THE UNIFORM PROJECT

What is it?

The Video Explaination:



(From her website:)

The Idea

Starting May 2009, I have pledged to wear one dress for one year as an exercise in sustainable fashion. Here’s how it works: There are 7 identical dresses, one for each day of the week. Every day I will reinvent the dress with layers, accessories and all kinds of accouterments, the majority of which will be vintage, hand-made, or hand-me-down goodies. Think of it as wearing a daily uniform with enough creative license to make it look like I just crawled out of the Marquis de Sade's boudoir.

The Uniform Project is also a year-long fundraiser for the Akanksha Foundation, a grassroots movement that is revolutionizing education in India. At the end of the year, all contributions will go toward Akanksha’s School Project to fund uniforms and other educational expenses for children living in Indian slums.

The Story of Uniforms

I was raised and schooled in India where uniforms were a mandate in most public schools. Despite the imposed conformity, kids always found a way to bend the rules and flaunt a little personality. Boys rolled up their sleeves, wore over-sized swatches, and hiked up their pants to show off their high-tops. Girls obsessed over bangles, bindis and bad hairdos. Peaking through the sea of uniforms were the idiosyncrasies of teen style and individual flare. I now want to put the same rules to test again, only this time I'm trading in the catholic school fervor for an eBay addiction and relocating the school walls to this wonderful place called the internet.

The Dress

How do you design a dress that can be worn all year around? The mastermind behind the uniform dress is my friend and designer, Eliza Starbuck. We took inspiration from one of my staple dresses, improving upon the shape and fit to add on some seasonal versatility. The dress is designed so it can be worn both ways, front and back, and also as an open tunic. It’s made from a durable, breathable cotton, good for New York summers and good for layering in cooler seasons. With deep hidden pockets to appease my deep aversion for carrying purses. More photos of the dress and the dressmaking process coming soon to the Uniform Blog.

The Accessories

The hats and plumes, the dickeys and drapes, the shoes and slips, the belts and brooches – much of what you will see are byproducts of my cyber-slacking on eBay and Etsy, backed by visits to the many local vintage boutiques, thrift stores and flea markets of New York. I am also collaborating with other designers and friends to create original pieces. If you are looking to purge some of your old accessories or if you would like to design a piece or concept an ensemble for The Uniform Project, see Donate Accessories.

The project was written up in the New York Times Magazine blog on November 6th too!

You may be asking --- What has she worn so far?
May, June, July, August, September, October, November...
Tragically there was a fatal accident in the building where they were holding the 6 month celebration of this project last weekend and they have suspended photos at this time. From all that I've read about Jerry Fuchs it sounds like he was a wonderful friend, band mate and overall great man and that he will be missed.

They are still taking donations during this time of mourning even though they have stopped posting photos as of November 10th. I am hoping she will start up again after a period of mourning as this is such an interesting project.

Exhausted But Energized
2:45am China time...just leaving the factory. I had all good intentions of leaving at 11pm. Then at 11:30pm I spaced out for a minute (or was it 20?) Almost like sleeping with your eyes open...I snapped out of it with a fresh burst of energy and...well...worked!



I'm psyched -- the line -- it is Planned! I'm not usually this mentally "planned out" for a few more weeks!

When I'm designing a new line, there are weeks where all I do is consume information. Books, webpages, magazines, trend reviews. Mentally exhausting! I spin through what feels like all of the stores in NYC and sometimes other cities. Then, all of a sudden, like a game of Tetris, the ideas twist, spin and fall into place, usually one at a time. It's a process that takes months... but tonight the bulk of it came rushing head-on and I was able to not only get it all down on paper...often difficult when the ideas come too fast (like remembering your dreams), but it all FIT. The ideas are whole, not pieced, and I'm hoping they will recharge my sales team in a time when business across the fashion industry and across the US is difficult. After all, we're all holding a little more money in our pockets than usual aren't we?



I also took a few minutes today to pop around to a few blogs -- I've gotten so behind on reading them!! So many of you are doing, reading, making and eating such cool things!

I don't have the links here in my blackberry...but I did bookmark a few and I'll try to get them up tomorrow! Thanks for sharing!!!

Sent from my Blackberry

Ready? Set? TV!

I've just arrived in San Diego tonight! Yeah!

I'll be doing a Fox 6 TV spot this coming morning (some time between 7:55 and 8:45am) and another on NBC 7/39 on Saturday morning around the same time, followed by a trunk show on Saturday at The Village Hat Shop here in San Diego.

Yeah!

Unfortunately I've arrived to find that the HATS I'm supposed to show in 8 hours are not here due to a "Mechanical Error" with FedEx's airplanes. No, I got no notice and even their website had them as "on time for delivery at 3pm" today when I checked it from the office and airport.

So - I'm now off to bed to start making more calls (on top of the45 minutes already in to FedEx) at 4am to have them get the hats from the airport ramp here in San Diego to ME in time!!!

Keep those fingers crossed!!!
Atleast I got some sock knitting in on the plane -- that was relaxing!

***UPDATE 9am***

I called back FedEx at 4am and tracked down their District Engineer at the facility, when it opened to start searching for these boxes.
I called. They looked. I was told to call back at 5am. I called they were looking.
I was told to call back at 6am. I called - and now looked like they "found the can (container)" it's in and were "peeling the top off now" and I might have them by 7am... According to the manager at the site.

At 6:50am they called & had just dispatched someone with 3 out of 4 boxes.
7:15am - FedEx truck pulls up...I got the hats but no hat stands, hopped into the car my friends were loaning me and dashed to the TV station. Zooooom!

Arrived JUST in time and before I knew it...voilá I was done.

Hopefully the stands will arrive today for tomorrow's spot!

So, 3-4 hours of sleep an upset stomach and a TV interview later... I'm sitting, having my coffee.

Worst case I guess I would have pulled all the dressy hatsi've passed to my friend over these years and used them. I certainly wasn't about to show up empty-handed!

Back to work! Time to plan out the next collection...Autumn/Winter 2008!