About Me – Mia Celestina
Trash into Treasure
I’m Mia Celestina, an Edmonton, Alberta-based designer who turns literal garbage into things people fight to wear. I graduated from MC College’s one-year Fashion Design & Production program in 2023 and have been obsessed ever since with proving that the best materials are the ones nobody else wanted.
When I was little I built creations. Wild, glittering sculptures made from cardboard boxes, bottle caps, trash bags, broken toys, and whatever junk I could drag home from the garage. A cereal box became armor, soda tabs turned into chainmail, garbage bags draped like ballgowns. I never cared if it was “wearable”; I just needed to take something worthless and transform it into treasure.
That same chaotic magic still runs everything I do. My studio is powered by death metal: blast beats, guttural vocals, and riffs that feel like the end of the world. The darker and heavier the track, the sharper the studs, the tighter the corset, the more tulle I pile on. If the breakdown hits like a sledgehammer, the garment has to hit harder.
Deadstock pleather, discarded chains, thrift-store curtains, crushed cans, broken jewelry, random hardware; if it’s shiny, forgotten, or free, it’s coming home with me. I stud it, lace it, layer it, and send it out looking like it was born expensive.
This is Trash into Treasure in real time: loud, unapologetic, and soundtracked by death metal that refuses to be polite.
One girl’s garbage is this girl’s battle armor.
♡ Mia Celestina