"Whose pins are these?"

“Are you cutting horizontally or vertically?  Remember, you can’t change it later.”

The scene at Camp Runway is a jumble of color, textiles, and rapidly-moving hands.  Campers and instructors weave between tables and step over material laid on the floor of the Sherwood Recreation Center in Northeast D.C. while Christine Brooks-Cropper makes sure everyone clocked in for the day.

On top of being president of the Greater Washington Fashion Chamber of Commerce, Brooks-Cropper serves as program director of Camp Runway, a vocational fashion camp for youth in D.C., where the kids get paid to learn a trade and how they can turn it into a profitable career.  Camp Runway is part of the mayor’s summer youth program conducted through the city’s Department of Employment Services.  With two contracts from the city and the support of other members of GWFCC, Brooks-Cropper is able to give aspiring young designers an outlet where they can express their creativity and work toward attaining their dream jobs where they otherwise may not have had the financial opportunity to do so.

“Most of the kids start the camp on the artistic side and we want them to end up on the business side,” Brooks-Cropper said in her office full of 20 sewing machines.

Throughout the nine-week program, consultants from all parts of the fashion industry--from hair and make-up professionals to entrepreneurial experts--come to speak to the 75 campers, ages 14 to 21, to teach them the “good, the bad, and the ugly” of the fashion world, said Brooks-Cropper.  The campers are expected to treat the program as if it is their job because they are paid hourly by the city for attending each day.

“I have learned so much here,” said Tracey Anderson, 21, as she cut a blue-patterned fabric for her final garment to be modeled in the camp’s culminating fashion show on August 5.  Anderson plans to attend Virginia Commonwealth University’s fashion program this fall, and Camp Runway has provided her with an introduction to designing, understanding patterns, and proper sketching techniques.

"If they didn't have this program, I don't know what I would do," she added.  Anderson, who lives in Columbia Heights, decided to pursue a career in fashion design after her mother died.  "I decided when she was on her deathbed that I wanted to do something to make her proud," Anderson explained, with confidence.  "She wanted me to be an artist."  After watching music videos and television shows that catered to the fashion-savvy, such as TLC's What Not to Wear, Anderson decided to join the fashion industry and "make clothes for people."

Tracey Anderson, 21, cuts material for her final garment.

The camp is split into two age groups.  The 14- and 15-year-olds are in one room, while those over 16 are in a larger room and work longer days.

Lauren Simon, 21, is an intern assistant with Camp Runway and works with the younger group.  She is majoring in fashion design at Florida State University and has overseen the campers’ projects, providing support and instruction throughout the process. “There are challenges,” she explained, "when they don’t listen or don’t do what they are supposed to be doing.”  Simon poked a girl sitting nearby who was chatting with friends. “But for the most part, they are pretty good.  It’s rewarding when they grasp and appreciate the idea and understand how to do something on their own," she added.

Brooks-Cropper said that by the end of the nine weeks, the campers should be functioning without help, as they have gained the tools and instruction they need to make their final garments through specialized workshops. “There’s a difference between sewing and fashion design,” she said.  “We try to explain the different parts of the industry and do not sugarcoat anything.”

Instructor Mia helps camper Ramone place patterns.

Tiera Bullock, 19, was setting a pattern for her final garment, and said this was her first experience making clothes and using a sewing machine.  In the past she made tote bags, and came to Camp Runway because she wants to pursue a career as a fashion designer and is attending a local trade school for design.

“Since these programs didn’t exist in D.C. before, I had to establish them,” Brooks-Cropper explained.  She started Camp Runway in 2007 with the support of GWFCC members Janice Rankins, Allison Lince-Bentley, and Maggy Francois.  Together they are hoping to raise enough money through the city and schools to hire a camp director to keep the program running in the future.