Getting your Trinity Audio player ready... By Elaine Alava and Alyssa Ferro Lloret

Kimberly Ortega is redefining fashion with scraps, straw and soul. From Quito to New York, her designs stitch together heritage, sustainability and resilience — all under her brand, SOAK.

Growing up in Quito, Ecuador, Ortega recalls an afternoon with her father, Martín, at his used auto parts store. “I am basically making money from trash,” he said, explaining how he took what others threw away and turned it into something valuable.

That moment stayed with her.

Years later, when she was enrolled at Parsons School of Design in New York, professors admired her use of leftover fabrics, piecing together fragments until they formed a garment. “You’re taking scraps and turning them into real garments,

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