Each semester, students in FCSE 3080:  Dress and Humanity at Utah State University have the opportunity to experience the art of creating dress firsthand!  In order to grasp the process of creating clothing for the 3-D form, students create clothing out of recyclable materials.  To showcase the looks, a fashion show bringing together food and fashion is used to raise awareness about hunger and sustainability!  In the United States, individuals throw away an average of 68 pounds of clothing every year (Patagonia, 2011; EnKad Sciences, 2008); the population of the U.S. discards 11.9 million tons of clothing, shoes, and textiles per year (Patagonia, 2001; EPA, 2007).
    To supply food for the on campus food bank, all attendees are required to bring canned food items!  Over 1000 people come to the event, and this semester we want to make it bigger! 
    To bring more people to the event, we are in need of a judge (to judge the fashions on the runway) that is making a difference through clothing, and/or someone who is an icon that would bring more food to the food bank and awareness to the issues surrounding the clothing we wear! 
    We would like to invite the Chief Shoe Giver at TOMS Shoes, Blake Mycoskie to judge the fashion show and inspire our campus, community, state, and beyond to make a difference with what they wear!  We could host the fashion show on the Utah State University Campus on April 10, 2012, One Day Without Shoes Day and challenge all attendees to go without shoes and Occupy the Spectrum! 
Watch the video below to learn about the movement!
For more information about this event, contact Lindsey Shirley, PhD at lindsey.shirley@usu.edu.

This video showcases a line of bags that when purchased make a difference for children around the world!

Here is a great example of how an individual can make a difference for others with the choices they make related to clothing.  Check it out!

Here are pictures from the decade themed Recycle & Redesign Fashion Show hosted by Utah State University students in FCSE 3080:  Dress and Humanity during the Spring 2010 semester.  Can you guess what decade they created their clothing for?  Enjoy!

The AIDS Memorial Quilt is coming to Utah State University!  Come, see, and participate in the events associated with this moving event!  Spread the word!

On Friday, November 4th we will be hosting a service learning event for participants at the Utah Association of Family and Consumer Sciences Fall Conference.  Participants will have the opportunity to use scrap fabric and miscellaneous notions to create stuffed animals for children at Primary Children's Medical Center!  Each participant will also tell the story about their stuffed animal so the child can get to know the animal that was created by hand for them!  Here is the poster for the event and the tutorial for creating your own animal applying the elements and principles of design!