Amanda Kibbel and I worked on Luella for an entrepreneur/ design class in our senior studio. We started with a $1,000 grant and the proposal to design a sewing machine so young girls can learn the skill of tailoring their own clothes. The idea was and remains to be a way to promote body positivity through creative action and education for preteen girls. 

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We researched the fashion industry, the relationship girls have with their bodies, friends, parents and the media. After all of this we decided to change our direction. Rather than providing a cut a dry method to clothing alteration, we designed a creative and collaborative way to do so.

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Seeing the ease and popularity subscription boxes offer, we tailored our concept to fit that template. These images are of the workshop we held with nine year old girls. We had our prototypes of the first box in the subscription line. They made duct tape mannequins of their own bodies and crafted clothes from them. 

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The hour began with what felt like a play date, full of laughter and running around. As soon as it came time to make the clothes a concentrated hush fell. That silent determination was girl empowerment.

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