Fashion is more than a runway show or styling the perfect Instagram selfie. It is sewing skills, pattern making, textiles and more. Fashion is an industry, one that Redding Fashion Alliance wants to cultivate for the North State. Starting with the basics, sewing. “Unless there was a strong family or 4H connection, sewing was becoming a lost art”, says Jan Kearn, Executive Director. “With it no longer taught in school, we are seeing generations of kids that were never taught how to sew.”
The Maker Movement has helped reignite an interest in sewing, especially in our youth. And the Redding Fashion Alliance is there to guide them. Sewist is a new term, combining the words “sew” and “artist”, to describe someone who creates sewn works of art, which can include clothing or other items made with sewn elements. “We focus a lot on sewing skills and fashion design,” Says Kearn, “but our space is open for all makers. We want to encourage the creative process of fashion design and that can be more than clothing.” Kearn, herself, was a self-taught sewist that started a neckwear brand with her daughter in 2013.
“One of our main missions for opening the Alliance was to build a creative economy and a workforce in our community” says Kearn. “It’s not enough to teach someone how to sew, we need to foster the industry of design manufacturing.” Kearn and the other founding members of the non-profit were passionate about not only teaching youths how to sew, but also showing them that this is an industry they can make a living in. “Recently, there was a young lady that started sewing classes in high school that really took a liking to it, she is now working as a seamstress while going to college.”
The Redding Fashion Alliance offers classes in Beginning and Advanced Sewing Skills, Fashion Design, and quilting. There are also special workshops for printmaking and weaving. Coming in January will begin the Fashion Lab for 12-year-olds and over, a mentorship program for those with basic sewing skills who want to work on their own projects but still want some guidance on hand to help.
“We are still a young organization finding the best fit of classes and workshops, we are always thinking about new opportunities. A class we hope to get on the calendar is costume making.” Says Kearn. “We always welcome new instructors or volunteers that want to contribute or teach their craft to apply.”
Redding Fashion Alliance is a vendor to many local charter schools and works with the local public schools. Classes coincide with the school year, with the Youth Fashion Design program culminating with a student showcase at the end of the year. Redding Fashion Alliance has in the past also participated in Redding’s Earth Day Celebration with an Eco Fashion Show, where youths created an outfit out of recycled materials.
Through donations and sales from their fabric store, Redding Fashion Alliance has created the Irene Youth Sewing Fund to offer scholarships, applications can be found on their website.
A special event all fashionistas won’t want to miss is the Redding Fashion Week, Fashion Show Gala. Usually this is a live fashion show featuring local designers and fundraising party, however, due COVID, it is now a filmed fashion show. Last year it was only streamed, but this year’s event will have a live premiere on September 25, so, keep on eye on their website for more information.
Like all other organizations, Redding Fashion Alliance had to make some changes due to COVID-19. Class sizes were reduced, more spacing between workstations and of course they are following all the state and federal recommendations and guidelines. Rest assured they are still going strong and are ready for this year’s programs to begin. For Kearn this is her passion and a motto she lives by, “Do what you love and love what you do”.
Redding Fashion Alliance
reddingfashionalliance.org
1698 Market Street – Downtown Redding
530-276-0458
Posted in: Youth & Teen
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