Concept:

To conduct a clothing drive for my network of friends and use those pieces of clothing donated to me in order to create a series of upcycled looks. I will take these pieces of clothing and cut off parts of my choosing in order to have the class construct their own mix-matched looks from the pieces of clothing I cut. The pieces I cut will act as puzzle pieces which can be put together using some sort of temporary connections (velcro, buttons, zippers, snaps, etc).

Example: Bodice (base), sleeve, collar, pant leg, buttons. 

The participants, in this case, the class will interact with the pieces by building their looks using the pieces of fabric from the donated clothing. There will be several different variations so no two people should necessarily create the same look (unless they just so happen to have the same aesthetic). This whole putting together of pieces is inspired by the workings of paper fashion dolls where interchanging clothes is determined by the player or participant.

Key Questions to explore:

1. What is upcycled clothing?
2. Can repurposed clothing/upcycled clothing be high fashion?
3. How can design be empowering for the designer and the design-ee?
4. How can design be accessible to everyone?

Outline of Process:

1. This week: conduct clothing drive – this is the time where I will be doing outreach for donations. 
2. Week of November 20th – Begin de-construction of the donated clothing. Create a new series of sketches based on the type of clothing received.
   1. Ask yourself: What has changed from the original idea based on what kind of clothing received?
3. Week of November 27th- Drape the different possibilities of clothing mashups and add connectors like zippers + velcro to connection areas.
   1. Begin building the website which will correspond with the different design variations.
4. Week of December 4th – Project Due.

Mood Board Images: 

example of the kind of upcycling possibilies I’m hoping for based on the type of clothing I anticipate to receive. 

example of what the website design is inspired by: a simple fashion catalouge where outfits can be mixed and matched.