A Fashion Catastrophe

Mark Mullins is facing one of the hardest challenges of his professional career, finding a tie to wear for this year’s Real Men Wear Pink movement. Brevard Public Schools new superintendent is continuing the tradition of wearing pink custom ties every october, which is the Breast Cancer Awareness month. Mullins and other male volunteers wants to support the American Cancer Society’s yearly awareness drive.

Fashion emergency alarm bells are going off though. None of these men have any pink ties. Desmond Blackburn, the previous superintendent, ought to have given Mullins some fashion advice leaving his post. Mullins is clearly unprepared for the responsibilities that comes with the job.

Mullins, admitting that he will not be able to sew his own tie to save his life, had the initiative to outsource the job to his design students. The enthusiastic fashion designers of the future then got to work. Two very fun filled weeks later, and voila, Mullins own assortment of pink custom ties. One student remarked how Mullins was not gonna buy a tie if he has a trusty fashion design students at his call.

Lots of Talents Abound

The students were not directed to just create the same old boring tie, just made pink. They were given the freedom and they just ran with it. They made bow ties, ascots, cravats, bolo ties, and a lot of others. As long as they were pink, it was fine. The only limit was their creativity. Mullins will not even mind wearing a tie made of feathers filled with glitter.

The Pirate Stitching Shop, an interestingly named fashion design club of Palm Bay High School created tried a more orthodox look. It had flower patterns, pink bases in both hot and pale, adding a few mauves, and some tiki patterns. The highlight of their collection – a tie with filled with glittering butterflies.

The Satellite High School’s Fine Arts Academy had something else in mind. They did not go nuts on the pink and opted for a more conservative gray base. They were inspired by dazzling chinoiserie satins. And to set the collection apart from others, a bow tie accented by flamingos. And we know that flamingos are always pink. Funky – that is how the students want their collection to be remembered by.

Viera High School went with a more technical approach in creating their collection. They showed everyone who is boss by showing their skills in applique. They hand sewed back stitched green ties with the dominant pink. They made diagonal rows, just to make it more difficult. And to show their love for the public school system, their logo was at the center of it.

And using a more conservative and practical approach is Rockledge High School. The pink ribbon has become a universal symbol for solidarity with women. They stitched little pink ribbons on a tie lined with black. The contrast brought out the each colors of their ties.

The students were adamant that it was not tough at all to design all those ties. Of all the clothes that could be designed and made, ties were probably one of the easiest. They reckon that a handkerchief would be the easiest assignment while a dress of any kind would take forever to complete. The students were even kind enough to guide the committee on how they created the ties. Naturally, there was a lot of cutting and sewing. It does not sound simple when explained, and did not look simple when it was done. What is important is the final products were fabulous and that matters.

Other schools were literally looking to stamp their name on their creations. They added a discrete tag on the ties so if somehow an industry fashion designer catches a whiff of their creation, they might be acknowledged.

The Cause

All in all, there where about 26 ties made for Mullins. More than enough to last him a month with a few to spare. Hopefully, Mullins does the right thing and makes sure he is able to put on each tie in the duration of the month.

There are 10 men chosen to join the yearly Real Men Wear Pink movement. All of them work for the public and are prominent in the institutions they represent. This makes it more worthwhile for the students to design these ties. They know that the ties represent something they believe in. And the more prominent the person wearing the tie, the more people they would reach.

It has been three years now since Brevard has become a participant in the event but it is only now that the local fashion talents were tapped. Mullins was glistening with pride knowing the student body he represents made something amazing for the world to see.

The breast cancer issue hits home with Mullins. His mother was diagnosed of the unforgiving disease. There wasn’t as much awareness back then and people died without knowing if it could have been treated or prevented. And seeing the young faces, almost as young as he was when her mother passed, he could not help but feel joy. Knowing that the next generation is fighting so that the condition can be understood and put into public attention is special for him. Fortunately, his mother was able to survive the predicament and is now resting at a retirement home as strong as an ox.

The movement has seen a significant amount of donation raised. Last year’s campaign raised $52000. And with the media mileage, the current campaign is getting due to the change in leadership and some very smart decisions, the donations are expected to easily break last year’s amount. Each of the men involved are tasked to raise at least $2500 each. And as a matter of pride, Mullins aims to surpass his predecessor in total amount raised. All proceeds will be given to the American Cancer Society who specializes in research to help the world find a cure for the condition.