This 20-Year-Old Miami Fashion Institute Student Wants To Design Clothes For The Pope

Four years ago, Fabiola Alfaro was having anxiety attacks and cutting herself with a blade. 

“I used to hurt myself,” Alfaro recalls. “I used to not want to live.”

So she turned to God for answers. 

“I reached out my hand into heaven [and] I was like ‘Okay, God, grab my hand and get me out of here,’” she said. “And life became all about him.” 

Today, the 20-year-old is living for God through fashion at Miami Dade College.

Last month, Alfaro, who aspires to become a sister in a convent, debuted Eukharistia, a clothing collection honoring God, at Miami Fashion Institute’s annual graduate event. 

The collection, named after the Greek word for thanksgiving, is inspired by Roman Catholic architecture and garments worn by clergymen during the Eucharist, a Catholic ritual commemorating Jesus’ last supper.

“To use my talent for the thing that I love most in the world, which is God, that’s the life I want to live,” she said. “I don’t want to waste my talents.”

Alfaro’s passion for designing traces back to her childhood in Costa Rica. 

As a five-year-old, she took “hours” to get dressed and pretended to be a fashionista, designing clothes for imaginary customers.

In December of 2020, Alfaro graduated from Saint Peter’s High School and moved to Miami with her mother and stepfather to pursue her dream. There was only one problem—she didn’t know how to sew.

“I didn’t even know how to turn on the machine,” she recalls. 

That changed once Alfaro enrolled at MFI in the fall of 2021. She quickly learned to sew seams and zippers, make patterns and construct garments.

Alfaro’s dream also changed that year. She didn’t just want to be a fashion designer—she wanted to use her talents to serve God and began fixing nuns’ garments.

“I read this scripture in the Bible that says, ‘The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. Pray to the owner of the vine to send more workers,’” she recalls. “That moment was very personal; it was like God telling me, ‘I want you to be my servant in my vine.’”

Through that inspiration, Eukharistia was born. It consists of three dresses.

The crown jewel of the collection is Eukharistia—a white gown adorned with bishop sleeves and a black mozzetta—an elbow-length cape worn by Catholic dignitaries. The piece also features a long, gold cross with a spikey centerpiece inspired by a monstrance—a vessel containing the sacramental bread eaten during the Eucharist.

Exousia, Greek for authority, is a white gown augmented by black, bell-shaped sleeves, a gold collar, a cross-shaped seam, and a long tail inspired by a mitre, the ceremonial hat worn by bishops and the Pope. It aims to represent authority figures in the Catholic Church.

 Leitourgia, Greek for liturgy, is a black gown that features a thick, gold collar, white cape and knotted cord above the waist. The piece seeks to honor nuns and priests and their vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. 

“She made this for God and dedicated it to him,” said Stephanie Duque, Alfaro’s friend and classmate. “The fashion world sometimes hides [religion] because a lot of people have different opinions, but I’m really glad that [she was]  able to show that.”

Currently, Alfaro is interning at Jesunme—an online clothing store owned by Desirae Allen, an adjunct professor at MFI who taught Alfaro for Introduction to Fashion Design & Related Industries—where she’s sewing kimonos. 

She’s also working as an illustrator at Lucky In Love, an athletic wear store. In the future, Alfaro hopes to design garments for the pope. 

“I’m proud because she’s sticking with her belief,” Allen said. “She’s a believer and there’s nothing wrong with that, especially when other young people can see, ‘Look, I can love God [and] I can still try to live a good life.’” 

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