Miss U.S.A., and Miss Universe in 2022. If possible, can you tell our readers what those titles mean to you?
RBG: Those titles were everything to me. They were a culmination of all of my hard work and my passion and drive that I had poured myself into for three years, but that also represented me finding my voice and my confidence. When I started my pageant journey, I was quite a reserved girl. I didn’t know how to speak my mind. I didn’t know how to put my thoughts into words, and there were women who coached me and invested in me. They basically watered me and brought me to life.
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Miss Universe represents that. When we pour ourselves into other people; when we invest in others; and when we allow others to see the light that we have, like these women did for me, it represents how powerful it is to help other people. I really owe my success to those women and those people who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself. So having those titles really gave me the platform to share this idea with other people and instill it in others.
When I would travel as Miss Texas, Miss USA, or Miss Universe the title meant so much to me. It meant it gave me the platform to advocate for the arts and for fashion through my sewing workshops that I would go and give children in schools. I would go to schools and teach children about overcoming failure. I mean, Miss Universe was so much more than the modeling and the glamorous lifestyle that a lot of people associate with it. It was about developing myself into a well-rounded woman who not only felt beautiful physically, but mentally as well, and also about finding my purpose in life, and also being a servant to other people and giving back to other people. I could go on and on, honestly, about what Miss Universe means to me, but to sum it up, it was just such a powerful journey and title that I was awarded, and it gave me the opportunity to share my light with others.
CKW: Our readers would be fascinated to know where you get your ideas for your designs from.
RBG: I get a lot of my ideas from my travels. I travel a lot for work, and I am constantly curious about the world and culture. There’s a lot of textiles that I will come across and see something, kind of under a microscopic perspective, that will give me inspiration for a texture, for a shape, or even a technique. I also find lots of inspiration from a fabric or material itself. When I find a fabric, that is when the ideas just start running wild: “What can I actually do with this fabric and how can I create it?”
CKW: Do you design your clothes with a particular demographic in mind or are they meant to be worn by all women?
RBG: I would want all women to want to wear my clothing, but I think we all have our own unique style. I will say, though, my ideal demographic is a woman who wears clothes to feel confident. She puts clothes on to feel powerful, ready to take on the day, ready to go out at night and feel beautiful. That is my main mission with my clothing when a woman puts it on. Also, my customer is usually more sustainably conscious, so they are making choices or buying fashion that is more responsible, as I mentioned earlier. It’s fashion that is just more intentional. My women, and my ideal customers, are women who just love to have fun with fashion, love to dress up, love to get a little bit more glamorous, maybe are a little bit more feminine but have an edgy side, and are definitely unique. They are not women who are just following a trend, but have their own voice and their own heartbeat.
CKW: You were Miss Texas, Miss U.S.A., and Miss Universe in 2022. If possible, can you tell our readers what those titles mean to you?
RBG: Those titles were everything to me. They were a culmination of all of my hard work and my passion and drive that I had poured myself into for three years, but that also represented me finding my voice and my confidence. When I started my pageant journey, I was quite a reserved girl. I didn’t know how to speak my mind. I didn’t know how to put my thoughts into words, and there were women who coached me and invested in me. They basically watered me and brought me to life.
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A few goals I have for the future are to start my own grant, or scholarship, or charity that gives back in some way on the topics of fashion or sustainable fashion, or giving opportunities to the younger generation of designers because I think there needs to be more opportunities, and just more investment, in the youth. I also share a lot about myself on my social media platforms, and I’m hoping as my audience grows I’m continuing to inspire them to find their passion, find their unique gifts, and really just hone in on that. Do the self-work to find out what that is and build your confidence around that, and let that be a guiding light for your life because I feel very blessed to have found my passion of design in fashion. That means it has opened a world of opportunities and an umbrella of different collaborations for me, and I have documented that and shared it with the world.
I just hope I can continue to connect with my audience and inspire them to keep putting things out there and to just build their confidence and self-work to realize what they’re good at. There are a lot of things on the horizon for me. I’ve been really loving life lately, and I thank God for all the opportunities, and I’m really trusting in him this next year to continue to use me to not only pour into my passions, but pour into others, as much as possible.
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 Hosting the Miss Universe finals in Bangkok, Thailand |  Hosting the Miss Universe finals in Bangkok, Thailand |  Hosting the Miss Universe finals in Bangkok, Thailand |
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