How Trimble Tech High School's Fashion Design Program is Supporting Future Fashion Executives

a glimpse into the Industry

In the words of the Italian fashion journalist Franca Sozzani, “Fashion is a mirror of the era in which we live."

Fashion is a reflection of reality. It evolves with the world around it and has the power to tell stories of historical significance while simultaneously unfolding the future. Fashion is society.

The webs of fashion [design, theory, history, communication] can be taught just the same as any field of academia. They can introduce students to an area of anthropological study that creates momentum for cultural and creative development.

While traditional STEM and ELA subjects such as social sciences, literature, mathematics, and general science take precedence in the curriculum for students obtaining secondary education, many school districts are creating opportunities for students partial to creative fields to study their discipline of interest at the high school level— disciplines like fashion design.

Fort Worth Independent School District’s Trimble Technical High School is one of many Texas high schools offering the study of fashion design to its students. The vocational school is able to teach the specialized subject by offering it as one of its many programs, alongside programs such as digital logistics and engineering, culinary arts, cosmetology, and architecture.

Balancing the Core Curriculum with Fashion Design

Trimble Technical High School successfully prepares students to graduate with knowledge about the fashion industry while ensuring core high school subjects remain integrated into the curriculum. The program achieves this by upholding the expectations of learning outlined in the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) guide.

The fashion design program is one of the many programs that fall under the CTE Arts Audio Video Technology Communications career cluster. Prepared by the State Board of Education, the expected learning outcome for this program reads:

“Careers in fashion span all aspects of the textile and apparel industries. Within this context, in addition to developing the technical knowledge and skills needed for success in the Arts, Audio/Visual Technology, and Communications career cluster, students will be expected to develop an understanding of the fashion industry with an emphasis on design and construction.”

Students must declare their program of interest prior to their enrollment at Trimble Technical High School.

“Well, the way that the program is set up is that students have to make a choice to commit to a program when they're in eighth grade, and they have to stay committed to the program for all four years,” said Baylee Ware, Trimble Technical High School’s fashion design teacher.

Once students have selected fashion design as their program of choice, they must pass the requirements listed as Texas High School Graduation Requirements displayed in the table below, in addition to completing the four courses required by the fashion design program to graduate.

Senior fashion design student sews garments in the senior practicum class.

Senior fashion design student steams her Fort Worth Fashion Week finale dress.

The program is organized so that each student completes one fashion design course per year. Course schedules at Trimble Technical High School are set up to have students attend four block classes per day, broken up as “A” and “B” days, meaning students attend their program course every other day of the week.

The four fashion design course requirements include:

Principles of Arts, A/V Technology and Communications [Grade 9]

"The Arts, Audio Video Technology, and Communications career cluster require, in addition to creative aptitude, a strong background in computer applications, a strong academic foundation, and a proficiency in oral and written communications in this course, students are introduced to skills and a basic understanding of career opportunities and training requirements in the areas of audio video production, fashion design, printing and imaging technology, and graphic design and illustration."

Fashion Design 1 [Grade 10]

"Careers in fashion span all aspects of the textile and apparel industries. Within this context, in addition to developing technical knowledge and skills needed for success in the Arts, Audio Video Technology, and Communications career cluster, students will be expected to develop an understanding of fashion and the textile and apparel industries. Students learn to manage a clothing budget, to construct, repair and alter apparel, to plan and maintain an appropriate wardrobe, and to identify quality apparel construction."

Fashion Design 2 [Grade 11]

"Students will be expected to develop an advanced understanding of fashion, with emphasis on design and production. In this double-period course, students will examine textile design and production, and apparel design practices and influences. Topics include fibers, fabrics, textile and apparel manufacturing systems, product marketing techniques, technology applications, and the international impact of textiles and apparel industries, federal regulations, and career options. Students will create a portfolio of fashion designs that include fashion figure drawing; application of design elements and principles to create fashion drawings; demonstration of the properties and characteristics of color; original computer-aided fashion designs; and examples of appropriate textiles to use in specific designs. This course includes a co-requisite lab, which affords necessary time devoted to master the content in Fashion Design II."

Unpaid Practicum in Fashion Design [Grade 12]

"This practicum course is an unpaid capstone experience for students participating in a coherent sequence of career and technical education courses within the designated program of study. Careers in fashion span all aspects of the textile and apparel industries. Within this context, in addition to developing advanced technical knowledge and skills needed for success in the fashion design industry, students will be expected to develop an advanced technical understanding of the business aspects of fashion, with an emphasis on promotion and retailing. Instruction may be delivered through lab-based classroom experiences or career preparation opportunities. Students will build a professional portfolio demonstrating skills in Fashion Design."

The Instructor Behind the Program

Fashion Design teacher Baylee Ware in her classroom.

Fashion Design teacher Baylee Ware in her classroom.

Ms. Baylee Ware

Baylee Ware has been the sole instructor of the fashion design program at Trimble Technical High School since 2018. In that time, Ware has taught an estimated 250 students the ins and outs of the fashion industry at all high school grade levels.

This year, the program has 50 students ranging from 9th to 12th grade. Of those 50, only three students are males. Ware says this ratio is quite typical for the program at Trimble Tech, and she believes the reason the gender ratio is so disproportionate is because students are required to pick their program of interest in the 8th grade.

“I have fifty students total, three to 47 male to female. So, it’s a very low percentage, and I think a lot of that has to do with them having to choose their program of study while they’re in middle school. It’s difficult to choose a program of study while in 8th grade, especially that being a boy choosing fashion design,” said Baylee Ware.

Ware initially took the position, she says, because of her experience with production and strong passion for fashion design.

“Well, I have my degree in radio and television film. So, I learned a lot about production and wardrobe costuming. After graduating, I went back to school to get my teaching certification. I wanted to pair it with my personal strengths and interests, which are fashion and design. So I continued my study of fashion and design specifically; my passions are in construction, patching, construction, and fashion styling," said Baylee Ware.

When comparing the program to a traditional high school curriculum, Ware says the main difference is project-based learning. According to Ware, nearly every assignment is specifically designed to provide fashion industry experience in the classroom.

Ware says that of the four courses she teaches, fashion design I is her favorite.

“I really enjoy the fashion design one class because that's the first time that they learn how to use the sewing machine and the equipment. And, in the class, we talk about, you know, using patterns, reading patterns, making patterns. And so I get to be the one that gets to teach them that for the first time,” Baylee Ware said.

from the Classroom to the Catwalk

This year, 12th-grade students in the fashion design senior practicum had the opportunity to create and present a fashion clothing line they spent their semester constructing at Fort Worth Fashion Week. It was the first year the organizers of Fort Worth Fashion Week asked the students at Trimble Technical High School to participate in the show. This year's theme was titled “The Future” which was appropriately named to highlight student designers building their careers as fashion executives.

“We got approached for this opportunity for our students to participate in the Fort Worth Fashion Week and we’ve been planning and preparing all year long. We have two groups of our seniors and they are working together as a team to create two collections. One of the collections is inspired by Barbie and the other collection is inspired by Cosmo and Wanda,” said Baylee Ware.

Students were able to have full creative control over this project. From selecting their design focus, to scheduling, and even casting the models who wore their garments featured in the show.

One senior fashion design student named Stephanie said it’s experiences like these that make her most excited for her future career in fashion.

“I am very excited. This is something that I really enjoy and love doing, so this is an opportunity that I get to see my clothes walking in a runway show and people seeing the things we’ve created.”

The show was organized by the Fort Worth Fashion Week’s CEO, Phillip Maxamillian, who said featuring student designers at this year’s show was something he wanted to do since Fort Worth Fashion Week first began four years ago.

“We wanted to give a platform to upcoming designers in Fort Worth, and one of the many things we wanted to achieve with Fort Worth Fashion Week was wanting to work with schools. This year we finally had the chance to feature fashion design students,” said Fort Worth Fashion Week CEO, Phillip Maxamillian.

All of the money raised from ticket sales at the event was donated directly back to participating schools, including Trimble Technical High School. The total amount raised from ticket sales was $2000, which will be used to purchase materials for the classroom.

the Industry now & the importance of this program

In 2020, McKinsey & Company surveyed over 1,000 working industry professionals across 41 companies, 20 stakeholder interviews, and three focus groups with college students and emerging designers to gather concrete data on how the industry is diversifying and strengthening each year.

One of the many ways the industry is making progressive change is by becoming younger and more ethnically diverse. Thanks to programs offered by high schools like Trimble Technical high school, where over with over 81.9% of students are Hispanic, fashion executives are emerging into the industry with great knowledge and the ability to be forward-thinkers of diverse backgrounds at incredibly young ages.

As aforementioned, fashion is a reflection of society, and the approach to teaching fashion, though more abstract, can be taught quite similarly to traditional subjects. Fashion as a field of academia is very important as the fashion industry, just like any cultural practice, evolves with the world around it.

The fashion design program at Trimble Technical High School might seem less important than programs such as engineering, education, and pre-health, but at its core, it is just as respectable. The fashion industry, like any industry, is legitimate and, therefore, should be taught at the high school level. It is evident that through project-based learning and real-world experience, Trimble Technical High School Fashion Design students are effectively prepared to work in the fashion industry.

FASHION 101: AN INSIDE LOOK AT TRIMBLE TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL'S FASHION DESIGN PROGRAM