Dressed to Impress

Lynn Students Display Dresses Made of Luxury Retail Bags at the Town Center Mall

The Neiman Marcus dress, crafted out of 59 bags, takes center stage at the Town Center Mall  (G. De Domenico, 2024).

On Monday, November 4th, Lynn fashion students and members of the Boca Raton community gathered to celebrate the program's exhibit at the Town Center Mall, a collection of luxury dresses made of recycled luxury bags.

While the event took place during the fall 2024 semester, this is a project students have been working on since early July. This project was led by Dr. Lisa Benedict and Lynn masters student, Chinaglie Jean, with the assistance from 18 members of the Fashion and Retail program at Lynn.

The Carolina Herrera Dress created by 18 Fashion and Retail students, also called “Lady Carolina” (G. De Domenico, 2024).

The event highlighted four different dresses created out of bags from luxury retailers including Neiman Marcus, David Yurman, Carolina Herrera, and Marni. The Neiman Marcus dress stood proudly in the middle of the mall hallway, while the others were displayed at the entrance of the corresponding stores.

“We gave all of the dresses the same amount of effort,” said Jean. “I’d say the one that took the most amount of time though was Carolina Herrera just because of all the details.”

While the Fashion and Retail program has always been known to impress students and faculty, this exhibit allowed students to showcase their work directly, and gain exposure at the exclusive event.

“This event is different from other Lynn Fashion Showcases in the past for sure,” said Jean. “I’m seeing everyones reactions firsthand, and hearing everyone tell me how beautiful our designs are, I’ve never experienced it.”

Not only were fashion students able to gain exposure through the process of planning and executing the designs/ event, but also gained real life experience.

“I remember when I was younger, I was always inspired by dresses like these,” said Jean. “I would’ve never thought I would’ve been part of this big project.”

The dresses will live at the Town Center Mall throughout the week, where students and shoppers can proudly see them.

If you are interested in purchasing any of the dresses from the display, please contact Lisa Miller at lmiller@lynn.edu