A new agenda for Harvard: fashion

Before Timmy Parent completes his studies at Harvard, he'd like to say he made the campus more fashion-friendly. Design houses should be recruiting on the yard, he says, and more students should consider careers in the field.

"Career services tells you to send in your resume. Wall Street will call and you'll make a lot of money," said Parent, a junior who's majoring in economics and East Asian studies. "But a lot of people give up on their passion when they do that."

Determined to get students to look beyond banking and biology, Parent and a group of about 15 volunteers will present a fashion show on campus: Project East.

Clothing by 21 designers from New York, Shanghai, and Tokyo will be featured at the Nov. 3 event, including Yeohlee Teng, Thuy Diep, Mary Ping, Alexander Wang, and Lu Kun. Thirteen of the participants are recent graduates of Parsons School of Design in New York. They will be showcasing their thesis work.

All of the designers are Asian, a decision the students made because they believe Asian designers could use the exposure. "Asians in general are underrepresented in the fashion industry," said Parent, a 21-year-old Seattle native whose mother is Korean and father is Caucasian. "Even though Issey Miyake has been around since the '70s, his European counterparts get much more attention," Parent said.

Some of the designers plan to attend, including Gemma Kahng, a New Yorker whose wares are sold in boutiques there. Normally, Kahng wouldn't send her clothing down a student runway, she said. But the Harvard name carried a lot of weight. "Hopefully," she said, "they won't mess it up."

Kahng, a Korean-American, doesn't agree with the students' premise that Asian designers need a boost. In fact, some of the most buzzed about designers on the scene today are Asian. "Vera Wang is one of the most successful designers out there," she said. "Peter Som is the new creative director for Bill Blass. Doo-Ri Chung, Phil Lim, Derek Lam, and Richard Chai are all very hot these days."

Still, she said, the students have good intentions. "It's always good to stick together and make some kind of a statement."

Thuy Diep, a Vietnamese-American designer in New York, also hopes to be at the show, though she admits she was skeptical at first. "I went to Brown [University]. I was like, 'Hmm, why do they want a Brown alum?' " But she was impressed that proceeds will benefit a charity in China that awards scholarships to child factory workers. She also liked the list of participants. "I'd love to see the other designers' work," she said.

Planning a fashion show for 800 guests isn't easy, especially while studying full-time. Parent is also on the swim team and works 10 hours a week at the library. "I'm always making phone calls between classes to designers," he said. "At lunch, I'm working on the show. At dinner, I'm working on the show. I try to do my homework as fast as possible."

Ivy Lee, a 19-year-old economics major from Honolulu, is juggling the show, her school work, and her role as logistics director of an upcoming student business conference. "I run off of adrenaline," she said.

And Kristin Kim, a 21-year-old government major from Fort Lee, N.J., has taken to calling the show her part-time job. "It's hard to keep track of who's doing what," she said. "We all have classes and it's hard to coordinate everything."

So far, the students have secured more than $15,000 in sponsorships that will almost cover the cost of the tent they're renting. They still need another $10,000 or so to pay for expenses such as lighting, the disc jockey, hair stylists, makeup artists, hotel rooms for visiting designers, and a reception. They're looking for volunteers to work as models. Tryouts will be held this Saturday and Sunday from 7 to 10 p.m. in the Mather House in Cambridge. Anyone, even non-students, can audition.

Tickets for the show will be available at the Harvard box office or online at fas.harvard.edu/tickets. Student admission is $15. General admission is $20.

Parent, who interned last summer at the Gucci Group in New York, says his dream is to one day develop smaller fashion brands in China and Korea. For now, though, he'll settle for turning the student show into an annual event.

"Our goal is to build strong relationships with design houses," he said. "I think Harvard students have a lot to offer the industry."