The Art of Renewal with Becca Ibarra
When Durham-based artist and Duke Arts Create Instructor Becca Ibarra makes paper, she begins with what most people disregard. Paper is usually thought of as a fresh start: a blank …
Header Photo: Alex Glenn leading the Duke Arts Create Introduction to Machine Sewing workshop at The Scrap Exchange
For many, walking into a thrift store is an action rooted in one sole purpose: seeking out finished garments. For Durham-based designer, Duke Arts Create sewing instructor, and Research Administration Specialist at the Duke School of Medicine, Alex Glenn, however, a glance at a pile of thrifted clothes reveals loose threads of possibility. Something as dull as a dated jacket might evolve into something entirely contemporary. In Glenn’s practice, sewing is less about repair and more about transformation: the careful act of stitching a second life into materials that might otherwise be forgotten.
Glenn describes herself simply: an upcycling fashion designer and founder of Capo Vintage, a line built entirely from thrifted garments that she reworks into new pieces. She also leads sewing workshops through her organization, Seed Sowers, where she teaches others how to use sewing machines and rethink the clothes they already own. The two roles she plays as designer and teacher are tightly woven together.
“I’ve always been obsessed with fashion,” Glenn expresses with a laugh. But her journey into sewing didn’t begin in a studio. Rather, it began in thrift stores. During college, Glenn became deeply immersed in thrifting, collecting unique garments and styling them in creative ways. Yet over time, styling alone began to feel limiting. “I realized I was pretty limited in what I could do if just styling the clothes,” she explains. Determined to expand her creative control, she enrolled in a short sewing course after graduating. Four classes later, a new chapter began.
Through sewing, Glenn discovered that a garment could become something entirely new. A thrifted piece, she realized, could function as a kind of canvas. “You can literally give a clothing item a new identity,” she emphasizes. The process allowed her not only to reshape clothing, but to reshape her relationship with fashion itself.
“You can literally give a clothing item a new identity.”
Alex Glenn, Durham-based designer and duke arts create instructor
What began as creative curiosity soon expanded into a deeper understanding of sustainability. Glenn had already been participating in sustainable fashion simply by thrifting, but learning to sew revealed the full potential of extending a garment’s life. Altering, repairing, and reimagining clothing keeps materials in circulation rather than in landfills. Each stitch becomes a small act of environmental care.
At the same time, sewing also reshaped Glenn’s relationship with self-expression. Clothes that fit well, and reflect personal style, can transform the way someone moves through the world. “When you wear clothes that fit you and that you actually like,” she says, “your confidence increases.” Through sewing, fashion becomes not only sustainable, but personal.
Yet Glenn’s work is equally motivated by preservation. For generations, sewing was a widely shared skill passed down through families. Today, however, it risks fading from everyday life. “We can all say our grandma knew how to sew,” Glenn notes. “But it’s rare to say that people our age are making their own clothes.”
“We can all say our grandma knew how to sew, but it’s rare to say that people our age are making their own clothes.”
Alex Glenn, Durham-based designer and duke arts create instructor
Her teaching aims to bridge that gap. In workshops and classes, Glenn introduces beginners to the basics of machine sewing and clothing alteration: skills that empower people to repair or reshape their wardrobes. The goal isn’t necessarily to turn everyone into a designer. Sometimes the most powerful change is simply learning how to tailor a garment to one’s own needs.
In an era of fast fashion and one-click shopping, that small skill carries surprising impact. A coat ordered online may arrive quickly, but it rarely fits perfectly. Sewing provides an alternative: a way to adjust, personalize, and extend the life of what already exists. In the process, participants become active contributors to a more sustainable fashion system.
For Glenn, sustainability does not dampen her love for fashion, but expands it. Thrift stores offer a kind of living archive, holding pieces from every decade: silhouettes from the 50s, textures from the 70s, bold patterns from the 80s.
To stay inspired, Glenn keeps a close eye on high-end runway shows, watching designers from houses like Chanel throughout the seasons. She then builds pinterest boards of emerging trends before heading back to thrift stores to recreate those looks using secondhand materials. The challenge of reinterpreting luxury fashion through upcycled garments fuels her creativity.
“It brings a whole new level of excitement and obsession with fashion” she says. “You’re taking inspiration from what you see and figuring out how to recreate it with what already exists.” That ethos has found a natural home within Duke’s creative ecosystem. Glenn has worked at Duke for nearly nine years, and through Duke Arts Create programming she has been able to share her passion for sewing with coworkers and students alike. The opportunity to teach outside her traditional workday has allowed her artistic practice to flourish alongside her professional life. Programs like these, she explains, create new entry points into sustainable creativity. Participants gain not only technical skill, but also a broader awareness of fashion’s environmental impact.
Material choice plays a crucial role in Glenn’s artistic process. Upcycled fabrics often arrive with their own limitations, such as unusual cuts, unexpected textures, or remnants of previous designs. Yet these constraints often become creative prompts rather than obstacles. Working with organizations like The Scrap Exchange, a Durham nonprofit that diverts reusable materials from landfill, has further expanded Glenn’s approach. The organization supplies fabrics and textiles that others have discarded, giving Glenn and her students a wide array of materials to experiment with. Teaching sewing classes within that environment creates a powerful cycle: salvaged materials become new garments, while new makers learn how to continue that process themselves.
Looking ahead, Glenn believes student artists and campus communities have a powerful role to play in reshaping fashion culture. The first step, she says, is awareness. “People need to know about the dangers of fast fashion,” she explains. “And they need to know there are alternatives.
“People need to know about the dangers of fast fashion, and they need to know there are alternatives.”
Alex Glenn, Durham-based designer and duke arts create instructor
Simple community practices can make a difference: clothing swaps among friends, learning basic hand-sewing skills, or experimenting with altering garments instead of discarding them. Even small creative acts can extend the lifespan of clothing and reduce waste. For beginners just starting with sewing machines, Glenn offers a straightforward philosophy: start with what you already have. Practice altering thrifted garments, experiment with small repairs, and approach sewing with curiosity rather than perfection. Over time, each stitch builds confidence in both sewing and the ability to shape one’s own relationship with clothing.
In Glenn’s studio, thrifted garments patiently await their next transformation. Fabric that once belonged to another decade, another owner, another style, becomes raw material for something entirely new. With careful hands and a steady thread, Alex Glenn reminds us that fashion’s future might not lie in what we buy next, but what we choose to remake. Check out the video below to get started on giving your old garment a new life!
Keep up with Alex on Instagram.
Read more about Alex here.
This series is written and produced by Duke Green Devil interns Jenna Arafeh and Yuchen Chen, who are working with Duke Arts through the Duke Office of Climate and Sustainability internship program for the 2025–26 academic year.
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In continuation of our Art of Renewal series, we are excited to highlight Alex Glenn, a Durham-based designer and sewing instructor. This series spotlights how Duke Arts Create instructors incorporate sustainability into their creative practice and offers ideas for incorporating reuse and other sustainable approaches into everyday art-making. Continue exploring the series below.
When Durham-based artist and Duke Arts Create Instructor Becca Ibarra makes paper, she begins with what most people disregard. Paper is usually thought of as a fresh start: a blank …
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