Mike Balado, who has worked at Power 5 basketball programs like the University of Louisville and the University of Miami, understands the importance of branding.
Ten months after being hired as Miami Dade College’s director of athletics in August of 2023, the department carved out a five-year branding deal with Adidas.
The following summer, Balado approached the athletic apparel giant with an idea: have students from the Miami Fashion Institute design uniforms for the school’s seven sports teams.
This fall, that vision became a reality.
The school’s soccer and volleyball squads debuted the new threads created by two MFI students—Maria Sanchez and Jazmin Stroughter. They feature silhouettes of the Freedom Tower, the Miami skyline and Bayfront Park’s observation wheel, framed by the college’s colors, royal blue and white.
“I want people to understand how important it is to tie in athletics with academics,” Balado said.
To select the students, Balado recruited Saul Kapilivsky, an assistant professor at MFI, who has styled celebrities and pageant contestants during his nearly four-decade long career in the fashion industry.
A committee that included Balado, representatives from Adidas and the professor picked the 21-year-olds from Kapilivsky’s apparel evaluation and product class.
“I’m grateful to be able to give this back to my city,” Sanchez said. “This is exactly what I wanted to do from the beginning.”
The framework of the sketches were produced this summer, during a three week stretch, while Sanchez and Stroughter took different sections of Kapilivsky’s apparel evaluation and product class.
Although the duo worked independently, they used a program called CLO, a 3D fashion design software that allowed them to use a variety of materials digitally.
Sanchez’s outlines showcased the Miami skyline, which she feels is underappreciated. The Freedom Tower was also prominently featured because of its rich history with the city.
Stroughter didn’t want to make a stereotypical Miami design. She focused on an Art Deco style, keeping the look minimalistic and symmetrical.
“I was really underestimating myself,” Stroughter said. “I feel like winning this has been very validating.”
Both concepts were merged to create the final product.
Sanchez, who was born in Colombia, came to Miami when she was 14. During her senior year at Design and Architecture Senior High, she began experimenting with textiles, starting with a small poster for a high school fashion show that featured flower stamps. In another project she made vegan leather book covers.
“I’ve always been initially very interested in the craftsmanship,” Sanchez said. ”I was like ‘It would actually be really cool to learn how to sew and make things.’”
After graduating from high school in 2023, she took a gap year in Colombia before enrolling at MFI in 2025.
Stroughter, originally from Jacksonville, was given her first sewing lesson by her grandmother Yolanda Roldan when she was eight. Her first sewing machine—a Brother Limited Edition Project Runway model—was a gift from her grandmother.
When she started high school at River City Science Academy, she started to take the craft seriously.
During her senior year, Stroughter participated in a STEM group competition for the Technology Student Association focused on “Technology and Fashion.”
Her group wanted to make a “witchy costume” with a 3D printed back. Because she was the only one who could sew, she created the fabric for the project.
“I took the lead in that project,” Stroughter said. “We didn’t win but, it was a really fun experience and I was like ‘I really like doing this.’”
After graduating in 2023, she moved to Miami and enrolled at MFI at the behest of her mom who was a New World School of the Arts dance graduate.
Sanchez and Stroughter graduated from MFI in the spring 2026 semester with an associate in science in fashion design.
Stroughter currently works as a server at a local restaurant. She aspires to land a job in the fashion industry.
Sanchez currently works at MANN, a womenswear brand based in Miami, as a patternmaker. She strives to make her own Miami streetwear brand in the future.
“That is the type of impact that we are striving for at the Miami Fashion Institute,” Kapilivsky said about the aspiring fashionistas. “This is going to be the beginning of their success.”
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