Ideas for a Fashion Club in School

The best ideas for fashion club activities come from club members themselves -- encourage members to bring the same creativity that they use to create fabulous wardrobes to brainstorming ideas for club events. For the best mix of activities, vary meetings and social outings, alternate between active and reflective events and throw in a mix of serious and whimsical ideas. After electing officers, deciding whether to join a national organization and setting a calendar, the real inspiration begins.

Meetings should include time for business and unscripted time for members to discuss fashion tips, ask questions about designs they are working on, rave about cool outfits and share information about fashion events and contests. Early in the year, each club member can make a collage with pictures from fashion magazines that capture that person's style -- explaining choices helps members introduce themselves to each other.

If your school provides access to sewing machines, have a tutorial on sewing T-shirts or tote bags and then have a meeting where members use a variety of materials to customize their items. Create a challenge to see who can adorn her shirt or bag in the most creative way using paint, feathers, sequins, buttons, bows, or nontraditional elements the club adviser brings in, such as straws, napkins, cardboard and plastic from the school cafeteria.

Field trips can be formal events, such as scheduled excursions to museums or plays to see the work of fashion designers both past and present. Or, they can be informal activities where club members gather to watch fashion TV shows or fashion-oriented movies. Schedule shopping trips to retail stores to survey current fashion trends and to thrift stores to find vintage items that club members can transform into stylish, modern attire. If your town has textile or clothing manufacturers, a field trip to those sites is also a must.

Introducing club members to a range of careers in the fashion industry gives the members valuable information. Schedule time at meetings to discuss how classes in photography and art can be as important as classes in sewing. Spend another meeting exploring jobs in the fashion industry in your local community and invite costume designers, college instructors or students, retail store managers, museum textile and costume curators and textile manufacturers to club meetings to talk about their careers and any internships and scholarships they sponsor.

Most clubs rely on fundraising to support club activities, and the fashion club can combine a fundraiser with a fashion event by scheduling an extravaganza fashion runway show in the spring to highlight creative prom dresses and suits. A fall Halloween fashion display for the school hallways or for a lunchtime mini-show can develop interest in the club and provide a service for the high school or a nearby junior high to stimulate students' imaginations for the upcoming holiday.