Adventure in The Heights
Houston gets its own Fashion Camp: Who needs to swim when you can design fab?
- There's no archery at Fashion Camp, but Dawn Bell's week-long camp includessketching and guest speakers.Dawn Bell
- Draping and sewing are part of the Fashion Camp experience.Dawn Bell
- Dawn BellPhoto by Clifford Pugh
It’s hard to imagine Karl Lagerfeld at summer camp as a kid, sitting around making macaroni and yarn necklaces or Alber Elbaz canoeing in a garish orange life vest.
But vintage expert and fashion stylist Dawn Bell is betting there are local fashion visionaries who would rather sew than swim, so she is launching Fashion Camp, a week long, hands-on schedule of classes for teenagers interested in the business.
Fashion reality shows make design look easy, but Bell’s curriculum is meant to show campers the nitty gritty of fashion design. Campers will create Teen Vogue inspiration boards, learn to sketch using the 9 Head Method, learn about the business of fashion, take a field trip to designer David Peck’s studio and see how a garment goes from concept to design to store window.
Bell also has local fashion experts in the mix to speak. College students pursuing a fashion-related degree will be matched with a camper throughout the week.
Not surprisingly, the fashion camp has drawn interest in adults too, prompting Bell to consider a grown-up version, but for now, the camp is open to ages 12 to 18 and runs from July 18-22 in The Heights. Tuition is $270 and campers will walk away with a goodie bag.