A Kent State University fashion merchandising senior has come up with an idea that is so blindingly obvious, one might wonder how it doesn’t already exist. Olivia Meyer is currently basking in the glory of awards and accolades, even a mention in the New York Times for her concept: The single leg tights.
“It’s mind boggling, but it's a great place to find myself,” said Meyer via Zoom from campus where she is just three weeks away from graduation. “It’s been really overwhelming in the best way possible with all the positive feedback I've received.”
The brief for this year’s Fashion Scholarship Fund was to improve the ESG initiatives of a company of the applicant’s choice, so serial thrifter and second hand shopper Meyer immediately returned to her childhood passion of being a dancer. “Tights have always been a staple part of my wardrobe,” she told us. “But anybody who has worn tights knows why they're essentially the plastic water bottle of the apparel industry.” With just one imperfection a pair of tights typically becomes a waste item and, as a lifelong tights wearer, Meyer hated its devastating environmental impact. A steadfast fan of the brand Sheertex whose tights come with a 90-day no rip guarantee Meyer decided her response to the brief would be to pitch an idea for Sheertex that would evolve their offering in a way that was both inclusive and reduced their environmental footprint.
Olivia Meyer's proposal for Fashion Scholarship Fund. Credits: Olivia Meyer
In her work Meyer favored a problem solving approach, asking questions like “Why has it taken so long for this to come into existence? Why are we doing things this way ? Is this still serving our future?” She credited her mother, also a dancer, with inspiring the concept because she would buy tights in packs of two and when a run appeared in one leg, she’d cut it off underneath the waistband and save the good leg. When the same happened in the second pair, she’d have two single legs to wear together, the unfinished edges and makeshift aspect known only to her.
From among hundreds of other applicants from across the country, Meyer was selected winner of the Chairman’s Award at this month’s Fashion Scholarship Fund Gala by by a panel of industry members. The award was presented by Linda Fargo, Senior Vice President of Women’s Fashion at Bergdorf Goodman. The panel was impressed not only with Meyer’s solution for a more sustainably sound product but her presentation detailing how the single leg tight allows for better ventilation of intimate areas and opens up the hosiery market to a new demographic of individuals with one leg who were previously excluded.
Merchandising student wins 25,000 dollars for game changing design
“When you're applying to these scholarships, and you're working on your submission for so long, you tend to just get siloed in your own thoughts,” said Meyer. “But then to actually hear these important people cheer you on, and then to think about the type of change that it could bring for the industry, for the future of hosiery, for the people who are wearing tights, for less landfill, you begin to wonder, could this become a reality?”
Her prize of 25,000 dollars has already been earmarked for the next stage of her career which involves moving from Ohio to New York, or maybe even to Montreal, where the headquarters of Sheertex are located. Meyer has been in correspondence with the company and invited the CEO of Sheertex to the FSF live pitch event to which anyone could tune in remotely but she doesn’t know if representatives from the company were watching. “When I was completing the case study, I heard that Sheertex became B Corp certified which really spurred me on,” Meyer told us. “So they really are doing the right things in so many ways, and I really respect that.”
Sheertex tights are made out of polymers traditionally used in bulletproof vests.“They have fundamentally transformed hosiery forever,” said Meyer. Perhaps the same will be said of her when her single leg tight gets picked up and becomes available on the market.
Said Meyer, “I really just hope to continue being in rooms with people who are keeping the future of fashion and our planet and the people on it and all of the living things in mind.”
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