How will you spend your Thanksgiving break?
Think for a moment about no-man's-land at the back of your dresser. You're never going to wear that woolen, pastel poncho ever again. And gentlemen, we're glad you retired those jeans that hang precariously around your thighs, but sitting rumpled in a ball at the back of the closet, they're not helping anyone.
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Instead, you should hand them over to the good people at Project Design, a new program founded by Silver School of Social Work students, which branches off the larger project Baby's First Home.
NYU sophomore Hannah Oppenheimer and FIT senior Cristina Ottaviano teamed up to help underprivileged young mothers learn new skills in order to become more self-reliant.
"The main goal is to take recycled clothes and teach these women how to remake old clothing into new fashions," Oppenheimer said. "It's a fashion design and business program."
Oppenheimer hopes they will be able to sell the new products at the end of the year so that women who are at a high risk of becoming homeless can generate an income for themselves.
"We're inviting all sponsors, donors and mothers that will be interested in buying," Oppenheimer said.
While Oppenheimer commands the business end of the program, Ottaviano has taken the reins of the fashion side.
"One of the first things the girls wanted to learn was how to sketch their ideas," Ottaviano said. "So we'll teach them how to sketch using the basic fashion figure. We'll be focusing on really fundamental stuff, teaching them things to use by machine, to hand-sew and hand-knit."
But all the planning in the world didn't keep the program from stumbling in the beginning.
"During the first meeting only one of [the girls] showed up, and she was an hour late," Oppenheimer said. "They have trust issues because of their previous experiences. One of our goals is to get them to trust us before we can make a change at any level, fashion-wise, business-wise and lifestyle-wise."
Although the project won't be easy to accomplish, Ottaviano has hope for the girls.
"A lot of them are drawn to the idea of fashion," she said. "'Oh, are we going to be making something today?' they'd ask."
Project Design is also supported by NYU Fashion Business Association president Erica Eng, a metropolitan studies senior in CAS.
"I like the idea of teaching others how to sew and mend clothes because it is an invaluable skill," Eng said. "It saves [money] here and there from taking things to the cleaners and tailors or Mom and Grandma back at home."
If you're interested in donating clothing to Project Design, contact Hannah Oppenheimer at ho378@nyu.edu or drop off clothing in room 1126 of Palladium.
