Fashion
“The Two-Garment Mash-Up”
Teachers: Ann Judy + Patty Stultz
This year’s Fashion Class learned the simple concept of the clothing mash-up. This process involves taking two or more existing clothing items and joining them together to form a new, exciting piece. This is a fun way to extend the life of outgrown garments – those too small or ripped, stained and torn items that they still loved. Extending the life of clothing wearability reduces the fashion industry’s environmental impact, helping to eliminate the use of raw materials and encourage students to keep old clothing items out of the landfill (an ongoing principal of the Circle fashion classes).
Students made artistic choices for fashion appeal as they made decisions on what different garments looked like “mashed” together. Many students changed their minds as they laid out their pieces and decided that things didn’t look good together, or align, or perhaps clashed and was not their vision. They learned many problem solving skills to be able to fit their new garment to their growing bodies. They pinned, cut, ripped and ironed. Young sewers also improved their sewing machine skills, and learned new skills, such as changing the size of needles to match the weight of the fabrics they were using. They were encouraged to take embellishments, trims, embroidery and other flourishes that were parts of other garments and add that to their own new creation. They styled and modeled their completed garment in a style show.
