Members of the Moore College of Art & Design community, Philadelphia Ballet and beyond gathered at The Galleries at Moore on Thursday, February 27, to enjoy a special performance and panel discussion for “Threads of Success: Stitching the Future of Costume Design.”
For the third year of this exciting collaboration, six students in their junior year of Moore’s Fashion Design program worked directly with Philadelphia Ballet experts and dancers to create costumes inspired by composer Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. Students took their designs from first sketches to final stitches under the advisement of Moore faculty Camille Avent and Morgan Porter, in collaboration with Philadelphia Ballet’s Sarah Cooper, creative director of Community Education and Public Programs; Randy Benedict, program manager, In School Partnerships & Public Programs; and Jennifer Tierney, wardrobe manager.
The evening opened with remarks from Moore’s Chief Academic Officer Claudine Thomas, who spoke on the unique opportunity the project provides for Fashion Design students. Cooper spoke on the challenges of designing for dance, noting the differences between fashion design and costume design.
“When designing for dance, one learns to balance form and function. Designers learn how to balance their dreams and desires as artists with the reality of the athletic use of garments by the dancers,” she said.
Avent and Porter touched on the hard work students poured into their designs beginning in the Fall 2024 semester.
“The student teams created mood boards, renderings and design statements for one male and one female dancer. They designed with meticulous attention to detail, and each garment reflected the music of Boléro while showing the unique points of view from the students,” Porter said.
Attendees then heard from the winning student designers, Greta Hartman ‘26 and Artemis McClean ‘26, who shared more about the real-world experience they gained working alongside Philadelphia Ballet.
“Throughout this process we learned how to properly work with stretch fabric and emphasize the movement of a dancer,” Hartman said. “We experimented with natural dyeing to create a textured look on some of our fabrics with paperclips and a forced rusting technique.”
After the live performance by Philadelphia Ballet dancers in Hartman’s and McClean’s designs, attendees enjoyed another performance featuring costumes by renowned designer Holly Hynes. Hynes then joined Porter, Tierney and Moore President Cathy Young for the panel discussion on costume design. Hynes shared important lessons from her career and provided guidance for the up-and-coming designers at Moore.
“Don’t be afraid to work hard. Work hard at everything you do, and if you keep trying to do the best you can, you will,” Hynes said. “You should also enjoy what you’re doing and the people you’re working with. If you leave a project, you leave the studio, or you leave the classroom, and everybody wishes you'd come back in because there's more they want to figure out with you—that’s a blessing.”
Moore College of Art & Design is the only independent art and design college in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Want to learn more about the Fashion Design major at Moore? Contact our Admissions team at enroll@moore.edu or 215.965.4015 to set up a call or a campus visit. We'd love to tell you more!
