On a chilly January afternoon, Ooltewah High School students gathered around a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S, admiring the iconic silhouette and snapping photos. One of the students climbed into the passenger seat, examining the interior and making a sketch in her notebook.
Jerry Hickey, head of sales for the local Porsche, Jaguar and Land Rover dealership, directed students’ attention toward new design elements, such as the differently sized wheels at the front and rear that give the car more of an athletic look.
Sketches of clothing designs by Ooltewah High School fashion marketing students Valeria Martinez, at left, and Salali Wilt are inspired by the design of the 2019 Range Rover Sport HSE.Hickey then led the students toward a black Range Rover Sport, discussing the interior and exterior design – the shape, the layout, even the smell – before doing the same with a red Jaguar I-PACE EV 400.
The students are juniors and seniors in Heather McIntyre’s fashion marketing class, the only class of its kind in the county, which boasts a waiting list more than 400 names long. Their assignment is to take design elements from the cars and incorporate them into their own clothing designs.
“Fashion influences all aspects of our lives,” said McIntyre, who got the idea for the assignment from fashion designer Ralph Lauren, whose fall/winter 2018 line was inspired by 10 classic cars from his collection. “Fashion and car design have always played off of each other. I wanted my students to see the connection between the design elements in clothing and the design elements in cars.”