Western Wayne Middle and High School students participated in the Technology Student Association Region 9 Leadership Conference that was held on Saturday, February 4, at Stroudsburg High School. Pictured are the four seniors who made up Western Wayne’s Fashion Design and Technology team. From left: Gina Infante, Rachel Roberts, Emily Shaffer, and Madison Kornutiak.The team faced the task of creating clothes made of recyclable materials that would fit a person comfortably. The girls made a top out of a Victoria’s Secret Bag, a skirt out of newspaper, and a dress from the shiny silver side of chip bags.
“It was a lot of trial and error,” Gina said. “It was one of the hardest things we have ever done.”
Her and Rachel explained how the girls had to sometimes sew in a zig-zag pattern to work with their recycled materials. They also described how they used electrical tape as a seam for their chip bag dress.
The girls said the process was tedious and many times they had to collaborate to produce new ideas to make their nonconventional materials fit together.
“We learned how to voice our ideas without putting down someone else’s,” Rachel explained.
The girls in the group are used to sharing ideas because they also worked together last year in the same event and went on to the national competition for their creation of garments that could be worn for the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games.
The young designers feel proud of all of the work they have done involving fashion design at Western Wayne. They believe their hard work in developing garments for TSA competitions will benefit them in their future career paths.
Rachel explained how it will help her as a future nurse practitioner.
“I think a lot of it has to do with last-minute thinking in the moment,” she said. “I’m much more calm in high-pressure situations now. I can think of things without panicking.”
Pictured are the garments the Western Wayne High School Fashion Design and Technology Team created for the TSA Region 9 Leadership Conference. They created a dress made of the shiny silver side of chip bags, a top from a Victoria’s Secret bag, and a skirt from newspaper.
