What happens when a group of adventurous young architects and city planners team up to send their own looks down the runway — alongside Stuart Weitzman shoes, Warby Parker eyewear and the latest season's offerings from retailers like Bloomingdale’s and Anthropologie?
As hundreds of lucky attendees of the Wharton Charity Fashion Show last month 7 discovered, a fresh perspective makes for striking results — from a hand-stitched “skirt” fashioned of leather and mesh panels to a mylar “collar” constructed of origami-like folds. PennDesign's five sculptural works, all layered over minimalist white foundation garments, bore little resemblance to the more traditional blouses, pants and dresses showcased by designers like Michael Kors, Vince and Billy Reid.
The annual Fashion Show is managed by Wharton students, and last year's event and afterparty drew more than 600 attendees and raised $15,000 for YouthBuild Philadelphia Charter School, a nonprofit that provides education and support to help underprivileged youths obtain a high school diploma.
PennDesign’s involvement started three years ago when Jessilyn Brown (MArch'16) designed a brochure and promotional material for the all-volunteer effort. “Why aren’t any architects involved in this?“ she remembers thinking. “After all, architecture and fashion have a lot in common— they both focus on creating functional designs.”
So, last year, Brown assembled a team of Penn Design students and together they raised enough money to fashion one garment. This year, Brown again acted as project manager, steering fundraising efforts and marshaling Design forces to craft a total of five “looks”. (The money goes toward the purchase of materials like mylar, acrylic, and plastic tubing; each piece costs between $30 and $500 to design and build.)
For many, adapting to a smaller scale and understanding how clothing needs to move with the body brought its own challenges. For others, like MArch candidate Caroline Morgan, whose previous experience with needle-and-thread included costume-making for her high school theater, the experience was valuable for different reasons. “Not only did I gain a better understanding of how to apply architectural design skills in new ways,” she says. “But working on a team made up of people I wouldn’t normally have encountered was a really valuable experience for me.”
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