Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Parker.
Hi Lauren, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
During my first year at Vanderbilt, I took a course on Sustainable Fashion on a whim. Little did I know that it would not only become my passion, but I would be spreading that passion through founding and directing Vanderbilt Fashion Week (VFW). During the second semester of the first year, I took the course with Alexandra Sargent Capps, the year we got sent home early due to COVID-19. In my final project for the class, I remember presenting an idea about a sustainable fashion show, which seemed far-fetched due to the uncertainty of the world and the virtual environment. It wasn’t until this year, my junior year when things started to return to normal, that I felt something of the kind would be possible.
A week before finals, I reached out to the Wond’ry – Vanderbilt’s innovation center – to pitch my idea: a fashion show on Vanderbilt’s campus that featured sustainable brands from across the nation modeled by students, for students, and produced by students. Deanna Meador (Director of Entrepreneurship at the Wond’ry) loved the idea, and Wond’ry gave me their full support. When I came back to campus in mid-January, I began to assemble a team to put the show on. During this process, I encountered overwhelming excitement – several people and student groups wanted to get involved. Two of the student groups were also planning on putting on a show – one was a high fashion show of student designs, and the other was a drag show. After meeting the leaders within these organizations and seeing the excitement about the show, I knew that we could create something even bigger than a day dedicated to sustainable fashion. From this, VFW was born.
Although I am at Vanderbilt for the primary reason of being a student, VFW became my life. From mid-January to March 31st (the first day of fashion week), I assembled a team for VFW, a team for the sustainable fashion show, held auditions for models, trained models, worked with brands and designers from across the country, and worked with student groups and local businesses to put the week on. Some days it felt like I would go to class for a break from VFW work. I remember sending emails and hopping on calls from 10 pm – to 2 am on weekdays and weekends to put everything together – it indeed consumed me. Still, I loved every second of it because I knew I was not only doing something important but doing something special. Special because a week dedicated to sustainable fashion had never been done before, not only within Vanderbilt/Nashville but in the US. Additionally, during this time (December 2021 – Early March 2022), I trained for Miss Tennessee USA as Miss Greater Nashville. I trained for about one to two hours a day with either my trainer or my coach and got involved with the local businesses and events in Nashville. Miss Tennesse was a huge success for me. I was so excited and grateful to make it to the finals as one of the Top 15 women. I was incredibly thankful to be surrounded by my friends and family, who drove/flew out to Clarksville to support me. VFW was a huge success as well. But I am most proud of my brainchild, the Sustainable Fashion Show. The show featured 7 brands: Naked Cashmere, Natalie Busby, Jamie + The Jones, Ready Dress Go, Alter, Able, and Buffalo Exchange. I was filled with a joyful sense of pride and happiness post-show. It was a moment I will never forget because this was the first time in my life that I had created something, from nothing, of this magnitude. I felt powerful and unstoppable, which is hard to come by in today’s world.
Here is my Instagram caption I wrote post-show: A little over a week ago, I stood to the side of the runway as the founder of @vanderbiltfashionweek & director of The Sustainable Fashion Show. I proudly watched 36 models walk 7 sustainable fashion brands. If there is one thing I wish for people to take away from the show, it’s this: “The clothes we wear are a physical representation of how we feel and the causes we care about. For this reason, I believe the fashion industry can be a leader in sustainability. Once people wear sustainable clothes, the small decision of using a reusable water bottle over a plastic bottle or the big decision of fully committing your company to sustainable practices becomes simple.” I hope that my message with this show & the purpose of VFW continues far beyond the grounds of Vanderbilt. I think that the caption summarizes the importance of sustainable fashion and my goal with VFW. Fun story: Alexandra Sargent Capps, the professor I took the sustainable fashion course with, is now one of my mentors and dear friends. She ended up making me a stunning cape for my Miss Tennessee gown.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?It definitely wasn’t a smooth road but everything worked out as it should. When times were difficult I would always remind myself that the obstacles make the journey fun and memorable —a straight and easy path is not exciting.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?I think I can justly say that no one, especially in my age group, understands the world of fashion sustainability from a business and academic perspective as I do. Before VFW, I was a Littlejohn Scholar for my research on “sustainable fashion corporate motivators.” The objective of my research was to study “What motivates large international fashion businesses to make a sustainable change?” I found that companies experience the most sustainable change after joining in league with other firms to commit to sustainability (ex. CFS). This is precious information since research in sustainable fashion is far and few between. Research in sustainable fashion is far and few between. Research typically focuses on sustainable materials, so my business-centered research stands apart completely.
We love surprises, fun facts, and incredible stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us? While VFW & Miss TN were the two biggest things on my plate, I still dedicated a lot of my time to Vitality Dance Company, of which I am President. Vitality is a student dance group on the campus I have been a part of since my first year. I love the team, and I love the girls. Although I could not dance much the past semester, I was so proud of the show we put on just one week following the end of fashion week.
Fun story: Alexandra Sargent Capps, the professor I took the sustainable fashion course with, is now one of my mentors and dear friends. She made me a stunning cape for my Miss Tennessee gown.
Link to article: https://nashvillevoyager.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-lauren-parker-of-vanderbilt-student-sustainable-fashion/