Fashion students partner with Nicaraguan manufacturer
Jorge Ramos
Issue date: 10/22/09 Section: City Style
A partnership between LBCC's fashion design program and the Women's International Sewing Cooperative of Nueva Vida, a Nicaraguan sweatshop-free clothing manufacturer, will allow students to explore real-world marketing and designing through socially conscious manufacturing.
Design 3 level students will design a line of organic knit jersey sportswear separates to help the cooperative gain greater access to the U.S. market while promoting sweatshop-free manufacturing.
During the Summer, businessman and former film producer Phil Fehrle presented design teacher Pamela Knights with the concept after he visited the worker-owned Nueva Vida facility, built by the workers themselves to avoid sweatshop labor after losing it all to hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Knights took on the proposition, knowing that collaborating in a socially responsible effort to help sustain a sweatshop-free organization would be an invaluable learning experience for her students.
"The students realize the importance of the project and that they have the ability to help the Nueva Vida cooperative become self-sufficient," Knights said.
The students are also aware that while they are benefiting from the experience, their designs also will help the company reach out to a new market.
Fashion design major LeAndra Johnson said, "This gives us real-life experience and them the knowledge to expand in their business by learning more sewing techniques."
The five students who will design three outfits each, about 25-30 garments total, will be graded on their work, as the project is part of the requirement and will even be showcased at the annual fashion critique before being shipped to Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua.
Students acknowledge that the type of international co-operations would also look good on paper in future resumes.
Fashion design major Enrique Fortin said, "Not only will we be able to use this for our portfolio, but we also get to help them out because they don't have the design ability."
The students already have cut into the 90 yards of fabric that Nueva Vida shipped and will send the sportswear samples by Dec. 16. The Nueva Vida cooperative would then have four months to reproduce the apparel they would like to add to their product line and finally ship the finished product back to be displayed in the annual fashion show on May 20.
Design 3 level students will design a line of organic knit jersey sportswear separates to help the cooperative gain greater access to the U.S. market while promoting sweatshop-free manufacturing.
During the Summer, businessman and former film producer Phil Fehrle presented design teacher Pamela Knights with the concept after he visited the worker-owned Nueva Vida facility, built by the workers themselves to avoid sweatshop labor after losing it all to hurricane Mitch in 1998.
Knights took on the proposition, knowing that collaborating in a socially responsible effort to help sustain a sweatshop-free organization would be an invaluable learning experience for her students.
"The students realize the importance of the project and that they have the ability to help the Nueva Vida cooperative become self-sufficient," Knights said.
The students are also aware that while they are benefiting from the experience, their designs also will help the company reach out to a new market.
Fashion design major LeAndra Johnson said, "This gives us real-life experience and them the knowledge to expand in their business by learning more sewing techniques."
The five students who will design three outfits each, about 25-30 garments total, will be graded on their work, as the project is part of the requirement and will even be showcased at the annual fashion critique before being shipped to Ciudad Sandino, Nicaragua.
Students acknowledge that the type of international co-operations would also look good on paper in future resumes.
Fashion design major Enrique Fortin said, "Not only will we be able to use this for our portfolio, but we also get to help them out because they don't have the design ability."
The students already have cut into the 90 yards of fabric that Nueva Vida shipped and will send the sportswear samples by Dec. 16. The Nueva Vida cooperative would then have four months to reproduce the apparel they would like to add to their product line and finally ship the finished product back to be displayed in the annual fashion show on May 20.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
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posted 12/16/09 @ 10:22 AM PST
This partnership gives a lot of opportunities for students.
Terrence S. Kiolbassa
posted 1/03/10 @ 3:02 AM PST
Fashion, what a joke. The more things change the more they stay the same.
In the mid 1950's My mother used to send me with old clothes to the junk yard at Walton & Milwaukee Ave in Chicago to get money to purchase day old bread. (Continued…)
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