Oct

“Rip this Runway” is fierce!

To anyone who watches the Bravo fashion design competition “Project Runway,” the scene at the Martin Luther King library in Washington, D.C. one recent Saturday looked strikingly familiar: long rows of tables heaped with fabric, mannequins draped in half-finished designs, and designers frowning and concentrating over works in progress.

Although Tim Gunn was nowhere to be seen, the designers, ages 14 to 19, were being shepherded through the creative process by Season Four “Project Runway” contestant Carmen Webber. Webber cut a striking figure as she strode from station to station in fierce six-inch platform shoes and an outfit of her own design sewn from reconstructed men’s clothing, patiently critiquing and assisting the young designers at the “Rip this Runway” event, most of whom had never used a sewing machine before.

Carmen Webber

This fun and fabulous example of community outreach was the result of months of work and collaboration by the District of Columbia Public Library System, the National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum’s ARTLAB+ (a community center outfitted with digital media tools located in the Hirshhorn’s Sculpture Garden).

The plan for the event evolved organically via a collaboration among Rebecca Renard and Maggie Gilmore of D.C. Public Libraries, Nik Apostolides, associate director of NPG, and Ryan Hill, director of digital learning programs at the Hirshhorn. Teenage volunteers from ARTLAB+’s “Creative Consultants” group and the D.C. Public Library’s “Teens of Distinction” program (coordinated by Renard), along with additional teen volunteers recruited through NPG pulled the plan together and made the program a success.

Ryan Hill was proud to note that the ARTLAB+ kids provided a wealth of technical expertise. “They organized the production crew, the photo booth and the roving photographers to give the feel of paparazzi, as well as the live tallying system that enabled attendees to vote on their mobile phones and watch the results live.”

“It was a beautiful process” said Apostolides. “The teens came up with most of the concepts themselves and carried them to completion with a minimum of guidance and assistance from us.”

Lights, camera, action!

As every Project Runway aficionado knows, the contest always starts with a challenge. The challenge for this event: Celebrate ethnic diversity in fashion by selecting an inspirational figure and creating a design that reflects that person’s uniqueness. Webber was a brilliant host for the event—her own design company, Sistahs Of Harlem, has pioneered a unique brand of urban chic with the vision of using fashion as a platform for education and helping people embrace their identities through “clothing with a reference.”

Webber was recruited by Renard, who points out that “Carmen is not only a fierce and an amazing educator, but she’s also the author of three books in our collection (T-Shirt Makeover, Denim Mania and Chic Sweats). So inviting her was very intentional, as the library’s teen program is really trying to show that our collections are relevant and can help develop ‘real world’ skills.”

Webber was wowed by the immense creativity displayed by the teens before the event even began. “I was impressed by two designs that were not even a part of the challenge. The first was the large animated paper bow that Khadijah Davis made and had pinned in her hair. It was the first thing I noticed when the students introduced themselves,” Webber said.

We're ready for our close-up!

Then there was this fabulous cut-off, reconstructed perfectly bleached denim jacket that had been converted into a cropped sleeveless vest by Arykah Wilkes, who initially was not even going to participate in the challenge and was there merely as a model for her friend,” Webber continued. “I found all of the young designers to be brilliant in their fearless attempts to tackle this challenge. It was not an easy challenge I gave them nor did I want it to be. I believe in challenging young minds to the max just as I was challenged growing up.”

The theme of identity resonated strongly with Apostolides, who has been at the forefront of a push to make NPG more relevant and accessible to the public in general and to teenagers in particular. He explained, “Portraiture is fundamentally about identity and so is fashion. This event showcased how fashion expresses identity. We are interested in engaging the public through portraiture images, inviting visitors to learn about culture and at the same time show us how they choose to define and present themselves.”

While there were a few minor catastrophes and re-dos as the teens worked frantically on their designs, by 4:30 in the afternoon each of the young designers had created a chic new outfit from a pile of used clothing donated by D.C. Threads and Library patrons.

Fierce!

The entire room of contestants and onlookers then migrated to the Kogod Courtyard of the Portrait Gallery for the runway show, where the loud beat of the music and purple flood lights had morphed the usually tranquil atrium into a reasonable facsimile of Miami Fashion Week. The designers themselves or volunteer models strutted the finished looks down a balloon-lined runway to cheers and whistles with remarkable precocity, stopping to pose before two judges: stylist Carolou Goodrich and H&M manager Eleena Fikhman, who chose the top three designs by Khadejah Sangare, Arykah Wilkes and Naja Buckmon. The audience then voted (via cell phone text) to determine the order of the winners. All three winners will have their designs exhibited at The Washington Convention Center. And Buckmon, who nailed first place with a look inspired by Japanese anime, will also receive a $200 gift certificate for sewing lessons at D.C. Threads.

While NPG has vastly expanded its visitor base since reopening in 2006 following a multi-year renovation, reaching large numbers of teens in the D.C. area continues to be a challenge. Most of the community-based programs have been oriented toward younger children.

Apostolides has made it his mission to expand outreach through the innovative use of the museum’s Courtyard Café as part of a new series called “Portraits After 5” of which the Rip This Runway event was the first “teen” edition. He sees the Portrait Gallery as a venue that can be used to empower visitors to discover, create and express themselves, using the collection and the space itself as a source of inspiration. “‘Rip This Runway’ was pure magic. We hope to expand this teen edition of ‘Portraits After 5’ into an annual event that taps into an increasingly wide network of institutional support and community involvement.