CCA News
Pre-College Program ReadDRESSES Discarded Clothing
Posted on Thursday, August 6, 2009, by Sarah Owens
California College of the Arts Fashion Design faculty—chair Amy Williams and lecturer Lyndsie Nash—developed a unique project that was put to use during this summer’s Pre-College Program. Students were given two men’s shirts to work with—one striped, the other plaid—and challenged to create completely new sustainable fashion from the old discarded shirts.
The outcomes were innovative, fashion-forward designs with little remaining semblance of the original shirts.
The Pre-College project stemmed from a larger one that originated in the Sustainable Fashion course taught by Lynda Grose, and is geared toward advanced Fashion Design undergraduates. The Pre-College students had a week and a half with Nash and two three-hour sewing sessions with construction studio instructor and Fashion Design adjunct professor Barbara Kelly to create their pieces. Lynda Grose gave a short eco-talk at the beginning of the program to inspire the students.
Grose’s original project set forth to examine the often present bales of unwanted, reusable clothing at Goodwill Industries. The Pre-College students, too, used shirts procured from Goodwill for their projects. The shirts were fashioned into dresses and blouses, each accompanied by a project board created by the students to show their inspirations for (and evolution of) their garments.
The student creations were diverse and inventive. Nash commented, “I especially love how each student's work stood out in such a unique and individual way: Some turned the shirts upside-down; others incorporated collars as waistbands.”
CCA’s Pre-College Program has been providing high school students with real-world college experience for 23 years. Approximately 250 students attend each summer, with roughly half choosing to live on campus as part of the college’s Residential Life program. The multidisciplinary college-level curricula typically offer three college credits upon completion of a month-long program. The weekly, all-day courses include visual art and creative writing courses. Optional evening programming includes art and design workshops, life-drawing sessions, and social events.
Pre-College students have the opportunity to work in studios alongside CCA students and share the same state-of-the-art equipment. The final day of the program is set aside for student critiques, as well as an exhibition that takes place throughout the college’s galleries.
See Pre-College and Fashion Design on the CCA website to learn more about each program.