Design and Stitch

Equally important was providing my students with an authentic, real-world experience: learning to present themselves professionally as designers, collaborate with a client, and adapt their creative vision to meet someone elseʼs needs. In turn, the Fashion Design students would gain experience articulating their unique style and vision and directing the creation of a custom fabric for an original garment. That moment finally arrived last year, following a carefully engineered test run of the project I titled Design and Stitch.

Setting the Runway
The project kicked off with my Design and Illustration students creating personalized introductions using a Google Slides template I provided. Slide one included a photo, name, list of past and current art classes, and a short personal greeting. Slides two and three showcased artwork that reflected each studentʼs individual strengths in digital design.

Once the slides were complete, I shared them with Mrs. Valerio, our Fashion Design teacher, so her students could review the digital designersʼ mini CVs. Based on these presentations, each Fashion Design student selected a partner they wanted to collaborate with. From there, the Fashion Design students filled out their own template prompts to introduce themselves themselves, outlining their design style and approach. These exchanges allowed both groups to get to know each other before their scheduled in-person project meeting.

On a small but meaningful note, a scheduling conflict forced one of my students to drop my course, leaving a Fashion Design student without a partner. I stepped in to fill the gap. I found myself fully immersed in the project as a participant. It was such a joy to share the creative process alongside my students.

One-on-One Discussions
Before students met in person, I gave mine a few pointers on how to run their one-on one discussion. They were to briefly recap the project goals and agenda, listen carefully to their clientʼs feedback, and ask clarifying questions. I encouraged them to show empathy for their client’s perspective, clearly explain their design ideas and rationale, and keep the conversation open and collaborative. Most importantly, they were to welcome feedback, accept criticism constructively, adjust their designs as needed, and keep the meeting focused and on schedule to cover all key topics.

The UX Design Process
The meetings went amazingly well, and students were super engaged and excited. The following day, my students began work on their fabric designs for their client. I gave them two weeks for their prototype, since it was a brand-new experience for them.

To help my students manage their workflow, I introduced the UX design process: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. The Empathize and Define aspects of the project were accomplished through the Google Slides introductions and in-person meeting, so students were now exploring the Ideate and Prototype phases. I love the UX design process model because it is clear and can be very easily modified for a classroom setting and different design challenges. There is an excellent video on YouTube that explains the UX design process called “What Is Design Thinking? An Overview,” and itʼs worth watching and sharing with just about any art class. I also shared a curated list of Ideate techniques, including mind mapping, questioning assumptions, and sketching.

When my students completed a seamless repeating pattern that they thought met their clientsʼ expectations and felt proud of, they submitted it to their Google Slides presentation for their clients’ review. This is typically the hardest portion of a project for most students. It’s challenging for them to differentiate constructive feedback and the concept of revisions from a personal attack on their abilities. However, the group of students I was working with this particular year were champs at tackling this aspect of design work, including myself, since my client requested some design modifications. It was an excellent opportunity for me to model how to deal with client feedback and problem-solve design solutions.

From Pattern to Garment
After some back-and-forth and a few alterations, the Fashion Design students quickly approved the fabric patterns. I uploaded the final patterns to Contrado.com, a custom fabric printing company based in London that I’ve worked with before. Mrs. Valero and I discussed what would work best for her students, and we settled on three yards per student of Contrado’s Cotton Calico, 152gsm, ID 3436.

The hard part was waiting for the fabric, but when it arrived, it was like a bunch of holidays wrapped in one. Everyone was so excited. The fabric was handed over to the Fashion Design students to work their magic. They interpreted the prints in inventive ways, crafting custom garments that reflected both their own design sensibilities and the personality of the print. The final pieces ranged from statement streetwear to party wear, each a testament to collaboration and creative problem-solving.