YOUNG ENOUGH: For its Mommy & Me capsule collection, Reese Witherspoon’s lifestyle brand Draper James tapped Rockets of Awesome to produce it and Savannah College of Art and Design students to help design it.
The SCAD students pitched in on what is the Nashville-based brand’s first venture into children’s apparel. Like the Reese Witherspoon-founded brand’s women’s collection, the styles for the junior set is southernlike in that there are plenty of stripes and true blue styles. SCAD students in the Collaborative Learning Center — fashion, accessory design, graphic design, fashion marketing and management, and fibers — helped design the collection over the course of a semester. That experience included a few classes led by Draper James’ team. Their designs were featured in the university’s annual fashion show SCAD FASHWKND.
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The confirmation that “Legally Blonde 3” is in the works wasn’t the only celebratory news that Witherspoon had to share in the past few days with her 13 million Instagram followers. There was also Monday’s double graduation — her daughter Ava Phillippe graduated from high school and her son Deacon Phillippe has closed the book on junior high school. Younger members of the Oscar-winning actress’ family, two of her nieces Abby James and Draper Witherspoon, played their part by modeling the collection at a photo shoot in Nashville earlier this month.
Mothers who like to keep certain styles all in the family have the option of coordinating with their daughters in a gingham look from the Draper James and Rockets of Awesome collection. The SCAD factor can be spotted in such accents as the bee insignia on the boy’s top which is a double-entendre — the SCAD mascot “Art the Bee” and Georgia’s state insect. There is also the Cherokee Rose print, which is a wink at Georgia’s state flower in honor of SCAD’s location and the new Draper James store in Atlanta. Shoppers can find the limited-run styles there and in the company’s Nashville store, as well on its e-commerce site. Retail prices for the limited-edition Draper James and Rockets of Awesome limited-edition styles range from $28 to $125. Last month Draper James delved into another category, by teaming up with Eloquii for a large-size collection.
Witherspoon also knows how to navigate SCAD’s Atlanta campus. Last fall she was awarded the SCAD Étoile award in recognition of the brand’s unique contributions to fashion, culture, design and style.