Models from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School will perform a fashion show at Eileen Fisher in Northampton on Friday, April 27.
All of the clothing and accessories the models will wear are the artistic creations of Petula Bloomfield’s students at Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School. In a unique collaboration, the students have been taking unsalable Eileen Fisher clothing and creating new pieces.
Bloomfield has been teaching Mixed Media Wearable Art and Fashion for many years at PVPA, and this year she added classes for middle school students.
Through a conversation last fall between Bloomfield and Jody Riseman, who works for Eileen Fisher, a partnership began.
While Bloomfield’s students are familiar with working with found objects, such as braided paper towels, old movie tickets, and plastic bottles, it has been a new experience working with Eileen Fisher Renew garments.
The store believes in taking responsibility for the lifecycle of their clothes, including efforts to support the environment, human rights and initiatives that benefit women and girls.
Their Renew stores take gently used Eileen Fisher garments back from consumers and clean and repair them for resale, keeping viable clothing in circulation longer, reducing waste and preserving natural resources.
When the staff at the Eileen Fisher Northampton store heard about the work Bloomfield was doing with her students, they offered to host a fashion show and window display in the store, and to donate clothing items for students to upcycle.
“We’re thrilled to have made this connection with PVPA students. What they’re creating with the materials we’ve donated to the class is imaginative and illustrates creativity at its finest. Their enthusiasm is inspirational,” said Jenn Schreiner, Eileen Fisher events coordinator.
Since the fall, Bloomfield’s students have received several deliveries of clothing and material from Eileen Fisher and have been designing with an emphasis on hand sewing.
For Bloomfield, a professional artist since 1990, this project is a highlight from a career spent transforming waste and pre-existing materials into art.
“When I tell my students that I have been making clothes for 50 years they are a bit dumbstruck and eager to get started,” she said. “We have not bought any materials. Even the thread is found, and all of the projects are hand sewn by the students.”
Their creations will be on display at a runway fashion show on April 27, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Eileen Fisher store at 24 Pleasant St. in Northampton.
The store’s front window will also feature student work from April 27-May 4.
Some student work will also be offered through a silent auction, with proceeds donated to help fund a field trip to the Eileen Fisher Tiny Factory in New York.