For the first project of the semester, students under Léo Lee, visiting professor of art and art history, were given the assignment of creating a wearable item completely out of paper to present in a fashion show to their design class.
On Sept. 9, students came to design class, each presenting a unique fashion item that demonstrated both their creativity and resourcefulness. Some wore skirts, others hats and some even wore jewelry and masks. The catch? Everything was made of paper and cardboard.
“The goals are to get them to rethink materials because usually, we think of paper as a thing you draw on,” Lee said. “You might fold it to make origami, but mostly, it’s something that receives the marks, but I wanted them to think of the paper and cardboard as the material itself.”
Lee has worked with paper for many years in their studies and teaching career. They have a master of fine arts in printmaking and were department chair of Paper and Book Arts at the Southwest School of Art. Although the project idea was partially inspired by both their own experience with paper and professional paper fashion shows, Lee gave their students very little instruction to get started.
“As a first assignment, I really wanted them to think creatively, so I didn’t give them a lot of models or tips. I wanted them to really just investigate.” Lee said. “If we want innovation, we need people coming up with new ideas, and not trying to please somebody.”
Caroline Daschel, sophomore art and English double-major and lover of thrifting and feminine outfits, said she spent quite a bit of time investigating solutions for her own assignment. Her project, a masquerade mask with butterflies and twigs, was made out of a recycled cardboard box and newsprint. Daschel commented on her own struggles and investigation with her mask.
“It was hard to get it to fit right. I used notebook paper, like a lot of notebook paper as rough drafts of it. I took so many pictures of print shapes to find what worked best,” Daschel said.
Other creative solutions included layering napkins on top of each other to create a miniskirt, braiding toilet paper and using coffee filters to create ruffles. Each student took the project in a new direction, based on their own experiences and creativity, with one student even using climbing shoes as inspiration, and another combining their Lousianian heritage with medieval armor.
Audrey Post, sophomore art major, said she took inspiration from her own admiration for cosplayers and the creative solutions used in cosplay. Her project consisted of ear cuffs that mimicked parrot wings made out of newsprint, watercolor and cardboard.
“I know you can buy costumes, but that’s kind of half the fun of it, making it for yourself,” Post said while discussing her appreciation for cosplayers’ creativity.
Like many other students, she was inspired by the project, and when asked if she would revisit the project again, she expressed the desire to spend more time exploring the concept.
Lee said they wanted to allow their students the freedom to explore and make mistakes, and that when they were given that freedom they were at their most creative. The visiting professor specifically designed this assignment to be playful and unique, so that students got more comfortable being creative, rather than stressing about what their professor wanted. In the private space of the classroom, students reported being able to present their solutions with praise and appreciation from their fellow classmates, no matter how different their project was.
