I recently finished “The Hype” on HBO Max. The streetwear competition sponsored by StockX, set up in the reality tv competition format, introduced viewers to a variety of designers who spent each week in competition for the grand prize which included a cash prize and a collection on StockX. The designers already had followings and were working in the industry, but The Hype solidified their careers by bringing more attention to the work they were already doing.

If you had an opportunity to watch the show, you know the winner was Justin Mensinger. The only designer to have a more sustainable approach to his artistic concepts, Justin’s forte is sourcing used apparel and fabrics and creating clothing serving a dual purpose. His designs highlight the importance of circularity in the clothing industry, which is important, but his work also focused on labeling his clothes with messages supporting mental health.

Justin’s father fell victim to mental health issues and throughout the series the writer’s consistently pushed Justin to discuss his life. It was an uncomfortable attempt at creating a narrative, unnecessarily. The faux drama wasn’t needed. Simply talking with Justin and learning his story was compelling enough. After winning the series Justin had the opportunity to collaborate with Reebok. Use the link at the lead to read my post about his collection. Next week, Justin will sit down on IG to talk about his work with impact marketplace Charitybuzz.

I think it’s definitely worth taking a moment to listen in and learn more about the work both Justin and Charitybuzz are doing to support social issues via fashion and art. Justin is doing an Instagram Live conversation with Charitybuzz (@charitybuzz) on Monday, Jan. 24th, at 3pm ET! They will talk about the collection, the BOKS organization benefiting from the auction, and what it all means to Justin.