Page 22 - FIS World Feb 2019

Alice in Fashionland
FISW students present a creative twist on a classic tale
Many of the
skills required for creating costumes, including sewing, had to be learned from scratch
In a scene from Lewis Carroll’s original story, Alice in Wonderland, Alice says to the characters, Mock Turtle and Gryphon, “It’s no use going back to
yesterday, because I was a different person then.”
But for a recent event at FISW, it’s well worth the trip back in time to shine a spotlight on the Grade 6–8 January production of “Alice in Fashionland,” a creative take on the age-old classic.
It all started with a project in Eveliina Suonto’s middle school art class, where students were tasked with inquiring into sustainable fashion and the different phases in the fashion process
– sketches, pattern drawing, fabric selection, sewing, modelling, photography, and the traditional fashion show. Ms. Suonto developed an idea for a runway fashion show and “Alice in Wonderland” was suggested as the theme. “It was an inspiration for the garments, but a free choice about how the students saw the story and how they wanted to implement it,” she said.
As creative ideas began to take shape, other middle school students were brought into the fold, including those from Martin Hezel’s design and technology class. “After meeting with students in the art class, my class decided they could support by providing music, stage set up, video clips, and by programming an audio ‘trigger’ to underscore the models’ walk down the runway,” said Mr. Hezel.
Before long, the original art project had evolved into a full-scale production requiring a wide variety of skills and talents from across disciplines: art, drama, and design and technology. “Many of the students had to learn skills from scratch,” said Ms. Suonto.
For additional inspiration – and to get a behind- the-scenes look at a professional production house – both the design and technology and art classes visited the Staatstheater Wiesbaden to learn what exactly takes place during a production and to view the stage for the theater’s
20 FIS World February 2019