Magpies & Peacocks, Houston’s only 501(c)3 non-profit design house, will launch its arts education program’s inaugural “Catwalks & Classrooms” Student Design Showcase Event on September 24, 2015 at the elegant JW Marriott in Downtown Houston. Recognized for transforming donated accessories and clothing into fashionably eco-chic upcycled collections, the creative brains of M&Ps have brought their repurposing magic into the classroom with this student design competition event.
Material parcels, collected and curated by Magpies & Peacocks, were supplied to each of the young designers containing anything from 1980s prom dresses to vintage Evan Picone and Victor Costa for Neiman Marcus. Each designer was charged with deconstructing and creating a brand new contemporized collection from their parcel contents culminating in a final showcase event more in line with Art Basel Miami than your average fashion runway set. A total of 25 students across junior and college divisions from The Art Institute of Houston, Glassell School of Art and Fashion Camp Houston will participate in this event.
When asked about the inspiration for Catwalks & Classrooms, M&Ps founder and creative director Sarah-Jayne Smith stated “I wanted Magpies & Peacocks to create a unique platform competition as an opportunity for our fashion design students – a kind of Project Runway meets Chopped concept – not only to challenge and showcase the local talent we have here in Houston, but to promote sustainable practices within the industry which is of course at the heart of our organization and our city as a whole.”
The showcase event will also honor the late 1950’s jazz singer and vocal coach Ann Gilbert whose family generously donated her wardrobe to the competition. In keeping with the Fashion meets Art theme, this event is partially funded by a grant from the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance and the venue sponsor JW Marriott Downtown Houston is the perfect setting for this progressive event offering a powerful snapshot of all the city has to offer.
M&Ps has garnered an impressive roster of judges for the competition with fashion, design and retail A-listers such as: Model Mogul Page Parkes, #MadeHere Designer David Peck, Project Runway winner Chloe Dao, NYC designer and author of the cult hit “Born Again Vintage” Bridgett Artise, green-chic guru Sherry Eichberg of One Green Street fame and Wardrobe Fashion Awareness Boutique owner Claire Carmichael all signing up to participate.
Adding further support to this ‘who’s who’ power list of Houston’s fashion industry leaders are Aubrie Layne of Lucky Cat Beauty as beauty director, Lisa Powers for StylePoint and Dawn Bell of Houston Vintage/Fashion Camp fame, as lead stylists for this event – with an accessory wall provided by Magpies & Peacocks of course!
Sponsors include Modern Luxury Houston as the official media sponsor, JW Marriott Downtown Houston, Page Parkes Corporation and Lucky Cat Beauty just to name a few and in partnership with The Arts Institute Houston. Catwalks & Classrooms will kick its night off with a “Behind The Catwalk” champagne VIP | Media hour that includes a gifting suite, DJ sounds by singer/songwriter Gemayel and mini makeup applications from Lucky Cat Beauty.
For more information on Magpies & Peacocks and Underwriting | Sponsorship opportunities for Catwalks & Classrooms visit www.magpiespeacocks.com