“I want to thank all of the students and faculty
Underscoring the importance of design to the national economy, she said, “We are proud of you, our President is proud of you.”
(AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
On October 8, 2014, a delegation of 31 students, as well as distinguished alumni, faculty and leaders from The New School’s Parsons School of Design were on site at the White House by invitation from the First Lady to take part in the first ever White House Fashion Education Workshop. Sixteen Parsons undergraduate and graduate students secretly spent two weeks conceiving and building a striking installation in the White House East Room as the backdrop for the day’s events and announcements.
The New School Press
Proposing the prototype paper sculpture, two layers of paper fortune tellers overlapping.
4,000 pieces were folded in 5 days. White ones were laid out carefully to highlight the First Lady’s blue dress.
Muslin sheets were used to hold the weight of the folded paper sheet. They w also used to roll up the panels for transporting from New York to Washington, D.C.
Four panels were combined into one 8 ft. by 16 ft. backdrop in the White House East Room.
Collaborators: Alison Mears, Jonsara Ruth, Helen Quinn, Mariam Alshamali, Laura Suppan, Neison DeJesus, Amanda Evengard, John Steward, James Clotfecter, Calvin Cheng, Stephen Finney, Laura Yeh, Marina Cunha, Julia Grunberg, Sofia Gimenez Burio, Junrui Wang
Materials: Recycled old books, muslin