EXCHANGE: Ball State students design functional fashion

MUNCIE, Ind. (AP) - The spring rainy season was the perfect time for a group of Ball State University fashion majors to debut a special project they've been working on this semester.

What would you choose if you had the opportunity to pick out your perfect raincoat?

A group of Muncie residents who use wheelchairs on a daily basis had the chance to do just that, thanks to a project in Jinhee Nam's functional fashion design class.

The 13 students were partnered with 10 Muncie residents who spend time at Hillcroft Services, 501 W. Air Park Drive.

The students spent a month of the semester getting to know their clients, taking their measurements, and designing their client's ideal, practical raincoat.

On Tuesday, the clients were presented with their new, custom-designed raincoats during an afternoon presentation at Hillcroft.

Fashion merchandising junior Michaela Muench, 21, knew what her client Courtney wanted from the get-go. "She wanted pink, everything pink," Muench said. "I just did solid pink in the front and on the lining."

Courtney visits Hillcroft every day, which provides residential, employment, and community support services to individuals with disabilities in several counties in East Central Indiana.

She was very pleased with her new raincoat, made from nylon fabric.

"Seeing her face today, it was really rewarding," Muench said.

Each raincoat had the length, sleeves, pockets and other details personalized and easily accessible to the client.

As the project's director, Nam gave the students the option of making a raincoat or winter coat for their clients, and a majority chose raincoat as it's seasonally appropriate for spring.

"Our professor Dr. Nam came up with the idea," Muench said. "She told us about it and we were all for it."

The project was off and running in March, thanks to the Muncie and Delaware Community Betterment Grant from the Community Foundation of Muncie and Delaware County.

"I've always wanted to contribute to certain aspects of special needs people," Nam said. "I was very committed to hear their voices and needs."

Nam said the students had the opportunity to learn about how fashion can be both practical and fashionable.

"The students learned a lot about special design, functional design, individual needs and the specific goals of the client," Nam said. "The most interesting part was seeing the client's individual needs."

One of the clients, 19-year-old Ball State speech pathology sophomore Anna, is both thankful and excited for her new coat.

Her partner, Aquilla Elfindale, created the coat just the way Anna wanted it.

"Aquilla is the best, she's so helpful and I am impressed with her willingness to tailor it to what I wanted," Anna said. "Because I use a wheelchair, I have poor circulation in my legs. But now I have a coat that's cute and that will keep me warm."

That's what Elfindale was hoping for when designing the coat.

"It's very interesting material, it's almost like ski pants, but that way it's a little more weather resistant," Elfindale said. "My favorite part about this process was meeting Anna, getting to work with her and getting to do things that actually fit her lifestyle."

Elfindale calls herself a "non-traditional adult student" as she is simply taking the class to learn the craft better and to have fun.

"I have my own health issues, so i'm taking classes to enjoy my life," Elfindale said.

It's a class and a project that means a lot to Elfindale.

"I'm probably never going to be able to walk again, so it's a project that hit home for me," Elfindale said. "I have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), a connective tissue disorder where you don't make collagen properly."

Client Nancy Allen was very pleased with her big navy coat and did not hesitate to put it on.

Lloyd Graevs wouldn't take off his new tan raincoat because of his favorite part. "It buttons up and down," Graevs said.

Seeing that all clients were pleased with their functional and fashionable new coats, Nam said she looks forward to doing a project like this again.

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Source: The (Muncie) Star Press, http://tspne.ws/1SYhZlE

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Information from: The Star Press, http://www.thestarpress.com