05 30 20 TogetherSF Mask Project Students

TogetherSF May 30, 2020 “Fashion Students Reallocate Talents to Make Masks for the City’s Underserved Communities” Fashion School students make masks for underserved members of the community. https://www.togethersf.org/media/fashion-students-reallocatetalents-to-make-masks-for-the-citys-underserved-communities

Fashion Students Reallocate Talents to Make Masks for the City’s Underserved Communities May 30

By Kailen Locke

Masks being delivered to MSC South on Friday, May 29, 2020.

Spring 2020— a time students at the Academy of Art University School of Fashion would usually spend working towards the now canceled New York Fashion Week, applying for jobs and planning for their futures, looks quite a bit different in wake of COVID-19.

In March, students at the AAU were notified their final weeks of the semester would be spent at home— leaving many without the chance to say goodbye to their friends, classmates and beloved professors before graduating in May. When the mandatory face mask requirement went into effect in April, TogetherSF Volunteer Souradeep Sen reached out to the AAU to see if their students could help make masks for underserved members of the community that would have difficulty accessing them otherwise.

While heartbroken at first for a different future than they imagined, students Kathleen Qui, Milijana Delic and Sheydon Daniels, along with many others, jumped at the opportunity to turn their collective pain into action, and decided to put their newfound free time and sewing skills to good use.

On May 11, in collaboration with UBCO Bikes and TogetherSF, hundreds of masks were distributed to The Salvation Army, SF Food Pantry, Swords to Plowshares, MSC South and the Veterans Affairs Hospital. Yesterday, May 29, the students’ final set of masks were picked up and given to MSC South— one of the City’s largest homeless shelters who’ve taken a hit during the pandemic.

“These donations were incredibly helpful,” SVDP Director of Programs Rachel Long said. “Our homeless guests don’t have many things that belong to them, so having this important piece of protection that they can call their own is so critical.”

As the semester comes to a close and students graduate, we wanted to shine light on those who helped make all of this possible.

Here are the stories of the students behind the masks: “Now especially, many of us do feel helpless sitting at home while there are so many others out there on the frontlines doing all they can to end the pandemic,” 27-year-old MFA Costume Design student Kathleen Qui said, noting her desire to help. “I had already been making masks for friends and family, especially those who I knew were working in hospitals, and it just made sense for me to continue that work and get involved in this project as well.”

Kathleen Qui sewing for friends and family.

From a young age, Kathleen was always interested in sewing, but didn’t get involved in design until college. Once there, Kathleen joined the circus and began creating costumes, but it wasn’t until she graduated that she realized that was what she really wanted to do full-time.

After graduating with a BA in both Chemistry and Psychology from the University in Chicago, Kathleen followed her engineering job to the Bay Area, where she ultimately decided to pursue a career in costume at the AAU— the only school in the country to offer a masters program in fashion to students without a fashion-based background.

Currently in the final days of her program, Kathleen explained how all her timelines and projects for the future have been thrown out the window.

“Before the pandemic shut everything down, I was originally supposed to have opened a show, Radium Girls, at Foothill College,” Kathleen said. “But since shelter in place, seven stage productions I was working on were either canceled or postponed, and one feature film canceled its shoot dates— although that will resume as soon as they are able to.”

Along with having to halt development on these productions, Kathleen also had to postpone her move to Los Angeles, where she’d planned to work in the film and television industry.

Kathleen said she still plans on moving, but worries about being able to find work since the entertainment industry has been heavily impacted by coronavirus.

“A lot in the industry will have changed once we get started again,” Kathleen said. “As a costume designer, this is something that I’m keeping a close eye on since I’ll need to be able to be close to actors for accurate fittings.”

In costume design, designers are given the task of creating a character through the clothes they wear. Trying to understand who those characters are and what makes them, them is what inspires Kathleen the most.

“I fully believe that costumes can define a character and bring them to life in a way that makes us see beyond the costume and want to learn more about who the character is,” she said. “In making this connection, I believe that we can see and value people who we may not have the privilege of interacting with on a daily basis.

We can understand the people who came before us, the people who constantly surround us and the people who may come after us.”

While coronavirus has taken a lot away from us, Kathleen said it’s given us something too—a sense of community.

“We’re realizing we can’t get through this by ourselves—we have to do it together,” Kathleen said. “The pandemic doesn’t end when only some people are safe, it ends when everyone is safe.”

Like Kathleen, 27-year-old MFA Fashion Design student Milijana Delic knew the same skills she would usually be putting towards her plans for the future could be utilized to help the community.

“I think it’s important to help in any way possible—especially if you have a vital skill,” Milijana said. “As a design-minded person, I’m always trying to solve problems. So if there are bigger problems around, I’m consciously thinking about it.”

Milijana began sewing when she was 11 years old, making herself costumes as part of her involvement in Serbian Folk Dancing.

Although sewing had always been part of her life, she didn’t realize fashion was something she wanted to pursue until she found herself with a bachelor’s degree in nutrition and a yearning to do something different.

Milijana Delic creating masks in her home work-space.

Currently Milijana is working on her collection, and if it wasn’t for a canceled New York Fashion week where her line was set to appear, she would be deeper into the process by now.

“Realizing Fashion Week would be canceled was really hard because it was always something that was on my mind,” Milijana said. “But after a few days we realized we had to be flexible and things were going to be different.”

However, the cancelation of Fashion Week is not the only thing Milijana has to worry about— graduation in 2020 means graduating during an economic crisis where one in four Americans have filed for unemployment since the pandemic began.

“I’m on a slower path to finding jobs,” Milijana said. “I usually wouldn’t have to worry about it for a while since I’d be in Fashion Week mode, so this has made me think about it substantially sooner.”

In a perfect world, Milijana would like to move to Los Angeles or New York to further her career, but said trying to make plans for the future seems a little impossible.

As someone with a nutrition background, Milijana said she’s motivated by health and wellbeing, and always tries to incorporate life and living processes into her fashion.

At a time when health and wellbeing is at the center of our world, helping make masks for those struggling to obtain them was something Milijana knew she had to do.

“Knowing that you did your part and knowing that you can help, even if it’s in the smallest way, feels good,” Milijana said. “I would have felt almost guilty if I didn’t help, especially because I have a skillset not many people have.”

Doing your part was exactly why 21-year-old BFA Textile Design student Sheydon Daniels said he was happy to join the mask project.

“We might not have money to throw at every issue, but we do have time,” Sheydon said.

“Whether it’s time or energy, you’ve always got something to give. It’s important to take advantage of that because if you were in a situation where you needed help, you’d hope someone else would be willing to do so too.”

Sheydon Daniels sewing masks from home.

After receiving a cheap sewing machine one year as a birthday present, Sheydon taught himself to sew using any fabric he could afford, along with old scraps and clothes. Although working with fabrics started off as a hobby, Sheydon knew he didn’t want it to stay that way.

In 2016 Sheydon enrolled at the AAU as a Fashion Design major, but once he took an applied textile course, he knew that was the route he wanted to take.

“I really loved the process and the steps behind how I could manipulate fabric and use my own personal touch,” Sheydon said. “I like being able to implement my own creativity with a certain process and be able to spread my message through that.”

As a senior, Sheydon spends most of his time working on his main thesis and volunteering at soup kitchens and shelters, but due to coronavirus, many places have had to reduce or shut down their services.

“Being able to help with this project has definitely filled some of that time up,” Sheydon said. “I was already making masks from my own scraps for myself and my friends, so it felt like it would be a good way to be able to help communities I would be trying to help anyway.”

Because coronavirus has made it hard for Sheydon to find work, he’s working part time on his own business, selling masks and other items online and doing part-time customer service work from home.

“The retail industry has been put in a complete hiring freeze,” Sheydon said. “So it’s hard to find full-time work. It’s a really nerve-racking thing.”

Sheydon said he chose fashion because he knew it was a path he’d never get bored of—there’s always a way to reinvent yourself. One day he hopes to be able to work for a sustainable company with the ability to adapt for the future.

“Even though coronavirus has affected work, volunteering is a good way to still be able to contribute to society,” Sheydon said. “I want to make sure that I’m not just taking but giving back to the community too. I want to feel like I’m involved.”

Sheydon said he knew this semester was going to be different from the rest, but this is something he never expected.

“It’s something I will definitely remember,” Sheydon said. “This isn’t something that’s going to happen to every graduating class, so I’m trying to take it in stride as something that can be turned into a positive.”