Page 113 - Family Resource Guide

NORTH STATE PARENT FAMILY RESOURCE GUIDE FALL/WINTER 2021/2022 YOUTH & TEEN
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The Art of Fashion
BY PAMELA TEETER
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 cul- tivate for the North State. Starting with the basics, sewing. “Unless there was a strong family or 4H connection, sew- ing was becoming a lost art”, says Jan Kearn, Executive Di- rector. “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 Fash- ion Alliance is there to guide them. Sewist is a new term, combining the words “sew” and “artist”, to describe some- one who creates sewn works of art, which can include clothing or other items made with sewn elements. “We fo- cus a lot on sewing skills and fashion design,” Says Kearn, “but our space is open for all makers. We want to encour- age 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 some- one 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 teach- ing 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 Begin- ning and Advanced Sewing Skills, Fashion Design, and quilting. There are also special workshops for printmak- ing and weaving. Coming in January will begin the Fash- ion 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 calen- dar 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 cre- ated 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 rec- ommendations and guidelines. Rest assured they are still going strong and are ready for this year’s programs to be- gin. For Kearn this is her passion and a motto she lives by, “Do what you love and love what you do”.
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Redding Fashion Alliance
reddingfashionalliance.org
1698 Market Street - Downtown Redding 530-276-0458
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