RetroFittings Repurposes Style

The professional-style runway show will display modern pieces made from vintage designs catering to this year's theme of "Hollywood couples." With a mission to reinvent fashion, inspire giving and proving that a good cause never goes out of style, UC DAAP students have created outfits as a part of their winter curriculum to be displayed at the show-stopping event the following fall. This year's show will feature 25 couples, each wearing three to five garments in each scene, totaling almost fifty items repurposed by DAAP students from garments purchased at St. Vincent de Paul.

"The overarching mission is to have a dynamic event to allow students from UC's widely acclaimed DAAP program to add something to their portfolio while raising the profile of the thrift stores and raise money for the social service assistance program in the West End and Over the Rhine and in every neighborhood across Cincinnati," says Andrew Curran, Director of Community Relations for St. Vincent de Paul, a source of assistance for people encountering hard times in current economy.

Fifty students are given a ten dollar voucher to shop at the six St. Vincent de Paul locations in Hamilton County to purchase clothing and accessories to design and repurpose into modern couture. The mission of the event is two fold: to benefit the organization of St. Vincent de Paul and to help students to improve their creativity and design skills while earning school credit for the project and giving back to the community.

Adjunct professor Ann Firestone has taught students who participate in the show for years and directs the show from backstage.

"Students in our five year program take a basic sewing course during the end of winter in their second year. After drills and samples of simple functional garments, this is a great design opportunity for them and we turn them loose," says Firestone. "Each year it keeps getting better and better, including making groups and vignettes with the look of the clothes and heavily propping the show which is very different than the standard runway show. It makes it fun and interactive."

This year's host, the dynamic and hyper-philanthropic Cincinnati Bengal Dhani Jones, has designed a special purple and white gingham bow tie in conjunction with his non-profit Bow Ties for a Cause. The bow tie will be available for purchase at the event for $57 (his jersey number) and all proceeds will benefit St. Vincent de Paul. Volunteers will be present to help attendees tie their bow ties properly so they can showcase their style and support the cause during the event. 

"The gingham design suggests a combination of colors and textures much like where people come from.  The purple and white colors were chosen by St. Vincent de Paul and it fits well with both the Bow Tie Cafe and the Bow Tie Cause," said Jones.

"To me, purple represents collaboration and white represents starting from a blank canvas.  Whenever we collaborate with an organization, our goal is to serve them through a design that has meaning.  Therefore, I believe this design is not only cool and classy, but creates meaning to all involved.  A sense of mutuality is critical to the mission of Bow Ties for a Cause," said Jones. 

As the event has grown in size, so has the scope of the efforts. This year, global branding agency LPK contributed to the project by working with their UC co-op students to re-brand the event.

"We partnered with 13 co-ops from NKU & DAAP to come up with various new concepts for. RetroFittings. It was a great first foray for the students to learn what it's like to work for a design firm and collaborate as a team. They learned to work well together and embrace differences to leverage different capabilities, client services, trends and verbal strategy. Their experience was invaluable in preparing them in the work world," said Elle Morris, who led the project and is vice president of LPK's Beauty division. The new look created by the team is described as fresh but still retro, with a modern Degas impressionist influence.

"It's tongue-in-cheek funk and the identity feels more fashion forward and industry oriented," says Morris. The team also created a signature cocktail for the event called the White Empress, concocted from rum, St. German Elderflower Liqueur and ruby red grapefruit juice.

DAAP student and designer Rachel Carlton is looking forward to presenting her fashions at Retrofittings. Inspired by the iconic show "I Love Lucy," Carlton created a modern version of the classic feminine 50's style that Lucy and Ethel projected on their show with a fresh and new look with a little sex appeal. She spent around double the amount of her ten-dollar budget at the thrift store.

"I created a signature 50's circle skirt out of a rayon floral dress with shoulder pads.  The floral was also in keeping with the decade, but because the show was in black and white, it gave me a little creative licensing with what colors I could use," says Carlton. "This project made me realize how much potential you can get out of something.  I used to shop at thrift stores looking for things I could wear off the rack - but now I see each thing as fabric rather than something unchangeable," she continued. "I am hoping this will inspire others to learn to sew so that they can feel like they have the full potential to look fashion forward without needing a lot of money."

DAAP Fashion Merchandising students will construct a boutique during the event to sell vintage and high-end items that have been donated to St. Vincent de Paul. Quilted Chanel bags and other designer label items will be available for purchase at bargain prices and all proceeds will go back to St. Vincent de Paul.

The repurposed fashions will strut the catwalk at the Hilton Netherland Plaza Hall of Mirrors on Thursday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m. A VIP section, live auction, raffle, light food and cash bar will be available. Tickets are $50 for general admission & $20 for students. For more information, visit here.

Photography and Illustrations provided