This fashion show features light-up clothing designed and constructed by Tucson kids

More than 30 pieces of clothing will soon light up a runway during a fashion show at the MSA Annex — and each piece was designed and constructed by kids at two Tucson schools.

The April 2 show is part of an initiative that allows kids to explore their own creativity while teaching real-life skills such as coding and how to use a sewing machine. Each outfit showcased, centered around the theme “change,” will light up in some way and will be modeled by the young designers themselves.

“(This show) releases your creativity and what you can think of around the world to help — help the endangered animals and forest fires or pollution — changing everything in the world,” says 11-year-old Isaac Martinez.

“The Earth is starting to be corrupt and we are trying to change it by doing these designs so people can understand and do their parts,” he says.

MakeFashion Edu photoshoot — Sebastian Duenas, 10, models his “Change Altitude” light-up outfit for volunteer photographer Liz Hardesty during MakeFashion Edu’s photoshoot at Hollinger K-8 School.
Rebecca Sasnett photos, Arizona Daily Star

Isaac’s team designed a clothing piece that features flickering red lights under a fiery fabric shaped like flames. He says it’s to raise awareness of forest fires and the animals that have lost their homes, “so we can help to not start the fires and try and plant more trees so they can have a habitat again.”

Camila Nolasco, 11, created a design as part of a series of dresses that shows how fashion has changed through the decades. Her dress, long and pink with fairy lights peeking through the fabric, is inspired by the 1850s.

Camila says her favorite part of the show is getting to see her own progression.

“I learned how to do more designs and things I never knew I could do,” she says.

“It felt good because I saw how it started with just fabric and I saw how it became a dress — it became one big thing,” she says.

Behind the show

On paper, Twila Busby is a reading specialist at Tucson’s Hollinger K-8 School. Beyond the title though, Busby runs the school’s maker space that gives kids the opportunity to create with their hands.

Years ago, Busby met the founders of California-based nonprofit SteamHead that blends design, technology and community into its mission of creating education that is meaningful and engaging.

Part of that mission included partnering with Canada-based nonprofit MakeFashion to form MakeFashion Edu, a fashion show that features wearable tech clothing pieces made by kids. Busby knew she wanted to bring the concept to Tucson.

“I don’t think in our schools today that students have enough opportunity to apply to real life the things they’re learning,” Busby says. “They don’t have the opportunity to create and show their creations and talk to people.”

The Tucson MadeFashion Edu show is now in its fourth year. Busby works with several kids, from second to eighth grade, at Hollinger to craft designs to eventually walk down the runway. Students at Tucson’s Drachman Montessori K-8 Magnet School, where Busby’s sister Elisa Busby works, are also part of the show.

The program — in which kids participate in a team or individually through a class or after-school extracurricular — includes design activities, tech and coding for the lights in the clothing pieces, and lessons on tools such as sewing machines, laser cutters and 3D printers.

The program has received grants from the Educational Enrichment Foundation and 21st Century Community Learning Centers which have helped with expenses such as fabric and running the venue, Busby says. The fashion show is free for the public to attend.

After the kids hit the runway, attendees will have the chance to chat with them about the inspiration for their designs. Camila and Isaac say that talking to people is what they’re most looking forward to.

“It’s a fun show — it’s fun watching kids do their thing,” Busby says, adding that her favorite part is seeing the kids’ progress from “I don’t know what to do, help me!” to “I did this thing — I figured it out.”

Ultimately, the show is for the kids to “tell their story — whichever story it is,” Busby says.

“The kids — Isaac says it — can affect change, they can see what has (changed) and a lot of what needs to,” she says.