• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search
  • About
    • Areas
      • Architecture
      • Ceramics
      • Comprehensive Design
      • Digital Art
      • Fashion Design
      • Fibers
      • Graphic Design
      • Interior Design
      • Merchandising
      • Metalsmithing + Jewelry Design
      • Painting
      • Photography
      • Printmaking
      • Sculpture
    • Facilities
      • Virtual Tour
      • Fabrication Labs
      • FoA Bookshop
      • Museums + Libraries
    • Centers
      • Center for Innovative Merchandising
      • Center for Integrative Photographic Studies
      • ServeDesign Center
    • Accreditation
    • History
    • Careers/Opportunities
      • Part-time Position Descriptions
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
      • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Plan
      • Diversity Report
    • 2025 Strategic Plan
    • Emergency Preparedness
    • Staff Directory
    • Contact
  • Faculty
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Faculty Work
    • Faculty Research
  • Undergraduate
    • Majors
      • Comprehensive Design B.S.
      • Fashion Design B.A.
      • Interior Design B.S.
      • Merchandising B.S.
      • Studio Art B.A.
      • Studio Art B.F.A.
    • Minors
    • Creative Core
    • How to Apply
      • Direct Admission
      • Laptop Requirement
    • Scholarships + Financial Aid
    • Visit/Contact Us
  • Graduate
    • M.Arch (Architecture)
    • M.F.A. in Studio Art
    • M.S. in Apparel Merchandising
    • How to Apply
    • Graduate Student Funding
    • Schedule a Visit
  • Current Students
    • Career Preparation
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Resources
      • Academic Advising
      • Career Advising + Internships
        • Talk to a Career Advisor
      • Student Emergency Relief Fund
        • Eskenazi School Student Emergency Relief Fund Application
      • Applying to the B.F.A. Program
        • Studio Art B.F.A. Application
      • Scholarship Awards
        • Scholarship Application
      • Studio Art Thesis Exhibitions
      • Graduation
      • Eskenazi Ambassadors
    • Overseas Study Programs
  • Exhibitions
    • Grunwald Gallery
      • Exhibitions
      • Archive
        • 2022
        • 2021
        • 2020
        • 2019
        • 2018
        • 2017
        • 2016
        • 2015
        • 2014
        • 2013
        • 2012
      • Online Exhibitions
        • MFA / BFA Thesis Shows
        • Alumni Exhibition
    • Miller M.Arch Gallery
      • Exhibitions
      • Archive
    • Sage Collection
      • Exhibitions + Events
  • News
    • Vision Magazine 2021-22
    • Eskenazi School News
  • Events
    • Speaker Series
      • McKinney Visiting Artist Series
        • Archive
          • 2021–2022
          • 2020–2021
          • 2019–2020
          • 2018–2019
          • 2017–2018
          • 2016–2017
          • 2015–2016
          • 2021–2022
      • Miller M.Arch Lecture Series
        • Archive
          • 2021–2022
          • 2020–2021
          • 2019–2020
      • Design Speaker Series
      • Bill Blass
    • Special Events
  • Alumni + Giving
  • Connect

Eskenazi School
of Art, Architecture + Design

  • Home
  • About
    • Areas
    • Facilities
    • Centers
    • Accreditation
    • History
    • Careers/Opportunities
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
    • 2025 Strategic Plan
    • Emergency Preparedness
    • Staff Directory
    • Contact
  • Faculty
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Faculty Work
    • Faculty Research
  • Undergraduate
    • Majors
    • Minors
    • Creative Core
    • How to Apply
    • Scholarships + Financial Aid
    • Visit/Contact Us
  • Graduate
    • M.Arch (Architecture)
    • M.F.A. in Studio Art
    • M.S. in Apparel Merchandising
    • How to Apply
    • Graduate Student Funding
    • Schedule a Visit
  • Current Students
    • Career Preparation
    • Student Organizations
    • Student Resources
    • Overseas Study Programs
  • Exhibitions
    • Grunwald Gallery
    • Miller M.Arch Gallery
    • Sage Collection
  • News
    • Vision Magazine 2021-22
    • Eskenazi School News
  • Events
    • Speaker Series
    • Special Events
  • Search
  • Alumni + Giving
  • Connect
  • Home
  • News
  • 2019
  • "For the Love of IU: History, Sustainability and Design" project featured in Pride of IU

"For the Love of IU: History, Sustainability and Design" project featured in Pride of IU

By: A. Price

Tuesday, October 08, 2019

Student sketches

Source: Pride of IU

If the return of acid-wash jeans tells us anything, it’s that there’s no such thing as a truly worn-out style. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for garments.

When it comes to sustainability, today’s threads hit a snag.

“The apparel industry is one of the most wasteful in the world,” says Lori Frye, a fashion design faculty member at the Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design. “We buy these fast fashions that you wear once or twice, and then they fall apart or no longer look nice.”

To draw attention to the issue, Frye and fellow faculty member Bo Choi incorporated sustainability into their curriculum. Last spring, with funding from a grant awarded by the IU Office of the Bicentennial, they challenged students to create IU-themed ensembles—with a catch. Only recycled apparel from area thrift shops could be used to fabricate the pieces.

“We wanted students to start thinking about how to take something that isn’t fashionable, deconstruct it, and then build it into something different and new,” explained Frye.

Echoing the cyclical nature of fashion, students were also tasked with mining IU’s near-200-year sartorial history for design inspiration. IU Archives and IU’s Sage Fashion Collection gave the class access to an assortment of past IU wears, from vintage letterman sweaters to nursing uniforms to Little 500 athletic apparel to senior cords (a fashion quirk unique to Indiana).

After sketching their designs, students shopped for secondhand materials to bring their visions to life. The grant provided the budget—a welcome relief for cash-strapped students.

“Our students have to purchase fabric and supplies for each of their projects, and that can become costly. We were happy that the grant from the IU Office of the Bicentennial allowed us to give each student a budget to shop for their secondhand materials,” said Frye.

The project culminated in the exhibition “For the Love of IU: History, Sustainability and Design,” where the student work was featured alongside the historical pieces that served as inspiration.

Beyond developing technical proficiency as designers, students gained perspective on an industry they’d largely seen from a consumer point of view.

“Now I understand that it would be so easy for every brand to be a little bit more sustainable. Whether that means reusing old scraps, or turning an old item of clothing that isn’t selling well into something new, there are steps that manufacturers can take to be more environmentally conscious,” says student Meredith Higgins.

Fittingly, the project is demonstrating its own sustainability. Frye and Choi are repeating the assignment this spring. They’ve also been asked to restage the exhibit, this time for IU’s upcoming 2020 bicentennial celebration.

With more consumption-conscious designers entering the field, future fashions might soon be more environmentally and economically friendly. And who knows? Someday, when the fashion industry inevitably looks to the past for inspiration, it might take a sustainable style cue from IU-educated designers.

It wouldn’t be the first time IU alumni have been looked upon as trendsetters.

  • Vision Magazine 2021-22
  • Eskenazi School News

Eskenazi School of Art, Architecture + Design resources and social media channels

  • Faculty & Staff Intranet
  • COLLEGE OF ARTS + SCIENCES
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Indiana University

Accessibility | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2023 The Trustees of Indiana University