Thirteen South Brooklyn Community High School (SBCHS) students had the opportunity to develop and hone their tech and fashion skills this past year. The Fashion Tech Program, which was divided into Fall 2018 and Spring 2019 timetables, has been held afterschool in collaboration with Pioneer Works. The program’s concept and curriculum, developed in part by Tiffanie Harris (Pioneer Works’ Director of Community and School Programs), greatly evolved from being just an introductory fashion class first piloted in Fall 2016. Since this program has a prominent tech focus, she wanted to show students how the two fields overlap with one another.
“STEM is something we do quite well here at Pioneer Works because we’re an interdisciplinary arts space,” Harris told this paper. “We do our best to create interdisciplinary programs where students are not only thinking [about] art, but also the hard skills that they can use and apply, and how they can transfer these skills to degrees and careers they can pursue if interested in these fields.”
This is Pioneer Work’s first partnership with SBCHS, and the feeling of excitement was mutual between both parties, according to Domingo Rodriguez, the program director at Good Shepherd Services.
“Most of our students are always talking about fashion, Facebook and Instagram,” he said, reflecting on his meeting with Pioneer Works last summer. “So when [Pioneer Works] was talking about this program I thought, ‘Wow, that could be great.’”
During the 12 weeks students explored fashion media, textiles, and technology-enabled accessories to create wearable designs in Pioneer Works’ space with two educators (who are members of the Lady Tech Guild, a collective of professional women in the 3D industry). Students interacted with professional designers, visited fashion-centric colleges and learned hands-on tech processes using materials like thermochromic fabric, light emitting diodes (LEDs), motion sensors, 3D printing and more. While they gained tactile designing and business skills, they also built social skills, confidence and responsibility.
GOING TO THE MET AND MORE
On Nov. 9, students also participated in “Teens Take the Met!” – a museum-wide program at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that brings together teens from the five boroughs for a night of teen-centric activities. There the SBCHS students showcased their hand sewn LED bracelets to hundreds of teenagers.
To conclude the fall program in early December, they displayed their garments in a fashion collection debut during Pioneer Work’s Second Sundays programming. They created their augmented fashion ensemble using a combination of soft circuitry, projected media, digitally remixed patterns and logos and augmented reality storytelling. They also informally talked about their design and creative processes to families, friends and fellow classmates within Pioneer Work’s Science Studios. Rodriguez said SBCHS Principal LaToya Kittrell liked it so much afterward that one of the students was encouraged to hold a school-wide fashion show during a Friday morning school assembly.
SPRING ACTIVITIES
Rodriguez said the average attendance for these students has improved 22% so far from last year’s 66% rate. Students expressed that the program connected them to others, and some had said it motivated them to attend school, especially on certain days.
While some of the program’s students graduated mid-year, the non-graduates had the chance to continue the program in the spring. Currently they’re meeting afterschool three times a week and are learning to integrate different sensors and microcontrollers into upcycled tracksuits. They’ve done this by using code, creating circuit diagrams and sewing tech-related items into their garments.
A STUDENT’S SUCCESS
Augustine Bagley, a yearlong program participant, sat down with the RHSR to talk about his experience thus far. He learned how to hand sew and machine sew, and made a turtleneck shirt and a pair of pants in a maker space in Greenpoint. To incorporate technology into the garment, Bagley added motion response LEDs to the pants’ cuffs. Not only do the bottom of the pants light up, but they also tell the temperature outside thanks to coding. He said being a skateboarder inspired him to develop this kind of design.
“When you ride a skateboard you usually can’t see your feet, especially when you’re doing your tricks,” he explained. “So I said, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I can see my feet?’ because it would make my life so much easier.”
Because of this program, Bagley wants to attend Parsons School of Design or the Fashion Institute of Technology next year. He’s currently in the middle of prepping his portfolio and applying to colleges. Bagley also mentioned that his dream job is to work for Supreme, a skateboarding shop and clothing brand based in Manhattan.
“I have the ability to sew, make my own clothes and fix buttons; those are valuable skills,” he said.
LOOKING AHEAD
SBCHS’ springtime participants will be attending “Teens Take the Met!” again on May 31 and will show their latest innovative creations.
Harris said in March that Pioneer Works plans to work on a 10 to 12 session program cycle for Fall 2019 with a different group of students. She also mentioned that she’s already reached out to someone who’s a consultant in fashion law.
“I don’t think most students know that there are many entry points in fashion beyond being a designer or working in a retail store,” she explained. “We’re really trying to build it out and make it more thoughtful and intentional in terms of exposure.”
Top photo of this year’s Fashion Tech Program participants. Photo courtesy of Pioneer Works and South Brooklyn Community High School.
