Huntington’s Fashion Design Classes Hit the Runway
At next week’s Huntington School District Art Show at Huntington High School, 50 fashion students will take to the runway and provide attendees with a glimpse of “project-based learning” in action. The Art Show is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday, May 21-21. Fashion shows will be held on Tuesday at both 3:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.
Educational researchers have long been encouraging schools to make learning relevant and more project-based. “Student motivation is directly related to how useful the student feels the information is and whether they believe they can be successful in the learning process,” said Joan R. Fretz, district director of fine and performing arts.
The high school art department’s Fashion Design and Illustration program immerses students in the whole fashion industry, from how designers get their thematic ideas, to drawing illustrations, to sewing their own garments and accessories, to marketing and producing their own fashion show.
Fashion teacher Kristin Singer, who is completing her first year as the instructor for this two level course, has been inspired by the dedication and drive the students in the program demonstrate each day.
“Mrs. Singer has really expanded the variety of fashion designs the students are making this year,” Mrs. Fretz said. “I have been so impressed with the work ethic of the students. The fashion program includes many different types of students, from our high academic achievers to our students who are often disengaged from school. I am particularly intrigued by how seriously many of our “at-risk” students work in the Fashion program. I believe that is because they are interested in the topic and have been successful in the class. The key to engaging students who seem disinterested in school is to capture their natural interests and talents and provide them with ways to develop those talents into strengths.”
Supporters say the Fashion program is a perfect example of project-based learning. “This is real-life learning that permits students to use the knowledge and skills they are given in the course to solve real problems while developing their creative and collaborative skills,” Mrs. Fretz said. “These are all skills that students will need in order to be successful in the 21st century work force. Businesses are looking for creative employees that can think “out of the box.” The Fashion program has provided that exciting experience for many of our Huntington students.”
Mrs. Singer will be the first to state that the driving force behind this year’s Fashion Show is high school senior Elizabeth Mormile, a career intern in the Fashion program. Her internship project is the development of this year’s fashion show. “The Fashion program is very hands-on. I’m a hands-on learner and this is such a fun way to learn,” Ms. Mormile explained. “Everyone expresses themselves through clothes. In the Fashion course, you get to choose the fabric and the pattern and it really represents you.”
Ms. Mormile is interested in the business end of fashion, so developing the fashion show was an ideal project for her internship. She took classes at Fashion Institute of Technology, which included an event planning course and used many of the concepts she learned there to create a 3-D floor plan for the show’s runway and a power point presentation to explain all the components of the show to her peers.
Ms. Mormile has helped organize most aspects of the show, working collaboratively with several other art interns. Eva Valerio has worked on advertising, Christine Kang designed the fashion show poster and Danielle Siele has helped with the personal invitations, which are being sent to all high school staff, central office staff and PTA presidents.
Ms. Mormile has also organized planning meetings and presented her ideas to the art faculty. “She is an extraordinary young lady,” Mrs. Fretz said. “Liz demonstrates vision, maturity, organization and an infectious enthusiasm which makes her a natural leader and event planner. I was so impressed by how poised she was when we were discussing the development of the show. I’m so pleased that she has had this opportunity to develop her interests and talents in the art program.”
After dozens of hours of work, Ms. Mormile is hopeful the Huntington community will come out to see the fashion show. Some students have created entire collections of fashions. Mrs. Fretz said the program also includes two young men who have shown great skill. “Our guy designers are amazing,” gushed Ms. Mormile. “Dillon Lockwood can create a dress faster than anyone and Akeem Muhammad creates original fashions without a pattern. Wait until you see their work!”
Ms. Mormile will continue her studies in the fashion industry next fall as a freshman at the Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in Manhattan. Each of the fashion shows (3:15 p.m. and 7:15 p.m.) next Tuesday (May 20) is free and open to the public.
For more information about the Fashion program contact Ms. Fretz at 673-2106 or jfretz@hufsd.edu.
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