Background
Upcycling is a HUGE trend right now that is making its way to the fashion industry. Starting in crafts circles, upcyling has made its way onto blogs, Twitter, and Pinterest. So what is upcycling? Upcycling is the process of converting old, waste, or unusable materials into something new and usable. Think about the how upcycling relates to sustainability. Usually the product of upcycling, when executed well, is met with great enthusiasm by non-artists, ie a "wow factor." Just take a look at the photos below to see how you can turn unusable products into new and exciting things. 

Assignment
Your assignment is to turn a men's dress shirt into something wearable. Don't confine yourself to clothing; think about accessories, shoes, jewelry, headpieces, etc. 

Steps

• Do some research. Google upcycling to get some ideas. 
• Sketch out what you want to make.
• Take a photograph of the BEFORE
• Bring in your shirt and start creating!
• Take a photograph of the AFTER 
• Download PICSTITCH on the iPad and put the Before and After pictures together

Things to consider

• Take a look at a male relative's closet. What shirt doesn't he wear anymore? Ask him if you can have it to create something new and exciting! Go to a local goodwill. Find a men's shirt. They should only be a dollar or two! 
  
• What parts of the shirt can you use? You don't have to use the entire shirt! Do you want to use two shirts sewed together?
• Look online! There are plenty of ways to alter dress shirts. Find a few ideas and change the design to suit your own needs.
• You can use any other material of your choice in addition to the dress shirt. The dress shirt should be the majority of the material OR it must be apparent that you've used a dress shirt (ie, only use the collars).

Grading Criteria

• Creativity
• Innovativeness
• Technical Quality
• Participation

Resources

• http://upcycle-fashion.blogspot.com/
  
• http://refashionista.net/
  
• http://jembellish.blogspot.com/p/clothes-upcycling-projects.html
  

Description
The world of Fashion is HUGE and encompasses a variety of different careers. We ventured into fashion design and fashion merchandising, but now we are looking at other careers (stylist, creative director, buyer, set designer, and production manager). You will take on ALL of the previous roles in order to create your fashion show. http://www.ehow.com/how_12124860_make-up-fantasy-fashion-show.html

Assignment
Your assignment is to create a fashion show and present all of your designs and research in a spiral bound book. You will be using the computer to create your project. 

Steps

• Research your concept. What is the "theme" of the show? Watch at least 2-3 fashion shows on Youtube to grasp the concept of a theme.
• Watch the Adobe InDesign tutorial that I will provide.
• Lay out 15 pages describing your fashion show.
• Use Fashion magazines as a guide for your layout.
• Print out to HP ColorLaserjet
• Bind using a spiral binding at Staples

What to include in the Book:

• Cover Page (Should include your name as if you were the designer) with images and text
• Introduction page (typed)
• Inspiration page: using real fashion photographs
• 10 Croquis designs (Can be drawn on the computer OR on paper). You SHOULD trace or use the croquis from the croquis library. Do not use faces.
• More to come.....

Grading Criteria

• Research
• Creativity
• Innovativeness
• Craftsmanship

“Women may throw their clothes away after a few seasons, but they don’t throw away their hats…they’re like their security blankets.  I want to create a security blanket they’ll always feel good about.”  -- Stephen Jones, hat designer

Background
Hats were once a vital part to any outfit. Most people, both men and women, added hats to complete their ensembles. Today, hats are still worn, but they are not very popular among young men and women. What do you think about hats? Do you own any hats other than a winter hat or a baseball cap? Would you wear a hat if they came back in style?

Assignment
Your assignment is to create a COUTURE hat or faschinator for a man or woman. It must have a theme and must be able to be worn by a model or model head. You must also draw the hat as a sketch and make a FINAL design using ink and watercolor! The ink and watercolor will be done first.

Objectives

• View the hats at the Peabody Essex Museum and analyze how they are made and for what purpose.
• Study the history of hats and analyze the changes in styles.
• Create a couture hat after analyzing many different types of hats.

Tips

• How will the hat fit and be placed on the person's head? How will it be attached? 
• What is the theme of your hat? How will you find materials to fit this theme?
• What style will the hat mimic?
• Start with a headband OR another hat and alter it

Grading Criteria

• 50% Design/Concept
  
• 20% Innovativeness (must be WILD/Unique)
• 20% Craftsmanship
• 10% Participation

Sketchbook Assignment:
Copy the clothing garment styles from the pdf attached in this blog. Copy each garment style using pencil and black fine point pen with the name of the style below it. There will be a matching quiz on the styles next week.

This pdf will show you different styles of garments (sleeves, skirt lengths, blouse openings, etc). Use this to be able to talk about your artwork and use those styles appropriately. 

Background:
Working for a client can be difficult but very rewarding. You may not identify with the style that you are designing, but you must still satisfy your customer.

Assignment:
Your assignment is to find 3 full outfits for an adult (over the age of 21) and then create a presentation board for your client. 

Objectives:

• Study current fashion designs in order to create designs for a client
• Analyze a person's style in order to find 3 suitable outfits

Steps:

1. Interview your client. Click here for the Interview Questions worksheet 
2. Your budget is $1000. Do not go over budget! 
   
3. Search online clothing stores for garment pieces. Download PicCollage or Polyvore on your iPad to collage the three outfits. Print them out. 
4. Render 3 outfits (professional, dress, casual) using the same croquis for each design. You should trace the croquis so that they are identical. You will be using the outfits you find in step 5.
5. Create a presentation board. It should include the three croquis', color swatches, and the printouts. I will provide you with the board. You also need to put your name on the board as the headline and the words "Fashion Merchandiser" below the name. There should be 3 distinct sections or groupings (casual, business, and formal).
6. Present the croquis to your client. Give them THIS form to fill out. They must fill it out and place the form in a signed sealed envelope. You will not be graded without this form. 

Written Component

• What did you think about working for a client? What was it like? Was he/she demanding/helpful?
• How successful do you think your presentation board was?

Grading Criteria:

• Design
• Concept
• Written Component
• Evaluation by your client

Background:
Many of you strive to be fashion designers. Fashion designers work extremely hard to be successful. Shows like Project Runway and America's Next Top Model let us see how they operate. You all will be learning about famous fashion designers, their collections, and how they operate. Alexander McQueen passed away a few years ago, but his designs live on. Sarah Burton designs for McQueen. You will be like Sarah Burton for this project.

Assignment:
Your assignment is to research a famous fashion designer and his/her Spring collection. You will create a presentation board based upon the designer’s collection. That board will include your own personal croquis that includes an outfit you designed that could be included in the collection. You will also write a biography about the designer. The apps that you downloaded at the beginning of the year should help you with this (The Cut, The Collection). The project is an OUT OF CLASS ASSIGNMENT. 

The Presentation Board
Choose a fashion designer
The Board should be BLACK (18x24) foamcore
The Board should include the following:

• Name of Designer
• Color swatches (squares)
• Large Croquis based on their Spring 2013 collection (drawn and designed by you)
• Include at least 3 flat sketches of garment pieces from the collection
• 4 printouts (on Laserjet) of examples of collection (if you cannot find the examples, you must choose another designer or use another collection)
• NO PRINTOUTS on White Paper. The name of the artist should be meticulously cut out. 
• ****Alignment is key. Plan out your layout before you begin gluing down.
  

Biography
2 page biography about the designer 
At least 3 sources in MLA format
Include country of origin, birthdate, facts about their design aesthetic, career, etc.
****Spelling and grammar will count

Objectives:

• Analyze the spring 2013 collection of a fashion designer (previously chosen by the student) and apply their design concepts to your croquis design.
• Research the life, goals, and artistic style of a fashion designer in order to write a brief 2 page biography on the designer.
• Using previously learned layout concepts, create a dynamic composition poster which includes a croquis, 3 flat garments, 3 images from the designer’s spring 2013 collection, and colors, shapes, or textures that mimic the designer’s collection.

Grading:
Your project will count as TWO project grades. You will be graded on the following:

• Craftsmanship
  
• Technical Quality
  
• Research
• Creativity/Innovativeness
• Spelling/Grammar
• Biography has 3 cited sources in MLA format

Click here for a list of famous Fashion Designers

For your first project, the class will be split into 2 sections. Read below for the descriptions of the first sewing project.

Clutch:
This is your fist foray into the world of sewing. For some of you; you have had experience with a sewing machine and this will be a breeze. For others, this will be a great experience to introduce you into the world of sewing. For all of you, you probably will want to throw the sewing machine at the wall at some point, but be patient! The machine will only do what you tell it to do. Be nice to it and it will treat you well! 

Materials:

• Fat Quarter of your favorite fabric
  
• Muslin (for interior) *you can also use your own colorful fabric if you want to.
  

Grading Criteria:

• Work Habits
• Quality of Stitching and Cutting
• Technical Quality (working with thew dewing machine)

Resources:
Click here for the tutorial

Shauna Leva is an illustrator who graduated from Burlington High School and Mass College of Art + Design. She works as a freelance illustrator in Boston.

1. How does Shauna’s style compare and contrast to that of fashion design illustration?
2. Do you think that an artist can make a career out of fashion illustration without actually making any clothes? Why or why not?
   

http://shaunart.net/pages/color_illustration

Zandra Rhodes was originally a textile designer in the 1960's, but her textiles were so wild, no one wanted to buy them so she decided to make her own clothes! Never having studied fashion design, Zandra taught herself how to make clothing, taking experiences from growing up with a seamstress mother. She is currently having her first east coast show at a MassArt gallery in Boston. Take a look at the images below.