Interests. Passions. Talent… Electives at Calais are an opportunity for Calais students to explore an area of interest or discover completely new areas they may not have considered before. 

At The Calais School, elective courses enrich our students’ learning experiences, giving them exposure to varied concepts and new experiences. We continue exploring some of the most popular elective courses in greater depth and detail with our second installment featuring Calais’ Fashion Design Elective.

The sky’s the limit for creativity in Ms. Orna’s popular Fashion Design class. This Calais elective provides students with an introduction into the world of fashion as students create fashion art and wearable garments from concept to end-product. Students learn tactile skills like hand stitching and operating a sewing machine safely, as well as, learning how to hem, sew by hand, and work from a pattern.

Calais Staff sporting designs made by Fashion Design Students using Purple Duct Tape

Throughout the semester, students designed and produced objects such as dog toys, stuffed penguins, even pillows, but their resourcefulness was truly put to the test with a “Project Runway” level challenge. Using only purple duct tape as a medium, students had to design prom apparel for Calais staff. They met this challenge brilliantly with their haute couture duct tape collection (seen above) which includes a dress for Ms. Orna and vests, ties, and hair accessories for Calais’ administration.

But the real pièce de résistance, however, in Fashion Design, was a school-wide quilt project. This large-scale project required careful planning, organization and collaboration with lower school students. 

Ms. Orna with Fashion Design students displaying their quilt project

Ms. Orna with Fashion Design students proudly displaying their quilt project

Lower school students painted fabric squares in the batik method for the quilt which were then given to Fashion Design students to hem into a large mural for the hallways of Calais. It is Ms. Orna’s hope that this mural will continue each year as each new Fashion Design Class adds on to the original mural, creating a visual anthology for the Calais School to appreciate for years to come.

 To learn more about academics and curriculum of The Calais School visit our website!