One of the first posts I ever wrote for abretta was on the Uniform Project. Started in May 2009, Sheena Matheiken pledged to wear one little black dress for 365 days to promote sustainable fashion AND raise funds for the Akanksha Foundation, a non-profit org that provides education to underprivileged kiddos in India. I was fascinated by Sheena's mission, and I followed her posts daily, looking forward to seeing just how she would reinvent her "uniform".
The UP was a huge success! Sheena raised over $100k for the Akanksha Foundation and gaining media coverage from a vast range of publications; The New York Times, NPR, The Guardian, PBS, the BBC and everything in between did a story on the UP. Elle Magazine named Sheena 2009's Woman of the Year. Pretty amazing if you ask me.
After her year in uniform, Sheena continued the UP in a new way. Called the Year 2 Pilot Series, it featured a different fab girl each month wearing one LBD of her creation for a cause of her choice. The dresses were great and the charities ranged from the big, City Harvest, to the small, Our School at Blair Grocery an alternative school, and everything in between, funds to help build a school in Ethiopia to the Phoenix House for alcohol and substance abuse treatment. Even eco-model Summer Rayne Oakes got involved and wore her own LBD for a month! Below are some of my fave outfits from the Pilot Series.
In February, Sheena gave a TED talk in Dubai about how the UP started, where it's going and the impact it has had. I just watched it and found it HUGELY inspiring. This women is a role model for women and girls all over the world, myself included. She is definitely someone to watch. I know I'll be keeping an eye out for her.
You can watch Sheena's TED talk here.
India was the first in the Pilot Series.
With a couple of snaps her dress converted to a romper.
With a plethora of buttons and snaps placed all over the garment,
Aki's dress was probably the most versatile of the Pilot Series.
The dress Isis wore was probably my favorite, mainly for its simplicity.
It had pockets, a button placket and in true UP style,
could be worn front to back or back to front.
Jessica's dress was reversible as well, and had some great zipper details.
Summer's dress was lots of fun. It could be worn long or short,
or as a romper, all thanks to some genius drawstrings and buttons.
