From the racist outbursts of John Galliano to countless instances of anorexia with models to labor law controversies, it’s safe to say that fashion has had its fair share of scandals.

However, Chandler Hamilton, a UT Retail Merchandising and Apparel Design senior, is out show a different side of fashion through her work with nonprofit organization Haitian Creations.

As evidenced by the Heartline Ministries program’s tagline, “Crafting beauty. Giving hope.”, this nonprofit seeks to provide a positive outlet for fashion. Haitian Creations was established with the goal to empower the women of Haiti, providing them with the skills and education to successfully sustain themselves and their families.

The program began, according to Hamilton, when a couple from Boston moved to Haiti. Their original efforts dealt with child adoption and the large numbers of women forced to give up their children due to extenuating circumstances. After some time, however, they refocused on attacking the root of the problem; they taught the Haitian women the skills they would need to work for a profit and support themselves.

Women who enter the current program must first pass a literacy class. If unable to do so, they are given access to a free education and are taught to read, write and do mathematics. The women are then able to continue on to either a sewing or beading school.

After graduating from these programs, the women begin to work with their new skills and create products. Supplies, which they earn money to pay for, are continually brought to them from the United States by groups of volunteers through the ministry.

“The program is set up so that it will be sustainable and not just hand outs,” explained Hamilton. “So that the women will essentially be their own business owners. We’re just giving them the opportunity for that outlet.”

The Haitian women produce handmade purses and beaded jewelry which are transported back to the United States with the volunteers to be sold online and through what the program refers to as “purse parties” and “bead parties.” These functions give individuals and businesses the opportunity to host their own event in order to raise awareness for the organization; they also give friends, family, and customers the chance to purchase such one-of-a-kind pieces.

Hamilton said that when a woman’s item is sold, she receives 50% of the profit. True to the Haitian Creations goal of creating long-term sustainability for these women, half of that profit is direct cash and the other half is placed in a savings account that has been set up for each participant.

Hamilton herself first traveled to Haiti through a separate volunteer organization. She happened to come across Haitian Creations after hearing a couple speak about it at her boyfriend’s church.

“I first went to Haiti about two years ago and I just fell in love with the country,” she enthused. “And then whenever I came back from my trip I was like, ‘I just have to get back there somehow.’ I looked on their website and found this program and was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is perfect for me!’”

She has been working with Haitian Creations for nearly a year and a half now, visiting the country when classes are not in session and at every opportunity in between.

To fund her seventh and most recent trip during this past winter break, Hamilton put her personal sewing and fashion design skills to use - she created and sold scarves. She raises money to cover the cost of all of her travels to Haiti, which don’t come with a cheap price tag.

Once there, Hamilton works directly with the women of Haitian Creations, specifically in the newer jewelry-making program. She helps in the design process and builds the brand image through the creation of logos and tags.

“[Heartline is] a ministry,” Hamilton explained, “and they’re really good at running that, but they don’t really have someone with the younger vision for sewing products in that market. So that’s kind of where I’m stepping in.”

Hamilton is continuing with her apparel design courses at UT next semester in order to be as equipped as possible to aid the program with her skills. After graduation, she plans to move to Haiti and work with Haitian Creations full time.

In the meantime, this ambitious student is finding ways to bring a taste of Haitian flair to Austin. On Thursday, December 8, Madewell hosted an event at their location in The Domain selling products from the nonprofit. As a manager at the store, Hamilton had coordinated other promotions previously before making a pitch for one close to her own heart.

“It was really cool to finally be able to bring the two together, and in the place that I work bring in my other passion,” she said.

Madewell holds a charity event every year, according to Hamilton. After applying and receiving approval from the corporate office, the company agreed to donate 15% of all sales during the event to Haitian Creations.

As customers perused the racks of clothing, most couldn’t help but find their way to the program’s table in the middle of the store. Browsing through purses in various styles and quirky fabrics, everything from vivid floral prints to rustic burlap could be found. Bracelets and necklaces strung with beads created from leftover fabric were displayed across the table.

The event also provided champagne, cupcakes, and an extra 50% off sale on all previously marked down merchandise that proved to be a key factor in drawing customers.

“We did pretty well,” Hamilton reported of the Haitian Creations sales specifically, “I really didn’t know what to expect at all since that was such a different customer base. Usually I’m at fair trade markets or places where people go in specifically for that, and it’s such a different style than Madewell. But we did really well.”

The event was such a success that Madewell donated over $1,000 to the program. One of the most beneficial aspects of events like this one, however, is the publicity.

“I think it was especially good for just letting people know about the brand and the programs and everything, because customers were excited to learn about it,” she explained. “And then I ended up meeting quite a few people that actually have done work in Haiti or visited there or were really interested in that kind of stuff. So that was cool to connect that and Madewell.”

The Saturday following this event, Hamilton and several coworkers also participated in a pop-up shop at a local furniture design store where more Haitian Creations products were sold.

Though online shopping still provides the largest number of sales for the program, Hamilton aims to fit as many events as possible into her schedule. She even hopes to have products on consignment in the future.

Establishing Austin connections is just one of many goals on her checklist for the program, though. One of her biggest areas of focus currently involves using her personal fashion background to benefit the program and expand the Haitian Creations product offerings to include clothing.

Apparel design students at UT create unique garments during each semester of sewing labs, culminating in a final collection of three looks to be shown on the runway during the annual spring fashion show. Hamilton plans to use this opportunity to create garments that are not only stylish, but easy to teach and have the women of the program recreate.

“That’s what I’m going for, I have all of these ideas of things that I trying to tie into it. I’m hoping to use it as an opportunity for investment, so if people invest in the collection they’re investing in expanding the program,” she said. “For instance, I want to create a type of bat wing top, a one-size-fits-all, that’s on a higher price point. But whenever you buy it, you’re also giving a woman a job and we would donate money to pay for a child’s education maybe too. So I want to make it even more well-rounded for everybody.”

She currently designs jewelry and purse prototypes for the program, focusing on marketable trends while keeping the styles easy to reproduce. The Haitian women are taught how to recreate the types of products they choose and are able to add personal touches that keep their pieces unique.

Hamilton refers to her role as a “guide” to these women. She helps the Haitians bridge the culture and style gap between their home and the United States and create products that American consumers will purchase, teaching them concepts such as the color wheel and matching.

Throughout the process, Hamilton hopes to define the Haitian Creations brand as trendy and to appeal to younger audiences as well.

“I definitely am trying to make the brand more young and on trend,” she asserted. “I think a lot of people might think of nonprofits and businesses like this as a place where they would do kind of a pity buy and or a charity type thing, and that it’s usually homely-type pieces. I don’t want it to be that way at all. I want to show that you can be a part of a movement and a good cause, and be stylish too.”

In steering the program in a fashionable direction, she simultaneously will tackle the challenge of streamlining the entire process and transitioning the primary resource location for the nonprofit to Haiti.

A to-do list this long might intimidate even the most weathered ministry veterans, let alone a college student, but Hamilton has a clear, confident vision of her plans for Haitian Creations and her overall impact in fashion.

“I think it’s amazing to know the story of someone who handcrafted and worked hard to make that piece of fashion that someone’s going to love to put on, and at an affordable price,” she expressed. “I just think in the grossly [consumerist] place that America has become it’s so great to think about. My kind of whole motivation for all of this is to redeem fashion in a way, so it turns from something that’s dirty into something hopeful and that’s restoring such a broken place.”

It’s safe to say that those fearful for the corrupt state of the apparel industry can rest assured that it’s not all scandals and animal slaughter. There are still individuals out there dedicated to bringing a fresh face to fashion.

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Visit Haitian Creations here to purchase products and learn more about the company.