On January 14 and 16 Hive Fashion hosted a series of fashion workshops we have branded Hive Fashion House. The first event was held at Chicago’s YOUmedia teen space in the Harold Washington Library Center. The second event was held at New York’s Cooper-Hewitt Design Studio. Both events were led by Hive Fashion Mentors Cheryl Pope & Avri Coleman. The focal points of the events were:
- A fashion design challenge
- An invitation to document the event through photos and blogs
- And a networking opportunity for the Chicago and New York Hive member organizations
For the design challenge the Hive Fashion Mentors made an assortment of clothes and fabric available for the participants. In teams, participants were given a short challenge to select garments and style to reflect an idea (e.g. “rebellious,” “creative,” “statuesque”). Participants then reflected on fashion as a creative process driven by ideas and practice presenting and articulating those ideas. Participants that completed photo/video consent form then capture their idea in a photography studio-like setting. One person from each design group documented the process via photos and videos, as well as updated a live blog (New York | Chicago).
When we broaden the problem space in which youth are challenged to create it enables kids to say “If learning can happen here it can happen anywhere.” When participation barriers are lowered we see rapid fire and increasing sophistication. We’ve found in issuing badges at both events that the contexts increase creative confidence and collaboration.
The events were a huge success. Special thanks to the teens from Hive NYC and Hive Chicago, including YMCA and Cooper-Hewitt in NYC and YOUmedia and Street-Level in Chicago, to name a few.