Our Own Project Runway

Last Friday, 17 teens showed up for our fashion design program that combined a presentation by college-age art and fashion students with a Project Runway-style challenge! Grown-up library teens Kara Naklicki, Marissa Hanker, and Caitlin Cieri are all studying art and fashion in college, and told the attendees a bit about their studies, showed some of their projects and books, and showed how to draw different styles of dresses. The teens practiced drawing dresses, getting ideas from magazines, books, and their imaginations. Then, they got in groups for the design challenge.

The challenge was deceptively simple: create a formal dress using the designs they had drawn. Groups could pick one, or combine elements from several. Each group had unlimited access to black and white trash bags, clear packing tape, black/white/gray duct tape, and scissors. Each group also got a bright color of duct tape and matching sticky gems so we could tell their creations apart, as well as a giant sheet of bubble wrap. Groups had 1/2 hour to assemble the dresses, with advice from myself, Kara, Caitlin, and Marissa. Then, the groups modeled their dresses and the college students judged a winner. The winning group members all got a $5 gift card to Claire's to buy themselves something fabulous!

Here are the pictures...

Kara and Caitlin talking to the group.

A table sketching some ideas.

Cutting open a trash bag to make "fabric."

Creating the top of a dress.

Kara helped a group lay out some trash bags to make a layered skirt.

It looked like a slip-n-slide!

The group assembling their skirt.

The final creations from the four groups in their model poses.

The winning group!

The winning dress with the three judges.