ETHAN HYMAN - ehyman@newsobserver.com
Victoria Wilburn struts down the runway during a fashion show and shopping event for School House Thursday Dec. 3, 2009, at the Cotton Room at Golden Belt in Durham.
DURHAM -- Glasses clinked, the disc jockey spun a pulsing beat, and cameras flashed while models strutted down the runway wearing - sweatshirts.
Two hundred community members cheered from their catwalk seats as students and one Duke University professor modeled the latest in licensed collegiate apparel from School House, a new company devoted to serving the interests of fashion-conscious and socially aware consumers.
As a celebration to launch its ethical fashion brand in Durham, School House hosted a lively cocktail party and shopping event at The Cotton Room this month. Guests browsed racks of North Carolina college wear, while servers bore trays of barbecue-filled hushpuppies and lemon ginger mojitos around the high-ceilinged loft. Friends and family connected over their support for School House's socially responsible mission, awe at the innovative design, and admiration for the young founder, Rachel Weeks.
"It is amazing to work with a young woman who is so passionate and committed to the company's economic sustainability initiative," said Lesa Melvin of The Special Events Co., designers of the event. "At the same time she's calm, collected and graceful."
The idea for School House came to Weeks in 2007 as she researched her senior honors thesis on women's studies at Duke. She began thinking about opportunities to merge her love of fashion and feminism, but it wasn't until she lived in Sri Lanka as a U.S. Fulbright Scholar that Weeks found a way to affect both arenas by designing college apparel with an ethical consciousness.
Now School House works with the first living wage factory in Sri Lanka to provide employees with a salary two times higher than other nearby plants.
"I saw a tremendous need for this company, and I saw a $4 million industry that has been dominated by the same five brands for years," Weeks said.
Tailored to schools
Determined to break into a niche market with high-quality materials and a better design, Weeks partnered with creative director Colleen McCann to hone School House's identity and aesthetic.
Weeks and McCann begin preparations for each collection 18 months in advance, researching everything from high fashion to vintage for inspiration. The partners also invest in the signature identity of each university, traveling to campuses and contacting students in hopes of tailoring their clothes to the personality of consumers.
"Is this at ECU, where it's all about football; or Harvard, where it's more about tradition?" Weeks asked when considering pieces and graphics for each line.
The fashion show highlighted the differences between the styles of each student population. While a male model wore jeans and a T-shirt featuring a graffiti version of UNC-Chapel Hill's Old Well, a woman in high heels and leggings showed off a vintage-inspired N.C. State University T-shirt.
The event's show-stopping pieces were three Duke dresses with bodices crafted out of vintage shirts featuring the devilish mascot.
"I was so impressed by everything, even though there was a lot of Duke stuff," UNC student Kinsley Parsons said. "It really gives me hope that they'll make a UNC cocktail dress ... maybe by New Year's Eve."
Not a charitable whim
Although committed to the ethical consciousness of her brand, Weeks said that individualized design and superior materials were the line's main selling points. "We think about the market and see living wage as icing on the cake. We hope that it inspires people to buy our product, but we don't rely on it ... I know myself, and I wouldn't buy something on a charitable whim."
Prices range from $15 for a pair of underwear to $75 for a cardigan.
School House started with a single contract from Duke University Stores; now it's gone national with a deal with Barnes & Noble College Booksellers. After cold-calling the nationwide seller, Weeks landed a trial run at The Yale Bookstore. The success was immediate, and School House's accountant, Anthony Robertson, predicts that 50 to 60 schools will place spring orders.
"I saw the clothes around college campuses before I knew what it was, but I was easily able to go online and find information about the company," said UNC-CH alumnus Jordan Price. By using social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook to spread information, School House has caught the attention of undergraduates.
At show's end, Weeks and McCann bowed to applause, and guests began dancing. The collection seemed to win over the crowd visually and ethically.
"It's inspiring to see it grow so quickly in two years, especially because of the ethical fashion element, said Paula Long, a friend of Weeks'. "Rachel's doing a great thing making so many college students aware of these issues."
