RCS elective for student fashionistas

By Ethan Sprouse | Manor Ink

Do you have any RCS High School students who aspire to have one of their creations worn while walking down the red carpet? There is a fashion design class right here in our town that helps students create such stylish haberdashery.

Angelina Coriano teaches a fashion design class every other school day during first period in room 137. Many people think fashion is as simple as putting on clothes that match colorwise. They would, however, be wrong. Fashion isn’t just clothes on a mannequin, it’s an art form.

If you have ever seen a fashion show, you know that most high couture looks aren’t for regular wear – think Lady Gaga’s famous dress made of meat.

Everyday fashion instead is made to be a functional artistic statement. It’s not only about the look, it’s about defining a workable style, and that requires more learning than you might think.

Coriano teaches her students about different kinds of fabrics and patterns, how to make or source them, when and where to use them, and why.

Another important topic for the class is “casual fashion.” Not everyone is going to go out every day wearing ham ala Gaga. Daily wear requires something more practical. Think Old Navy, H&M and Target, for example.

“Fast fashion,” on the other hand, is far from sustainable, and students in the class learn what it is, its environmental impacts and how we can move past it to more sustainable clothing production methods.

A 2022 Boston University report stated that the United States discards more than 34 billion pounds of old clothes annually, 66 percent of which ends up in landfills. Many of these synthetic materials are derived from petroleum products and can take centuries to break down.

Fashion relies on technical knowledge like any other artistic medium, and though art is subjective, it is heavily influenced by basic concepts like color theory, fabric types and pattern trends. These can make or break a clothing design.

Coriano is planning to host guest speakers in the class and intends to take her students on field trips to experience actual garment production and designs in person.