By Sara Shea
POUGHKEEPSIE, NY - Sitting on a couch in the Fashionology alcove, Kim Warren patiently plays with her Ipad, as she waits to discuss Seaming A[wear]ness, her senior honors capping project. At a glance, Kim looks like an average Marist senior - slightly frazzled, with a coffee in one hand and a Blackberry in the other. However, unlike most seniors, Kim is the co-director of the 25th Annual Silver Needle Fashion Show, graduating with honors and the co-founder of Seaming A[wear]ness, an organization created by five Marist students focused on promoting Fair Trade in the fashion industry.
“Its funny,” Kim said, “Seaming Awearness actually started as a completely different project for me.”
Last summer, 10 honors seniors with different majors began planning a Fair Trade based capstone project.
“We originally wanted to take a trip to Ethiopia and actually went as far as discussing it with Dennis Murray,” Kim said. “Unfortunately there was not enough funding for all 10 of us to go so we decided to explore other options."
The group of 10 eventually became a group of five – Kim Warren and Alana Lansenbigler, who are fashion merchandising majors, Maddie Sasso and Brenna Lahif, who are fashion design majors, and Kelly Hall, a biology major at Marist. These five individuals have worked tirelessly for almost a year to create and promote Seaming A[wear]ness and A[wear]ness Day, an event aimed at publicizing Fair Trade by bringing Fair Trade designers and vendors to campus on April 27, 2011.
“We are asking for $3 donations, with all profits going directly to MEND,” Kim said. “MEND is a division of Invisible Children run by women child soldiers in Uganda trying to make a life for themselves. They create handbags and sew their name into each one. They are a bit pricey, (approximately $80 per bag) but the feeling behind it is incredible.”
The Seaming A[wear]ness team is in the process of securing guest speakers to discuss the importance of Fair Trade in our society. A representative from MEND will be flying in from Uganda and Fair Trade designer, Eileen Fisher, will be coming to speak to Marist students on A[wear]ness Day. In addition to informational lectures, there will be a Fair Trade Bazaar set up in the Student Center that will include food, jewelry and beauty products.
“I’m most excited to hear [Eileen Fisher] speak,” Kim said. “Fair Trade has always been a passion of mine. I would love to work for her because I feel like it’s so important to love what you do. I never want to work for a company that ships stuff in from somewhere and you have no clue who made it or where it came from.”
Kim and the other four founders of Seaming A[wear]ness further demonstrated their commitment to Fair Trade by creating a special project for the sophomore design majors to complete for the 25th Annual Silver Needle Fashion Show. Each year the Fashion Program faculty work to create a unique assignment for the sophomore designers to undertake during the semester. In years past the fashion show has featured the Red Dress Project as well as the Pink Dress Project, in which sophomores designed dresses to raise money for heart disease and breast cancer. This year, Seaming A[wear]ness proposed that the sophomore collection should focus on Fair Trade textiles and incorporate MEND bags into runway looks.
“I believe this is the first time students have designed a project concept for the sophomores,” Kim said. “I can’t wait to be like ‘That’s what we’ve been working on all year, there it is!’”
In addition to creating Seaming A[wear]ness, A[wear]ness Day, and the sophomore design project, Kim is also co-directing the 25th Annual Silver Needle Fashion Show – a daunting task in and of itself. As co-director, Kim is typically “running around with a headset on” making sure everything is perfect for the big day. With so many ambitions and so much creative energy, Kim Warren and Seaming A[wear]ness are two powerful forces to watch for in the future.
Kim and the other four founders of Seaming A[wear]ness further demonstrated their commitment to Fair Trade by creating a special project for the sophomore design majors to complete for the 25th Annual Silver Needle Fashion Show. Each year the Fashion Program faculty work to create a unique assignment for the sophomore designers to undertake during the semester. In years past the fashion show has featured the Red Dress Project as well as the Pink Dress Project, in which sophomores designed dresses to raise money for heart disease and breast cancer. This year, Seaming A[wear]ness proposed that the sophomore collection should focus on Fair Trade textiles and incorporate MEND bags into runway looks.
“I believe this is the first time students have designed a project concept for the sophomores,” Kim said. “I can’t wait to be like ‘That’s what we’ve been working on all year, there it is!’”
In addition to creating Seaming A[wear]ness, A[wear]ness Day, and the sophomore design project, Kim is also co-directing the 25th Annual Silver Needle Fashion Show – a daunting task in and of itself. As co-director, Kim is typically “running around with a headset on” making sure everything is perfect for the big day. With so many ambitions and so much creative energy, Kim Warren and Seaming A[wear]ness are two powerful forces to watch for in the future.
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