Power Dressing: Garment Design
K–2 Lesson Plan
Jeffrey Gibson sees clothing, which he refers to as garments, as a source of empowerment; we can choose how we dress and represent ourselves in the world. In his work, he explores how what we choose to wear can express identity and meaning, and he is interested in how garments become extensions of the body and are activated by movement.
Jeffrey Gibson’s garment pieces entitled Don't Make Me Over, 2024 and The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 2, 2019 are two works of art inspired by dance, music, and clothing found in Indigenous communities. These pieces speak to Gibson’s passion for Indigenous practices of making garments and the fond memories he has of growing up watching his relatives and mentors make clothing. Gibson’s garment pieces include materials from all over the world and speak to the many places he has lived, including Germany, Korea, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These pieces also inform us about the communities to which he belongs.
Objective: In this activity, students will design and make their own garments that explore color, material, and self-expression.
Note: Bird feathers and other tribal symbols can be sacred to certain Indigenous communities and should be avoided out of respect. Students should focus on creating original designs and exploring new ways to express themselves through color and materials. Other pre-existing logos, brands, or characters should also be discouraged to help students create a garment that is unique to them.
Guiding Question: How can we design a garment that expresses something about who we are?
- Creating: VA:Cr2.1
- Enduring Understanding: Artists and designers experiment with forms, structures, materials, concepts, media, and art-making approaches.
- VA:Cr.2.1.K.a: Through experimentation, build skills in various media and approaches to art-making.
- VA:Cr2.1.1.a: Explore uses of materials and tools to create works of art or design.
- VA:Cr.2.1.2.a: Experiment with various materials and tools to explore personal interests in a work of art or design.
- Responding: VA:Re7.1
- Enduring Understanding: Individual aesthetic and empathetic awareness developed through engagement with art can lead to understanding and appreciation of self, others, the natural world, and constructed environments.
- VA:Re.7.1.Ka: Identify uses of art within one’s personal environment.
- VA:Re.7.1.1a: Select and describe works of art that illustrate daily life experiences of oneself and others.
- VA:Re.7.1.2a: Perceive and describe aesthetic characteristics of one’s natural world and constructed environments.
- Crayons, colored pencils, or markers
- Glue sticks and glue
- Construction paper
- Large paper
- Garment embellishments including tissue paper, yarn, sequins, beads, fabric scraps, paint, aluminum foil, charms, and cotton balls
- Garment template (optional), courtesy of Jeffrey Gibson Studios
Teacher Instructions
Step 1: Preparing to Create
- Before you begin, consider whether you would like to provide students with a garment template (courtesy of Jeffrey Gibson) or have them design their garment without a template.
Teacher Tip
Modeling this activity with students might also encourage them to think more creatively during their own design process.
- To begin this activity, explain to students that for thousands of years people have created clothing with special meanings. Activate prior student knowledge by having a class discussion about garments that the students themselves wear. Consider asking the following questions:
- Can you think of an item of clothing or jewelry with special meaning to your family? It could be used for a special event, be a special color, or have a meaningful pattern or symbol. What is the item and why is it important to you and your family?
- Do you have a favorite shirt or other item of clothing that makes you feel happy or makes you excited to show to your friends? What do you like about this garment? How does it make you feel when you wear it?
- How can what you are wearing express to someone who you are and communicate what you are feeling? Think about color, pattern, and symbols that might speak to who you are and what you are feeling. What might your garment look like?
- Consider sharing Gibson’s Artist Statement with your class.
- Next, project examples of Gibson’s garments, such as Don't Make Me Over, 2024, and The Anthropophagic Effect, Garment no. 2, 2019.
Then do a close-looking exercise with your class. Consider zooming in on each garment. Ask students the following questions:
- What colors, shapes, and textures do you see?
- What materials do you see? What do you think this garment is made of?
- How do the colors and materials used to create this garment make you feel?
- How do you think this garment feels, sounds, and moves?
Step 2: Creating
- Pass out copies of the garment template or large pieces of paper. Tell students that they should design a garment that reflects who they are and what is important to them. Students may divide their templates into sections first to focus their work.
Teacher Tip
Consider letting students work on a draft garment design before working on their final version. Ask them to think about where they want to place elements of design on their garment and why.
- Support students by asking guiding questions. Consider projecting these questions on the board:
- How would you like to represent who you are and what is important to you on your garment?
- What color or colors would you like to feature? Why? What emotions, memories, and feelings do these colors remind you of?
- Will your garment have a pattern? Will it feature a design, words, or images that are special to you?
Teacher Tip
- To help students design a garment without a template, consider modeling how you might create a garment to represent your own identity.
- Jeffrey Gibson often works collaboratively with other talented artists and makers. Consider letting your class work collaboratively on their garments or creating one large garment as a class.
Step 3: Share and Reflect
When students finish, hang the garments up to prepare for a gallery walk. Students can present their garments to the class by sharing their responses to the following questions:
- What is your favorite part about your garment design?
- What does your garment say about you? What can it tell us about you?