Fashion

What it is

Teams get needle, thread, fabric and the basic materials, and have to make a complete outfit by hand. Time and resources are rationed, the theme is set. At the end the pieces go down a runway and get judged. It runs indoors, in a space with tables and room for a catwalk, from six to three hundred participants, and it takes between two and a half and four hours.

Who decided that cutting and sewing is women’s work? Most of us grew up watching mothers and grandmothers with a needle in hand, taking up hems and sewing on buttons and sometimes making a whole garment from nothing. In Fashion it turns out that everybody in the room can make something worth looking at.

Fashion: taking apart the assumptions about who does this

Do the names Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Armani mean anything to you? It’s simply a fact that many of the best designers in the world are men. And more and more young men choose fashion as a career, which is part of why so many emerging designers have appeared in the last few years.

Where does Fashion come from?

We took the idea from the television format that keeps coming back, and built our own version of it for everyone who loves clothes, and for everyone who has never thought about them.

On Project Runway the contestants compete to design and make garments that get judged by a panel of established designers. Working in a real studio, they have a set budget and a time limit to produce clothes on a theme. A professional runs the brief, supports the designers and keeps an eye on what they’re doing.

Needle, thread, et voilà

Following the shape of those television challenges, Fashion gives the people taking part needle, thread, fabric and everything else they need to try their hand at the designer’s trade, and to make a garment entirely by hand. They have limited resources and limited time, but they have one advantage: they’re working as a team.

Split into teams, each group has to produce an outfit, drawing on their own creativity and talent, but also on sharing ideas and on team spirit. The day runs through six stages: a quiz to win the best fabrics, patterns and tools, so the strategy starts before the sewing does; choosing the model who’ll go down the runway; drafting and cutting from the patterns; sewing and styling; making the accessories that decide the whole look; and the final catwalk, with lights and music. A photo booth, a magazine cover or a film of the event can be added on top. The day after, the team has a photograph of something it made in an afternoon out of flat fabric.

Who’s the most talented designer in the room?