As Semester 1 was coming to a close, I realized that I had an extra free class that needed to be filled. After discussing with my counselor, I decided to take Fashion Design, a new elective on the class registration list taught by Mrs. Carolyn Bielski. I’d previously taken the Business of Fashion and figured I would enjoy learning more about the creative process behind the fashion industry.
Fashion Design covers things like basic sewing, creating half-drop patterns, fashion illustration, garment design, and fashion photography. It’s also a class that allows students to bring their unique fashion designs to life.
One of the first assignments the class covers is the “fashion voice” project. This is where students can design a Canva slide, which takes a deeper dive into their personal style aesthetic. Afterward, Mrs. Bielski prints all the slides and lays them out on a table for students to admire during a gallery walk.
Another memorable assignment has been sewing pajama shorts. Even if you don’t have much experience sewing, Mrs. Bielski is incredibly helpful. Once you finish, it is very rewarding to see the end results of your shorts and wear them.
“My favorite part of teaching fashion is definitely sharing my passion for everything fashion-related with students who love it as much as I do. I also love seeing them light up when they finish sewing a garment that took a few weeks to create,” Mrs. Bielski said.
One of the most recent projects involved designing various patterns on Procreate, which will later be printed on Spoonflower— a website that prints fabric— and used as fabric for the pillows we will be sewing. A few of the prints the students incorporated were Indian Block Print, French Toile, Chinoiserie, Tartan Plaid, and Ikat.
“I really hope to create a Fashion 2 class. The students have loved Fashion 1 and even made a ‘wishlist’ of units they hope will be included in a second level, such as more advanced sewing skills and embroidery techniques,” Mrs. Bielski said. “Because of the timing of the curriculum cycle, I can’t propose a new course until next October, and the earliest time it could be run is Fall of ’26. However, I’m still really hopeful!”
Every day, I look forward to having Fashion Design and appreciate how it’s broadened my creative thinking, allowing me to explore endless possibilities of creating designs that resemble what I like the most.
Make sure to stay tuned until next year to see if there will be a Fashion Design 2!
