MORGANTOWN — WVU Professor Elizabeth Shorrock gave her visual merchandising students an assignment that helps the public understand some key messages about sustainability and ethical aspects of the fashion industry.
The students’ project involved five downtown stores participating in a Window Crawl for Fashion Revolution week, which conveniently lined up with the last week of classes.
Shorrock decided she wanted all students to create a window that reflected and promoted the merchandise in each of the stores to help educate the public on what the fashion revolution is.
Shorrock said the project is about “making conscious purchases and understanding that the fashion industry is not always sustainable or ethical. We have those decisions to make when buying something”
Each store brought a unique challenge and message to convey to the public.
River Fair Trade represents fair-trade organizations. Students were able to inform consumers about what fair trade is.
Coni and Franc provides customers with heirloom pieces, so students focused on the aspect of “when you purchase something, it can last a lifetime.”
Shorrock was enthusiastic when discussing the display at Tanner’s Alley. She explained, “Students could celebrate the fact that the owner makes all their own bags. They talked about the anatomy of the bags and what goes into making the bags.”
In regards to LUST Boutique, students faced more of a challenge but came up with the innovative idea of buying something that will last. They also educated consumers on hand-washing an item versus machine washing as hand-washing will allow it to last longer and reduce the amount of water used. This helps with environmental sustainability.
Professor Shorrock is a visiting professor this semester from Chicago. The displays can be viewed at selected stores on High and Walnut Streets.
Fashion Revolution Week is a movement in response to an industrial disaster involving the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh where 1,138 people died and several others were injured. The movement seeks to have manufactures demand ethics transparency and sustainability in the industry.
